Well, here I am, sat in the back garden, knotted handkerchief on my head, working on the laptop.
For the young ones that read this, you may not have herd of a handkerchief. Its a recyclable version of a tissue!! Usually made out of cotton.
My morning ritual always starts off the same, come down into the kitchen, put water in the kettle, switch on the TV to listen to the news, and decide about breakfast.
What was the first thing I heard on the news this morning? Unemployment amongst the young is the highest it has ever been. From the tone of the newscasters voice, it sounded as if this was a surprise to everyone. Especially the government! I have been turning this over in my mind all day, because to me, it does not seem to be a surprise at all. To me it is an inevitable consequence of all the policies. So, am I stupid or something? Is there something so big and so obvious that I cannot see it.?
Lets run down the line of my thinking.
1 - First the government increase womens' retirement age from 60, to 65. So all the women who would have retired, stay in work.
If they do not retire, no vacancies are created, and the people inside the organisation do not move up to fill the empty position. That leaves no vacancies at the bottom for the youngsters to fill - NOTE THIS PARAGRAPH I WILL USE IT AGAIN
2 - Second, the government make it illegal to ask an employee to retire on the grounds of age.
If they do not retire, no vacancies are created, and the people inside the organisation do not move up to fill the empty position. That leaves no vacancies at the bottom for the youngsters to fill.
3 - Third, they increase the pension eligibility age from 65 to 67. So now even if you wanted to retire at 65, you have to keep going another two years.
If they do not retire, no vacancies are created, and the people inside the organisation do not move up to fill the empty position. That leaves no vacancies at the bottom for the youngsters to fill
So am I right or am I right?
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
A peak into the past
I have been looking into the past of my old company, Robert Fletcher & Son, Papermakers. Over the weekend I came across a great, and unexpected website.
It seems that when the mill was being demolished an old box of documents was found in the rubble.
It contained old invoices, job application letters, even a dog licence. I had forgotten that we used to have to have one.
There is also the tragic story of Beatrice Dewhurst, a young girl that died after falling through an open trap door.
If you fancy a bit of nostalgia, take a look at The Robert Fletcher Website.
It seems that when the mill was being demolished an old box of documents was found in the rubble.
It contained old invoices, job application letters, even a dog licence. I had forgotten that we used to have to have one.
There is also the tragic story of Beatrice Dewhurst, a young girl that died after falling through an open trap door.
If you fancy a bit of nostalgia, take a look at The Robert Fletcher Website.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Paperwiki launched
Well today I can reveal another of the projects that have kept me so busy these last few weeks.
I guess most of us have heard of, or used Wikipedia. I think it is a fantastic resource BUT - there is just too much of it.
So, primarily for my students, I have created a mini version that I have called paperwiki. You can view it by following the link, or from my website.
I have started with just over 200 pages, but it will grow!
The idea is that it is a toned down version of Wikipedia, a bit more personal, and it does not overwhelm the reader with stuff they did not want to know. However, the pages will contain links for people that do want to go deeper.
There are essentially three section, the biggest part of the Wiki is a load of technical stuff for the students, but there is a section on the history of papermaking, and a section on mills.
The section on mills I hope will one day cover mills of the world, but I have started with UK mills. Within this section are the current 58 mills, but being the nostalgic type I have started a section on the old mills that now no longer exist.
I plan to give some of my students assessments based on their contribution to the Wiki. It will be something they can be proud of, and will benefit the whole papermaking community.
I guess most of us have heard of, or used Wikipedia. I think it is a fantastic resource BUT - there is just too much of it.
So, primarily for my students, I have created a mini version that I have called paperwiki. You can view it by following the link, or from my website.
I have started with just over 200 pages, but it will grow!
The idea is that it is a toned down version of Wikipedia, a bit more personal, and it does not overwhelm the reader with stuff they did not want to know. However, the pages will contain links for people that do want to go deeper.
There are essentially three section, the biggest part of the Wiki is a load of technical stuff for the students, but there is a section on the history of papermaking, and a section on mills.
