tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post5821613050769364623..comments2024-03-27T20:34:09.464+01:00Comments on zmkc: I Never Thought I'd Say Thiszmkchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-34056245922685117842011-11-04T15:18:13.152+01:002011-11-04T15:18:13.152+01:00I'm torn, George, between thinking these thing...I'm torn, George, between thinking these things should be regulated and thinking that survival of the fittest will do its work one way or another.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-31009656451980609962011-11-04T13:26:17.925+01:002011-11-04T13:26:17.925+01:00About 1991 the block where I worked in Washington,...About 1991 the block where I worked in Washington, DC, began to be rebuilt. I was impressed by what I saw of the casual attitude toward safety--use of power tools with no eye protection, for one thing. What most impressed me was when they had to remove some cornice to run a trash chute. A worker would lean out the window and operate a jackhammer with one hand while he held on with the other.<br /><br />It's all well and good when it works, but a first cousin of mine is a widow because something went wrong when her husband was doing some of his own tree trimming.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-17625199139899982012011-11-04T10:48:37.364+01:002011-11-04T10:48:37.364+01:00Hello Denis, miserable news in your last tweet. Ho...Hello Denis, miserable news in your last tweet. Hope it was a one off. I've seen bamboo scaffolding in Shanghai and workers who seem as expendable as ants, judging by the safety standards. <br /><br />I haven't met them, but I've got to know the three fellows in the pictures over the last couple of weeks. The one who is sitting is almost always sitting. The one who is bending over and getting on with the work wears a piratical earring and is rather dashing. The other standing one aspires to be as dashing, but lacks an adequate level of basic dash in his genes, I think. They all do only as much work as they need to in order to stay in employment, which is an attitude I admire, (partly because I am always a pathetic grovelling try-hard when I work). Of course, were I employing them, I wouldn't admire that spirit quite so much.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-6199737289353755412011-11-04T09:54:12.989+01:002011-11-04T09:54:12.989+01:00I can't believe how many of your fascinating p...I can't believe how many of your fascinating postings I've missed lately. I've been sleeping a lot. <br /><br />Anyway, your piece above reminded me of how bamboo scaffolding is or was used on the subcontinent - maybe not so much in India now, but in Bangladesh. It goes up many floors in the construction phase - amazing structures. <br /><br />Women workers balance large piles of bricks on their heads - you will have seen these - and walk them step after weary step to the top. 12-14 hours/day. Their babies lie sleeping on the sidewalks below. There's certainly no concept of H&S when labour is plentiful and cheap.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.com