ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades OT: This is how silly it's got

It's getting ridiculous. According to the sort of people who would ban sitting in a fire engine, remove swings from playgrounds, and wrap kids in cotton until the age of 18, the whole world is a dangerous place and we must have legislation. (Everything these days seems to herald a call for more laws -- Personally I think we already have far too many laws.)

How on earth did any of us who grew up in the 1960s/1970s ever survive?

Paul,
Mate, I couldn't agree more!.
This is one of the reasons that we have such poorly adjusted young adults these days, because of this molly-coddling (sp?).
Being prepared for the real world these kids will experience when they leave the safety of school, should start at school at a young age.

To put it simply Paul, we used things like initiative and common-sense taught to us by our parents.
I used to go out fishing and hunting in Temuka as a young fella and never once got hurt doing it (although I did get a fish-hook stuck in my finger once).
Seeing kids here with fishing rods these days would be a rarity, rivers are deemed too dangerous for kids to be anywhere near, you might drown or even worse, you might actually catch something, which would be terrible, because (so we are told) the only place you can safely get fish from, is a supermarket.

There's the problem. Common sense seems to have become extinct in some quarters.


That's where the shift in responsibility has come. When you and I were young, kids were expected to go off and play and the emphasis was on teaching us to be sensible. We had the public information films on TV supporting that notion, e.g.

The Spirit of Dark & Lonely Water, 1973


Some people do seem to have become totally paranoid. Is it surprising that we then hear that kids are growing up without immunity to certain bugs because they're been living in an environment which is too sterile?

"Fires don't observe petty rules, why should those that fight them" ?

Nice one Trumpy. "Fire-fighting" involves everything from Monsoon buckets & spraying hoses, to educating the kids.

Sounds like you're settling in to the new job nicely.

Also sounds like the rules need some input from people who have actually fought fires.

You Go ! !

As a quite professional pc guru, you could handle the NZ FF website, make a part for kids, with forum.

The friend's kid 2,5 years old, hungs on FF website, watching cars all the time.
Wouldn't it be great to make an actual website for kids?

That would make many new bloods.

Any changes since?

Yes there have been changes,
My mate Tony, has resigned as the sole Senior Station Officer.
I was asked if I wanted the rank, I told the Chief Fire Officer no way.
Any jump in rank means more paper-work and more responsiblity.
I never even intended to go any higher than Senior Fire-fighter in rank.
After we lost Phil as SSO to cancer, I was asked to take on the rank of Station Officer.
I stayed with Phil in hospital in Christchurch as he was treated there, he went for an operation to remove a tumour and a week later we buried him.
Tony was a Station Officer at the time, he moved up to SSO rank and he has indicated he has had enough after 38 years service.
I've been involved with the New Zealand Fire Service for 17 years come August, although I am employed by them once again, I have no idea how Tony did it.
He must have a very supportive family.
Because when the siren starts up or the pager goes off, the rest of your family suffers when Mum or Dad shoots off to a fire call.
Food for thought really.

As silly as things get.
I recieved a letter from the NZ Fire Service about a week ago that they would no longer be having the position of Fire Safety Officer here in town.
I could, if I wanted to, move to Christchurch and serve here, from there.
I told them to get real.
Some accountant from the NZ Fire Service HQ in Wellington must have seen the fuel bill I clocked up as a Volunteer Support Officer (seperate to Fire Safety duties) and said no way.
I'm one of a few people that holds a TELARC registration for filling breathing apparatus cylinders, in this area (Ray will know what I mean), so therefore everyone in the district loses.
One thing though, that my father told me years ago, if you have a trade, son, you'll never be out of a job.
I've still yet to prove him wrong!.
I started last weekend at a local newspaper printing company as a Maintenance Supervisor, caused by this thread.
The reason I haven't been around here much lately is that the place runs 24/7 and only really shuts down on Sundays for the "Big Clean-up".
I'll tell you guys a bit more about the place later on and I'll get some pics of the stuff I'm talking about, so that we are all on the same page (no pun intended).

Sorry to hear about the Fire Services' short-sighted decision Trumpy. Does that mean that Ash-Vegas hasn't got a local Fire Safety Officer ? There's a good example of cost-cutting over-riding common sense huh.

Are you working at the Ashburton Guardian ?

Kiwi,
Oh well mate,
It's no real skin off my nose, if that's what they want to do, who am I to argue?.
No, they are having a different officer cover this area from Christchurch.
I'd be interested how that will pan out, given the distance and the area that this job covered.
Ahh, accountants, what would we do without them?.

Yes Kiwi,
Although the company I work for is a subsidiary(sp?) of the Ashburton Guardian, I work for GuardianPrint.
Lots of gear there to be constantly repaired.
I currently have a data-logger on the Mains as I type this, lots of funny things going on there.
I'll get some pics sometime this week and show you all the stuff we use.
Bear in mind the factory is being expanded in the near future, the existing one is only 5 years old and is already too small.
BTW Kiwi,
One heartening thing upon starting there, was noticing that the place has a Vynco switchboard unit, CT chamber (400A) and meters.
So it will be interesting to open that up and have a look inside, when I get time.