The section on mills I hope will one day cover mills of the world, but I have started with UK mills. Within this section are the current 58 mills, but being the nostalgic type I have started a section on the old mills that now no longer exist.
I plan to give some of my students assessments based on their contribution to the Wiki. It will be something they can be proud of, and will benefit the whole papermaking community.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
smokers help the environment!
I read to my son each night before he goes to sleep. Last month we were working our way through Enid Blytons' Famous Five books. At the moment we are reading Popular Science FYI. The book consists of - '229 curious questions answered by the world's smartest people'. (Note how these super smart people got the possessive s punctuation wrong! It should be worlds')
One question tonight was "does smoking contribute to global warming". The answer was no, and it may even help to reduce global warming a little! The theory was, that the smoke particles from the cigarette, and the smoker, will reflect some of the energy from the sun and so that energy will not contribute to warming the surface of the earth.
This positive was balanced in the next question/answer where they pointed out that 4,500,000,000,000 (4.5 trillion), cigarette butts are thrown away each year. They take many years to degrade and each one puts 600 different chemicals into the soil!
One question tonight was "does smoking contribute to global warming". The answer was no, and it may even help to reduce global warming a little! The theory was, that the smoke particles from the cigarette, and the smoker, will reflect some of the energy from the sun and so that energy will not contribute to warming the surface of the earth.
This positive was balanced in the next question/answer where they pointed out that 4,500,000,000,000 (4.5 trillion), cigarette butts are thrown away each year. They take many years to degrade and each one puts 600 different chemicals into the soil!
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Back at last
Well, I just cant believe how long it is since I wrote my last post on here. Its been a busy time
The good news is, after all my hard work I have finally been approved as an Examination Centre for the Process Awards Authority.
I can now offer papermaking courses that are accredited by either the National Skills Academy or by Ofqual
This is great for my students.
I have also been working hard on three big new projects and three potential long term training contracts. More about the training contracts as I get to know!
One of my new projects is distance learning material, so that anyone anywhere can take my courses. I have been working with a learning delivery system called MOODLE to help me do this. MOODLE was invented in Australia.
Its a great facility, fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it, but unbelievably intricate behind the scenes for those trying to set it up. It's not really difficult, there are just soooooo many things you can use and change.
You can see the beginnings of my experiment here
The good news is, after all my hard work I have finally been approved as an Examination Centre for the Process Awards Authority.
I can now offer papermaking courses that are accredited by either the National Skills Academy or by Ofqual
This is great for my students.
I have also been working hard on three big new projects and three potential long term training contracts. More about the training contracts as I get to know!
One of my new projects is distance learning material, so that anyone anywhere can take my courses. I have been working with a learning delivery system called MOODLE to help me do this. MOODLE was invented in Australia.
Its a great facility, fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it, but unbelievably intricate behind the scenes for those trying to set it up. It's not really difficult, there are just soooooo many things you can use and change.
You can see the beginnings of my experiment here
Monday, 13 May 2013
Ever felt stupid and glad no one was around?
This is just a quickie as I thought it was sooo funny!
Came to take my blood pressure pill this morning, This particular blister pack was marked with the days, not all of them do.
I had started in the middle on a Thursday, so I was wondering which end to go and so was reading the days. I was astounded to find it said NOW
How the hell can it know that ? I thought for an instant
Then I realised it was upside down. It really said MON
Hmmmm
Came to take my blood pressure pill this morning, This particular blister pack was marked with the days, not all of them do.
I had started in the middle on a Thursday, so I was wondering which end to go and so was reading the days. I was astounded to find it said NOW
How the hell can it know that ? I thought for an instant
Then I realised it was upside down. It really said MON
Hmmmm
REACH - The New Black Death or terminator 4?
In the 14th century the Bubonic plague spread through Europe killing up to 60 % of the population. It was spread by the fleas that infested rats.
In 1984 we had Terminator. If you remember the story, - the machines were taking over the earth and they sent Terminator back in time to ensure their takeover was successful.
Today we have REACH!
REACH stands for Regulation, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals.
