Manufacturing Creativity
Heard on Radio4 this morning
An advertising executive was challenged about the fact that the UK economy was now dominated by the service industry and he said the following. ”We are really part of the manufacturing industries, we manufacture creativity.” Surely folk who say things like that should be shot, or at least pointed at and laughed at.
One pearl of wisdom on “Manufacturing Creativity”
Provide common sense...
Death by Greenhouse
From rural perthshire
I have a fairly large greenhouse and every so often a bird will fly into it, often stunning it, but sometimes killing it. People have suggested putting stickers on the windows but this is a large greenhouse and attempts with these to date just makes them fly into a different panel. Any suggestions?
2 lacklustre pieces of inspiration on “Death by Greenhouse”
-
Consultant G(oldfinch) Says:
April 27th, 2010 at 12:01 pm1/ more window stickers so almost every panel is covered
2/ tall plants inside the greenhouse
3/ hanging baskets inside or outside -
April 27th, 2010 at 12:01 pm4/ solid panel down middle of greenhouse so birds cannot see straight through it
Provide common sense...
Desire not to vote
Overheard by one of the CSC team recently
“By not voting I am protesting against political corruption”.
2 lacklustre pieces of inspiration on “Desire not to vote”
-
Consultant K Says:
March 23rd, 2010 at 5:37 pmNo. By not voting you are not taking part in the democratic system. It is your right not to vote but all you are doing is saying nothing. At least go and spoil your ballot paper. Ideally vote for the party that is closest to your views.
Don’t see not voting as something to be proud of!
-
Consultant G Says:
April 7th, 2010 at 1:00 pmK is correct. Use your vote in some way, as not voting is not a protest at all. If you do not vote, you have no right to complain about anything that the government does until the next election.
Provide common sense...
The demise of Radio 6 Music
A concerned listener writes
I notice that today the BBC has decided, in its wisdom, to cut out both BBC 6 Music and BBC Asian Network. I have no knowledge of the latter but am a frequent listener to the former. This is a station which has shown rapid growth since it was started and now commands 500-600,000 listeners which is about 0.5% share. This is small (don’t get me wrong) but given the limited format availability (digital and internet only) this compares very favourably with the likes of BBC Radio 3 (which has just under 1%). Both provide a similar service for niche audiences yet it is 6 Music that is cut rather than 3 (which incidentally cost more per listener). I am not saying it is perfect as a radio station (Craig Charles should be kicked off without a 2nd thought!) but it is putting out good music that is not simon cowell dominated which very few other stations can offer. What can we do to save it? Or should I just accept its fate?
One pearl of wisdom on “The demise of Radio 6 Music”
-
April 12th, 2010 at 8:53 amSaved, but re branded for some reason. BBC are rather cleverer than we thought.
Provide common sense...
Diagnosing Concussion
A recent head banger muses, then questions on the subject.
About a week or so ago I fell off my mountain bike and bashed my head. The fall was hard enough to smash my helmet but I was not knocked out or being sick. Strangely it was not too bad for the first 24hrs but from then on, the pain in my head got worse and worse. 48hrs in I contacted a doctor who was unable to see me but could talk on the phone who suggested it was “just” concussion and that if it had not stopped hurting in another 72hrs I should get back in touch. 72hrs later I saw a doctor as the pain had not subsided and was told it was “severe” concussion and that it would take 7-10days to clear. At the 8 day point I met with a doctor again (by chance not by appointment) and they checked me over again and stated that it could take up to 14days to clear and given the severity of the blow suggest I should have gone to hospital at the time. Can Doctors not provide consistent advice with regards time scales and also what is the point of retrospective advice when dealing with a potential life and death situation?
2 lacklustre pieces of inspiration on “Diagnosing Concussion”
-
March 18th, 2010 at 1:23 pmMedical doctors do have a hard job, assessing how severe injuries are without full knowledge / scans etc. However, if they only admited that they were not infallable some of the time then things would be much better. In your situation a ‘I’m not sure so go to hospital’ would have been safer (I know hind sight is wonderful). To any medics out there - do not be afraid to say ‘I do not know’ as you will get much more respect if you do.
Glad you survived your bump to the head though.
-
March 18th, 2010 at 1:25 pmI have twice bashed my head falling from a bike. First time I wnet to hospital and was told i had concussion and just to go home, but to make sure someoe kept an eye on me overnight.
The second time I threw up again, did not go to a doctor immediately, and felt fine (although I did get checked out after a couple of days). If the only advice they give is ‘go home, it will get better’, then it is difficult to know whether we should go and get checked out or not.
Provide common sense...
Get connected
From a consumer
Should I buy a netbook ? If so, which ?
5 lacklustre pieces of inspiration on “Get connected”
-
February 24th, 2010 at 9:22 pmNo. Much as I hate to agree with that man at apple but netbooks just are poor cousins of PCs. I have no doubt that Jobs would want us all to buy an iPad or whatever but I would suggest just getting a small cheapish laptop. for about 350 you can pick up a reasonable little acer or similar.
If you do go for a netbook remember that you prob will not be able to play most pc games, will have limited versions of word or excel and other limitations.
-
February 25th, 2010 at 12:26 pmBut I only want it to write basic word documents, e-mail and web surfing. I do not want it to do anything else. If I did want a proper laptop I would get one of these:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/alist/value-laptopIn an ideal world I would get this thing of joy:
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MTM3NDc2MzEIt has to be small and easily transportable you see.
-
Steve Jobs Says:
February 25th, 2010 at 2:53 pmNetbooks are not good anything. Why would you buy one? Get a clever phone, or a stylish and functional tablet device.
-
February 26th, 2010 at 1:50 pmThanks Steve, but I disagree - netbooks are fine for basic tasks and typing documents etc. The processing power is where top end machines were a few years ago, so no problem doing basic tasks. They have the advantage over clever phones as they have a clear key board for typing on - something smart phones do not have. Price wise they are similar too.
They are not an iPad though. Can I have one free to test out ? -
nethead Says:
March 25th, 2011 at 7:16 pmwell, i got a netbook last year and its great! it can do loads of stuff and was cheap as chips! and its wee and diddy so I can take it pretty much anywhere!
Provide common sense...
Making pedestrians cross
A city kid asks
Busy pedestrian crossings can be like a game of British bulldogs at times as two steams of on coming foot traffic try to pass through each other, with neither wanting to give way. Any ideas?
5 lacklustre pieces of inspiration on “Making pedestrians cross”
-
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:45 amA good question. Personally, at present I just stand tall and push people out of the way. Why not install a road junction type approach, with the crossing divided into two halves. This would ensure that the mingling of people too place on the pavement, rather than on the road, and hopefully make it less confrontational.
-
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:44 pmor maybe just relax and watch as people somehow manage to work it out without really that much hassle.
-
February 24th, 2010 at 12:25 pmGet out of my way Consultant K (shove).
-
Consultant C Says:
February 25th, 2010 at 12:45 pmAct fast and furious and look dangerous; steam forth, and intimidate the masses. The grockles will fall pathetically around you.
-
February 25th, 2010 at 3:08 pmor go for the other extreme - do not look the person in the eye and they will also get out the way - far more sensible than being aggressive to folk!
April 27th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I am not sure we can advocate shooting people. They should certainly be given a reality check though and perhaps work in a true manufacturing industry for a while. They should have their salary reduced to the minumum wage - then we shall see how creative they really are.