Saturday 27 November 2010

Office mining.

Since everything outside is a globally-warmed white, I have designated this weekend Office Purge Weekend. I'm down to the 2007 layer and still digging through the paper. It's not a simple job, some things have to be kept for tax purposes, some things are commercially confidential and have to be shredded before disposal and some things I'm turning up are a total mystery to me.

What normally happens is that the piles get re-ordered and re-stacked, very little gets disposed of and the place is just as full but tidier. This time I am determined to reach floor level in at least some of the piles.

Well, apart from a break for a smoky-drinky later this evening.

In the meantime, Frank Davis is opening a discussion on smoking and lung cancer. It sounds as if it could be very interesting, especially since everyone who dies of any smoke inhalation from any source is now claimed as a 'passive smoking victim'. Yes, if you die in a fire from smoke inhalation, that now counts. Even if the cigarettes survive unscathed.

There will be little internet activity from me today because I'm about to put a large paper pile on my desk for sorting so I won't be able to see the screen. This is real world data mining.

There could well be a drunken post later and I'll try to respond to comments and Emails too.

You know, I think the bottom layers of paper have turned into coal.

10 comments:

Pogo said...

You know, I think the bottom layers of paper have turned into coal.

Well, fergodsake don't burn them... Think of your carbon footprint... Think of the chiiillldddrrruuunnn!

:-)

Anonymous said...

In the US the CDC requires all death certificates to have a check-box for "died of smoking related causes" - and doctors are required to reach a minimum quota when filling out the forms.

In Pennsylvania, US, there was even a lawsuit from a lady whose husband died while working on the roof and falling off the ladder to the ground below. The box was checked "smoking related causes" - because someone mentioned the man smoked.

That's why everyone is dying from smoking and SHS and all the other things - because government makes it a requirement that it be made official in the statistical records - so nobody can ever argue the point of data being unfairly and incorrectly collected in the first place.

David Davis said...

Good on you old fella.

Hope "the data" are not too boring.

Please resurface sometime before Mon am as I need to read you, to stay sane.

nominedeus said...

Is taking time out for a smoky drinky a wise course of action LI after all with all that paper about and an ignition source and accelerant things could get a little risky for all those 'important' bits of paper!
Enjoy your evening!

Dave H. said...

Many news reports this morning focus on excessive death rates amongst certain NHS Trusts.

The official reply from the Trusts themselves is (wait for it) that many of the prematurely dead would have been smokers and thus, by implication, pretty much terminally ill by definition anyway.

To lead with it publicly, they must have been confident that this was a politically acceptable explanation. No doubt they took into account current attitudes amongst the 'informed' towards smoking.

Neal Asher said...

Personal anecdote: they put lung cancer as the cause of death on my father's death certificate. He had cancer of the pancreas and liver initially, and then a few spots appeared in his lungs. They were disappearing under treatment when he died.

Anonymous said...

Father-in-law used to smoke one fag at night before going to bed, until he was diagnosed with asbestosis. 10 years later he lost the fight, causes of death (in order of severity):
1. Pulmonary Embolism
2. Smoking
3. Asbestosis

FFS!

PS - Just shovelled a foot and a half of Global Warming off the path - it's fry-up time!

Chief_Sceptic said...

Well, mate - if you had wood burning stoves like I do, you'd really appreciate the spare paper - I burn virtually everything ! ...

As for "AGW" - I've now lived in Norway for 13 years, and it's been progressively colder every fucking year !!! ...

Anonymous said...

Good morning! (please note time of comment .....) Trust that the Smoky-Drinky went well and that the head is not suffering too much ......

The debate has begun over at Frank's place already with Chris Snowden already putting his side "for the prosecution" and comments a-plenty already showing. Hope you'll chip in with your four penn'orth, particularly on the scientific side, which is, after all, the main thrust of the debate. After your head has cleared and a couple of strong coffees, maybe???

Leg-iron said...

Nomine - the smoky-drinky was elsewhere, so the paper piles were safe until I returned.

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