Pointless Extravagance

If ever there was a sign of a society on the path to destruction, it must be when people are willing and able to spend €470 on a knife specifically made for cutting Parmesan cheese while others are spiraling further into poverty.

http://www.hemmerle.com/en/0/0-1-7-parmesan-knife/

Shame on you to anyone who has purchased this.

UK faces US-style jobless recovery, says Institute for Fiscal Studies - Telegraph

UK faces US-style jobless recovery, says Institute for Fiscal Studies - Telegraph

This is an interesting article, well worth reading, but I would like to expand it. I believe that in both the UK and US that the fundamental problem is that most so called growth in employment over almost half a century have involved more and more people shuffling paper, serving drinks, checking targets, moving money, etc. etc. for a smaller and smaller number of people who are actually adding value. Of course there have been exceptions, notably in the field of information and communication technologies, but mostly we have just created an ever enlarging parasitic hoard. It reminds me of those period dramas like "Gosford Park" where regiments of servants, all with very specific roles, all serving the "master of the house", but no one really adding any value. the only difference now is that the servants are working in coffee shops, government offices and banks instead. That is not to say that coffee shops, government offices and banks are unnecessary, but do we really need quite so many employing quite so many people? I think the fallout from the recession that started in 2007 will be a realisation that we do not. the question will be whether the people who did (or would have) work in those "non jobs" can realign their skills and mindset to to find a more productive role?

The first brick removed from the wall

BBC News - Premier League TV football choice 'upheld' by EU advice

I wonder how long before holders of media rights realise that in the modern, connected world of the internet that such parochial stances such as restricting viewing to a specific jurisdiction is as out of date as telex machines. I am all in favour of people being paid for creative and original content, but it is about time that the system became "smart" enough to be delivery system and jurisdiction agnostic and just deliver universal access with appropriate remuneration to the rights owner.

Start to think differently before it is too late

A message that we all need to take heed of.  The internet is turning everything on its head; not overnight but piece by piece.  Unless you embrace this new thinking, slowly but surely we will all find ourselves in the same boat as the bookshops and travel agents that saw Amazon and Expedia overwhelm their businesses.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/01/freelancer_uk_launch/

Panic on the Streets of Birmingham

I doubt Egypt will be the last "food revolution", but where will it end? To quote the Smiths, panic on the streets of Birmingham? How much would food prices have to rise?


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html

Why Do Some Regions Seem Destined for Decline?

Different recession- same story. Many of the cities mentioned have been in decline since the end of the First World War. Labour, Conservative or coalition government, the story is the same. It is almost as though decay is in the collective gene pool? Is it because people with talent and drive just move away or is there something in the local culture?


http://http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/recovery-unevenly-spread-across-uk-cities-2192868.html

The End of Mass Delusion in the UK

A generation of people who believed: 1) that house prices always rise faster than inflation; 2) that shopping is a leisure activity for which there will always be a new credit card; and 3) that imported consumer goods from emerging markets would keep getting cheaper and they could therefore always consume more might finally be waking up from a massive act of collective delusion. 

It is time to "wake up and smell the coffee" people.  It is time to start innovating, investing for the future and building our skills and expertise.  This is not going to change whatever government is in power and it is time to stop abrogating our personal responsibilities for our own futures; grow up people.  Less reality TV and shopping, more books and education.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12306336