It is a new set of rules dreampt up by the European Union Bureaucrat late one morning after he unexpectedly finished his crossword early. It has now been taken up by the great European Bureaucratic Machine and is set to destroy life as we know it here in Europe.
The regulations apply to anything made in Europe or imported into Europe. So don't worry rest of the world, you are safe.
It started as a simple idea. Anything that is sold because of its shape is outside of the regulations but anything that is sold because of its chemical composition must be regulated.
So, for example. If I import a pair of scissors, or a knife, into Europe, I have no problem. But if I import an ingot of steel to make a knife or a pair of scissors, I have to pay tens of thousands of Euros as a contribution to the costs of testing the steel to ensure it is not harmful to humans.
If I want to make a piece of paper in Europe, that no problem either. BUT all the suppliers of all the chemicals that go into the paper have to pay tens of thousands of Euros to get each of their products approved, even those that have been used for 100 years or more.
These costs cannot be absorbed by the suppliers, so they have to be passed on to their European customers.
However, the rest of the world does not demand such approvals. So anyone outside of Europe can buy these very same chemicals, without the REACH 'levy', and then sell the paper into Europe because they are selling a shape and not a chemical!
Of course I have given paper as an example because it is my specialist subject, but it applies to tens of thousands of products.
It could be toothbrushes, hair brushes or paint brushes. To make a toothbrush in Europe, the manufacturer will have to pay huge amounts of money to to have the polymer for the handle and the polymer for the bristles approved. But outside of Europe, anyone can make the same brush and import it as an 'object', used because of its shape and not its chemical composition.
THIS IS IN EFFECT A TAX ON ANYONE THAT WANTS TO MAKE ANYTHING IN EUROPE.
But it gets worse.
The 'approval' is called a 'Letter of Access'. If you make or import say 100 tonnes of a product that needs a Letter of Access, then you pay the same fee as someone else that makes or imports 100,000 tones. So, imagine a letter of access costs 100,000 Euros. A large manufacturer needs to add 1 Euro to the cost of each ton, to get his money back. A small manufacturer or importer needs to add 1,000 Euros per ton to get his money back.
So for a chemical that normally sells for say, 500 Euros per ton, the big player will have to charge 501 Euros now, and the small player will have to charge 1,500 per ton. Clearly no one will pay this price and so all the small manufacturers and importers will go out of business.
The common sense way was to apply a levy 'per ton' so that no one is disadvantaged. But when was common sense ever a requirement of state bureaucracy ?
SO NOW, ALL THE SMALL COMPANIES THAT DUTIFULLY PAY ALL THEIR LOCAL TAXES WILL BE ELIMINATED, AND ALL THE LARGE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE THE SKILL AND THE LAWYERS AND THE ACCOUNTANTS TO AVOID PAYING LOCAL TAX, WILL MAKE EVEN MORE PROFITS AND PAY EVEN LESS TAX.
This of course means that the man in the street will have to pay more tax, to make up for the tax that the big companies are avoiding paying.
With all the small companies eliminated, the few remaining big companies will then be free to apply whatever price rises they wish. We will be at their mercy.
AND FINALLY
Think about new developments!
This testing regime is a huge financial barrier, and it only exists in Europe, not the rest of the world. Small inventors will be wiped out because they cannot afford to bring their inventions to market, or they will be at the mercy of those that already have mega millions! If a small inventor approaches a large corporation, what will happen? The large corporation will say - hey, we will give you a pittance for your idea, because we know you can't finance it yourself!
So where will all the new chemistry and inventions be made? - Outside Europe
Who will gain? - Everyone outside Europe
What will happen inside Europe?
All the chemicals we use will have this 'levy' so all our prices will increase
many of the chemicals we use will become financially nonviable so they will be withdrawn and our technology will slide backwards to the point before they were used.
So from May 1, Europe will start to slide backwards while the rest of the world will race ahead
Kyle Reese where are you?
You need to go back in time and stop REACH ever happening
Rest of the world - you are on a winner, just sit back and watch Europe destroy itself, then take over
In 1984 we had Terminator. If you remember the story, - the machines were taking over the earth and they sent Terminator back in time to ensure their takeover was successful.
