James Lileks, in the midst of a host move, ponders the changing tapestry of safety laws, whether management (human) attitudes have changed in a hundred years, and how that all applies to globalism.
No stunning answers here, but, as usual, he catches some thought trains I’m comfortable riding on.
And if you want something a bit lighter, his commentary on the hidden exercise value of playing computer games the previous day might be more to your liking.
You’re always surprised how drained you feel after a really good bout of gaming; you’ve been tensing and unclenching for an hour. This is also known as Charles Atlas’ “dynamic tension” – muscles, working against muscles! Every gamer ought to be buffed out – and under that protective layer of Dorito residue, they probably are.
His points are interesting. However, living where the illegal alien problem gets all mixed up in wages, I’m not sure he understands. It goes something like this: Farmers hire illegals to pick their crops because theit bottom line is so low; their bottom line is so low because consumers are always looking for the best deal (most consumers would be agast to find out how much it would cost them to grow a basket of strawberries, but won’t pay a fair price at the market); consumers don’t want illegals living in shacks in the valleys behinds their $300,000 homes, so they try to send them away. They however, would not pick strawberries is the fields for $5 an hour. Our farming ‘system’ is based on cheap labor, labor that doesn’t come from local high schools. I’m pretty smart, but this one is way too big for me.
Agreed, though I don’t think that invalidates his points. Well, maybe not. Okay, I see where you’re going with that. Hrmph.
Computer games, anyone?
I can just imagine your face during that last sentance. Reach out, reach out and blog someone…
Remember (it may have just been last year, maybe the year before) when there was a suggestion that flew across the net like wildfire about home offices having to have the same “safety standards” as businesses?
It was a good idea. It was not at all feasible, or able to be implemented. It was a nice idea, in that yes, a home office should be be “free from debris in the aisle,” and fairly ergonomic, and heck, it shouldn’t have the pile of music books for my Dad’s band behind the chair, or the wobbly stack of network cards on the shelves, or the bad lighting, or the cat allowed to walk on the keyb9302m–hey, that ISN’T allowed…
If common sense were the law, we wouldn’t need to point out that one does not place a hairdryer into a shower… or a cosmetic into the eye… or that someone should pay a decent wage to someone who works hard… but common sense doesn’t avoid lawsuits.