Firstly, the serious bit.
I was interested to read an article by John Naughton in the Observer today. He talks about a fake tweet about an explosion in the White House from a hacked news twitter account creating chaos, as automated financial systems picked up on the tweet and started selling shares making stock markets plunge (although recovered quickly again once it was realize that the news wasn't real). He goes on to talk about just in time as a basis for business (very briefly, the principle of just getting what you need when you need it, which saves you from having to stockpile materials or goods, and makes things more efficient.
John rightly points out how fragile this is as a concept - as an example, supermarkets only have a few days of stock at any one time, so if there is a problem at any point in the supply chain they rely on as a result they are without food. I recall a construction scheme I was involved with around two years ago, when nearing completion we were advised of a delay on one of the final elements of the build, a set of number plates to go on the fronts of houses. When we asked why we were told it was "due to the Japan tsunami". Unsurprisingly we challenged this, but the contractor explained the sign makers bought their sign paint from a company in Japan, and the tsunami had indeed interrupted the business of producing paint, presumably because they were busy dealing with the aftereffects of the tsunami.
Perhaps we ought to consider how reliable just in time is. Construction projects often run over time and over cost, would it actually help to move away from just in time and stockpile more? It might mean that we need to pay more for overheads such as site storage but would it lead to better value for money overall?
Okay, now the not so serious bit.
Why do adults have to get things that are worse for no reason?
Why is there kids "no tears" shampoo but ours stings like jimminy cricket when it goes into our eyes?
Furthermore it's easy to deal with kids bubble bath - it comes in a fun bottle with a cartoon character or a seafaring chap on! Why is ours complicated? You have to decide if you want to relax, or be invigorated and pick an appropriate one. I just want some bubbles.
There's too much choice when it comes to bubble bath. The variety from one brand can be revived, rejuvenated, refreshed, calmed, stimulated, pampered, relaxed, soothed, recharged, or nourished. Surely a lot of these are the same? If I wanted to be rejuvenated then surely being recharged would do? And what if I wanted to be calmed and pampered? Do I need to mix them?
And what about medicines? Calpol (kiddy painkiller for those non-parents) tastes nice. Until I was forced to learn how to swallow pills due to being prescribed eleven a day at one point, I used to crunch them or open them up and empty the contents onto my tongue which tasted disgusting (and is quite dangerous - if you have pills to swallow then SWALLOW THEM!) - why can't ours be in a strawberry sauce!
Anyway, changing subject, allow me to present to you the first of many (possibly) BLOG OF THOG WORDSEARCHES!
What's the first word you spot in the wordsearch above? Leave me a comment and let me know.