Today we have REACH!
REACH stands for Regulation, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals.
It is a new set of rules dreampt up by the European Union Bureaucrat late one morning after he unexpectedly finished his crossword early. It has now been taken up by the great European Bureaucratic Machine and is set to destroy life as we know it here in Europe.
It started as a simple idea. Anything that is sold because of its shape is outside of the regulations but anything that is sold because of its chemical composition must be regulated.
So, for example. If I import a pair of scissors, or a knife, into Europe, I have no problem. But if I import an ingot of steel to make a knife or a pair of scissors, I have to pay tens of thousands of Euros as a contribution to the costs of testing the steel to ensure it is not harmful to humans.
If I want to make a piece of paper in Europe, that no problem either. BUT all the suppliers of all the chemicals that go into the paper have to pay tens of thousands of Euros to get each of their products approved, even those that have been used for 100 years or more.
These costs cannot be absorbed by the suppliers, so they have to be passed on to their European customers.
However, the rest of the world does not demand such approvals. So anyone outside of Europe can buy these very same chemicals, without the REACH 'levy', and then sell the paper into Europe because they are selling a shape and not a chemical!
Of course I have given paper as an example because it is my specialist subject, but it applies to tens of thousands of products.
It could be toothbrushes, hair brushes or paint brushes. To make a toothbrush in Europe, the manufacturer will have to pay huge amounts of money to to have the polymer for the handle and the polymer for the bristles approved. But outside of Europe, anyone can make the same brush and import it as an 'object', used because of its shape and not its chemical composition.
THIS IS IN EFFECT A TAX ON ANYONE THAT WANTS TO MAKE ANYTHING IN EUROPE.
But it gets worse.
The 'approval' is called a 'Letter of Access'. If you make or import say 100 tonnes of a product that needs a Letter of Access, then you pay the same fee as someone else that makes or imports 100,000 tones. So, imagine a letter of access costs 100,000 Euros. A large manufacturer needs to add 1 Euro to the cost of each ton, to get his money back. A small manufacturer or importer needs to add 1,000 Euros per ton to get his money back.
So for a chemical that normally sells for say, 500 Euros per ton, the big player will have to charge 501 Euros now, and the small player will have to charge 1,500 per ton. Clearly no one will pay this price and so all the small manufacturers and importers will go out of business.
The common sense way was to apply a levy 'per ton' so that no one is disadvantaged. But when was common sense ever a requirement of state bureaucracy ?
SO NOW, ALL THE SMALL COMPANIES THAT DUTIFULLY PAY ALL THEIR LOCAL TAXES WILL BE ELIMINATED, AND ALL THE LARGE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE THE SKILL AND THE LAWYERS AND THE ACCOUNTANTS TO AVOID PAYING LOCAL TAX, WILL MAKE EVEN MORE PROFITS AND PAY EVEN LESS TAX.
This of course means that the man in the street will have to pay more tax, to make up for the tax that the big companies are avoiding paying.
With all the small companies eliminated, the few remaining big companies will then be free to apply whatever price rises they wish. We will be at their mercy.
AND FINALLY
Think about new developments!
This testing regime is a huge financial barrier, and it only exists in Europe, not the rest of the world. Small inventors will be wiped out because they cannot afford to bring their inventions to market, or they will be at the mercy of those that already have mega millions! If a small inventor approaches a large corporation, what will happen? The large corporation will say - hey, we will give you a pittance for your idea, because we know you can't finance it yourself!
So where will all the new chemistry and inventions be made? - Outside Europe
Who will gain? - Everyone outside Europe
What will happen inside Europe?
All the chemicals we use will have this 'levy' so all our prices will increase
many of the chemicals we use will become financially nonviable so they will be withdrawn and our technology will slide backwards to the point before they were used.
So from May 1, Europe will start to slide backwards while the rest of the world will race ahead
Kyle Reese where are you?
You need to go back in time and stop REACH ever happening
Rest of the world - you are on a winner, just sit back and watch Europe destroy itself, then take over
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