Here's a very entertaining TED talk from Mike Rowe, host of the "Dirty Jobs" TV series. It's got some very funny moments, but also makes some important points. It's worth 20 minutes of your time, I think.
Mike Rowe is one of the people in media I genuinely respect, because he puts his money where his mouth is - he never pontificates, he gets stuck in and does things. His Foundation, with its emphasis on trade schools and blue-collar education, is a very important contributor to our economic future. Full marks to him.
Peter
A classic radio moment with a guy whose job involved getting stud turkeys ready to make their contribution to the artificial insemination part of producing those Thanksgiving turkeys
ReplyDeletehttp://www.radiorodgers.com/Turkey_Fluffer.mp3
The funniest part is the disconnect between what he was told would be done compared to what he was actually doing.
ReplyDeleteSome times the bloody direct method is kinder than the bloodless one.
Mike is a treasure.
He is and always has been down to earth. And he doesn't pull any punches here either!
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more. Mike Rowe is my hero. I had never heard his "War on Work" theory before, but it makes sense to me, and it meshes with the ideas of a lot of "contrarian" economists. Like how the minimum wage laws have destroyed entry level jobs. And, probably, in turn, has resulted in the shortages of trades workers that Mike Rowe talks about. I saw a slide once that said it takes 11,000 electricians to build a modern semiconductor fab. Where are we going to get 11,000 electricians all together at one time in one city?
ReplyDeleteSheep farmer here, so I’ll watch this with interest, and comment.
ReplyDeleteWeather is coming and I have ewes to muster, so it’ll have to wait. Just finishing the morning coffee and waiting for daylight.
As far as the “marking” of lambs is concerned, he’s not far off the mark…
ReplyDeleteHe’s just as much on the money when he talks about the denigration of work. How many people do you know who are looking forward to being useless and unproductive. They call it “retirement”, but useless and unproductive is what they actually mean. I’m not talking about changing careers, changing the way you work and the way you contribute… because your physical capacity has changed.
I’m talking about the people whose ideal is to spend 20-30 years doing nothing that doesn’t please themselves. Nothing that isn’t comfortable and entertaining