Sunday 21 June 2009

Hundertwasser and the Village Green

Here's one I had to share., so lets move fast before I'm caught surfing the net. Most people are aware of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000).  One of the many fascinating visions of the future this great artist left behind is his model of a village, which can be viewed in the Kunsthaus in Vienna. Coming from a belief that all horizontal surfaces should be returned to nature it is stunningly beautiful, suggesting a possible way to strike a delicate balance between nature  and our constant intrusions on it. 


This and other interesting natural roof projects along with lots of other smart and quirky eco info can be found at ecogeek.org. Check out also the  report on the shop in the UK which collects energy from passing traffic. Got to go..  someone coming!

Tuesday 16 June 2009

The feeling for money or how I lost my commission.

So as the recession bites, yes even here in the complaints department we have begun to feel the pinch. The boss sent me a list of ways I could cut costs. Everytime you listen carefully to what your customer is telling you , he says, you can learn something. By acting on this information you avoid making the same mistake twice and therefore save money. It's simple, he said , just do your job properly and everything else will fall into place. The boss said people are fed up with lies and greed and just want some straight forward good value at a fair price. "Honesty of effort Mr Crab", he said, "that's what impresses the customer". I know the boss is not much of a footie fan, but he obviously is a fan of John Giles. I always thought JG had exclusive rights to that "honesty of effort" line.
I told the boss what I thought of the present economic situation. Everyone has to lower their expectations I said, people expect too much from every situation. Weddings that cost €30/40,000- , Confirmations and Communions that cost €10,000 +, pasta dishes that cost more than €10-, pizza that costs more than €10-. "People have totally lost their feeling for money Boss," I said. "Couldn't agree more Mr. Crab", he replied, "delighted to hear you agree with me, that's why I have decided to stop paying monthly commission and instead make a donation to charity , I am sure you understand the need for such actions in these trying times .
Of course we will also continue our better value offers throughout the year so our customers will have some relief from this dreadful downturn."  "Onwards and upwards Mr. Crab " he chuckled, as he grabbed his golf bag and disappeared out the door...

Thursday 4 June 2009

Ain't no mountain high enough.


Applegreen/Petrogas have enlisted two teams to take part in the Focus Ireland Four Peaks Challenge this June. The brave participants will climb the highest mountain in each of the four provinces over one week end, a total climb of 11,937 feet! The participants have not only prepared for months to have the stamina to complete the challenge, but are also required to raise a minimum of €9,000 in donations just to participate. All money raised goes to Focus Ireland, a charity that helps those that are homeless.

Over the course of the weekend our two teams will climb a total of 11,937 feet and cover 800 miles by bus.

The adventure starts on Friday June 5th with an assault on Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil 3,414 ft (Co. Kerry); this is followed by Mweelrea 2,688 ft (Co. Mayo) on the Saturday morning. Slieve Donard 2,796 ft (Co. Down) will be tackled at 6:00 am on Sunday morning and the last mountain (phew!), Lugnaquilla 3,039 ft (Co. Wicklow) will be climbed on Sunday afternoon.

I wanted to go too but the boss said that as I have problems negotiating the office stairs with an armful of files he felt it was safer for me to stay in the complaints department. I have to admit that as the details of the weekend emerged I was hugely relieved that I was not going.

So best of luck to our two teams and I am sure there will be some interesting stories after the gruelling weekend climbs.

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