The deadline for 100,000 covid tests per day expired yesterday and we'll see later whether the target was reached. It has always been a maxim of mine, derived from my time working in IT, that you always under-promise and over-deliver. That way you avoid criticism, keep everyone happy and get a reputation (possibly undeserved) for being a fast worker. Sure you can be forced into an over promise, but it's wise to say it's a tall order and you're probably not going to meet it, but you'll try, thus reducing the expectation. It's all about managing expectations - as a rule of thumb, always add 25% to the timescale for any project, as that gives you a fudge margin, as well as enabling you to improve the other two sides of the project management triangle (cost and quality) if you have the available time in hand.
Many of my friends will already have seen this, but I did my own flypast tribute to the excellent Tom Moore last night.
Talking of expiry, both my driving licence and passport expire this year; driving licence in June and passport in August.
Many of my friends will already have seen this, but I did my own flypast tribute to the excellent Tom Moore last night.
Talking of expiry, both my driving licence and passport expire this year; driving licence in June and passport in August.
I thought I'd get in early, just in case there's a screw up along the line plus, if possible, I'd like a nice burgundy (the colour, not the place, or wine) passport, if there is still a stockpile, rather than a drab black/blue one.
Note: should the colour burgundy have a small b, or a capital B? If it's a capital B, then it's unique among the colours in being capitalised, but Burgundy is a wine from Burgundy and the colour burgundy is called burgundy because it resembles the colour of Burgundy wine. If you were to say Burgundy coloured, comparing it to Burgundy wine, it would have to be capitalised, because that's the way you spell Burgundy wine.
Note: should the colour burgundy have a small b, or a capital B? If it's a capital B, then it's unique among the colours in being capitalised, but Burgundy is a wine from Burgundy and the colour burgundy is called burgundy because it resembles the colour of Burgundy wine. If you were to say Burgundy coloured, comparing it to Burgundy wine, it would have to be capitalised, because that's the way you spell Burgundy wine.
The driving licence was a nightmare when I tried on-line - the system just wouldn't recognise me, so I had to fill in a form and take it to the Post Office. There's a section on the form where you have to tick the reason for renewal, but there isn't a box for the fact yours has expired - I even got Hay to look it over and even she (who has more patience with bureaucracy than me) couldn't find a logical box to tick. Anyway, I took the form into the Post Office and was pleased to discover that you can do it on-line there and the bloke behind the counter does it all for you. All finished within about 5 minutes.
The passport was another nightmare, as the online system refused to accept my photo without providing a reasonable explanation. Thankfully you can override the rejection and I availed myself of that option. I've since received notification that my old passport has been received, my new application has been approved (including the photo) and the process of renewal is under way.
Talking of expiry - I believe the time of the slim margin companies has ended, for the foreseeable future anyway. It seems that the companies having the biggest problems during this emergency are the ones which were in a heavily competitive market where the ethos is to pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap on a very slim margin. They're simply not robust enough, in terms of having deep pockets, to withstand the lockdown, unless they were some of the few that managed to remain open. Whether they rise again in a different form is moot, but it will have to be under another name and with no debts. Doubtless new entities modelled along the same lines will arise, but they too will disappear if we have another pandemic, which we most certainly will at some time.
Talking of expiry - I believe the time of the slim margin companies has ended, for the foreseeable future anyway. It seems that the companies having the biggest problems during this emergency are the ones which were in a heavily competitive market where the ethos is to pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap on a very slim margin. They're simply not robust enough, in terms of having deep pockets, to withstand the lockdown, unless they were some of the few that managed to remain open. Whether they rise again in a different form is moot, but it will have to be under another name and with no debts. Doubtless new entities modelled along the same lines will arise, but they too will disappear if we have another pandemic, which we most certainly will at some time.
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