As mentioned previously, the current wimminz has become somewhat of a regular thing, and that can be interesting because regular things open doors onto perspectives that casual things do not.
As a regular thing she sees much much more of my daily life, all the boring daily humdrum stuff, and importantly, most of what she sees, she sees from conception through planning to execution and fruition.
And, she is constantly amazed that basically 99% of the time I can do 100% of it “in house” without having to consult or hire anyone else.
Yeah, she is significantly younger than me, but, it’s not down to her relative youth or relative inexperience, most of the people she has known, including her ex, were as much use as a fucking chocolate teapot.
This was in the back of my head when talking to a mate about his new-ish business and the struggles he faced, and then I found myself chatting to a guy on holiday who happens to be a CEO of a medium sized company, in a field not a million miles away from my day job, so, we started comparing notes.
The PROBLEM with my day job is the problem with every single trade or venture out there, every single job or task has been sliced into pieces so thin that almost anyone with two weeks training can do any single slice, but the slices themselves are so small that anyone who can actually do the job isn’t given enough scope or data to even begin.
As I was explaining to the CEO, it is the ethos that he and his ilk have brought about in the public’s mindset over the last 30 years that is the problem, and that isn’t going to get fixed quick.
He wanted an example, I gave him one.
The skank’s car is in need of some work, it’s still functioning OK and hasn’t broken down yet, but without immediate remedial works that state of affairs is about to end.
I told her take the car down to Joe’s Garage, a small independent one man band, run away like fuck from all the main dealers and every other garage in town, CEO man wants to know why, surely some of them will be cheaper than Joe’s garage with his £60 an hour labour charge, and more efficient in what they can do in an hour as they will have all the latest gear, and so on and so forth.
Yeah, I said, see, here’s the thing, I don’t take my cars to Joe because he is the cheapest guy in town, I take my cars to Joe because I NEVER EVER EVER go back for the same job, or anything closely related, or anything that he might have noticed on a nearby component…. I take my cars to Joe because when he swaps an old part out for a new one the old parts he removed are lined up against the wall for inspection and discussion…. I take my cars to Joe because he is a tradesman and not just a fucking spanner monkey, and he can actually fabricate and make and mend shit…. I take my cars to Joe because he will turn around and say you don’t have to pay me all in one go mate, give me some this week and some next (I have never taken advantage of this)… I take my cars to Joe because Joe used to be a racing driver, in a small way, and maintains his own small stable of classic exotica, the guy is a fucking enthusiast… I take my cars to Joe because the guy has 30+ years of experience…. I take my cars to Joe because Joe is INDEPENDENT and doesn’t need to spout anyone else’s marketing shit…
CEO says gee, I wish I had a local garage like that…
Thing is, HE FUCKING DID HAVE, we all did, and one by one we all drove them out of business, and now they are all gone, and there is no way to get them back.
Everything has been sliced too thin…. and once you make that cut, you can’t put it back together, you have to start from scratch.
We live in the era of maximum specialisation. Specialists are ruling, they have the power and the money. But any generalist can see they are just one step away only from complete incompetence and failure (fear of failure: that’s why they are so unwilling to be flexible). Therefore the specialists fear and resent the generalists and systematically fight them wherever and whenever they can. And I mean “fight” as in cultural war – all guns out – at all levels of society.
Comment by Wake — April 28, 2015 @ 1:20 pm
There’s a quote along the lines of “Specialisation is for insects”
That old school way of life has been done in as much by Health and Safety and the endless paperwork/qualifications needed to do things legally.
Stay in your slot, citizen.
Comment by Tim — April 28, 2015 @ 6:09 pm
Specialization and her twin compartmentalization are the typical operating principles of your bog standard secret society.
Or any transnational corporation or “national” secret service or even a terrorist group (not much difference between the last two anyway).
You need the bricks in your pyramid NOT have a clue how the big picture looks like or otherwise they might competently usurp the agenda.
People like you and Joe are THE ENEMY.
You are a threat because you still posses the abilities to become independent again. The rest of us know, some even consciously, that we don´t have that option anymore.
Sometimes I almost wish I could go back to “coincidence theorist” but the dots have become too damn many&obvious to not connect.
But at least I can stare the train under that oncoming light in the tunnel straight in the fucking face.
Comment by hans — April 29, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
@There’s a quote along the lines of “Specialisation is for insects”
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an
invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write
a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort
the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone,
solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program
a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die
gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
— Robert Heinlein
Comment by let it burn — May 2, 2015 @ 5:34 pm