Hublet 2

This is a Hublet. We are not quite sure what it is and what it does!

Shhhhh secret squirrel 2

It seems that the way to manage health and safety man is not to manage him but to manage the people around him, so I guess it was no surprise today to be called into the office and told that I could be in trouble if health and safety man read the Blot and recognised himself! As I have never identified him or the place of work I feel that this is unlikely that this would be the case. However, I am already beginning to feel that my ability to express my true views in relation to health and safety man is becoming more and more restricted as the popularity of this page has increased and as I do not wish to have to censor my ideas anymore it is with much regret that I announce that details of health and safety man and his exploits will no longer appear on this particular blot.

I wish to announce however, that a new and totally uncensored blog will be created dedicated entirely to the topic of health and safety man and other antics at work. However, this will be a secret blog and access will be by invitation only! Do leave a message if you would like to be on the list!

Lovely is not the only one having a joke at work

Well, I must admit I was well and truly wound up today by a health and safety joke. We all received this email:



Dear All,
I am sorry to ask you to consider risk assessment at such a busy time of year. However I would be grateful if you could cast an eye over the enclosed risk assessment which includes the areas of manual handling and infection control. Should you require more information on either the manual handling involved or infection control please do not hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks for your kind assistance
Best wishes Miranda

I must admit I felt a little peed off and didn't look at it immediately. However, temptation got the better of me and I looked at it at this afternoon! I was straight away on the phone to colleagues saying "can you believe this...." and then when I had nearly been incontinent with laughter I saw the fist line and realised it was a joke! I was had!

School / Department: Health Date of assessment:July 31st 2008
Activity / area: Movement of Mugs to the dishwasher\kitchen

Next review date:July 31st 2009 Assessed by:Miranda Cupp RA Ref No:1/J/O/K/E

What are the hazards?

1. Movement of Mug to dishwasher.
2. Infection due to non washing or incomplete washing of mug. Example 6 unwashed mugs removed from the “clean” cupboard on one occasion.
   

Who might be harmed and how?

1. The user of the Mug
2. Any innocent subsequent user of the Mug particularly those with poor immune systems

What controls do you already have in place?

1. and 2. The Provision of a dishwasher

Risk (H/M/L)

1. Very Low
2. Very high
   

What further action is necessary to reduce the risk to Low?

1. a.Weight training to increase the Power and endurance of the dominant upper limb of the mug user. b. mobility exercises for the joints of the dominant upper limb for the user of the mug.
2. Movement of the mug from the sink/drainer to the dishwasher (See advice above)

Action by whom?

1. and 2. The user of the Mug

Action by when?

1. and 2 Immediately

This of refers to the bad habits in the staff kitchen of leaving dirty mugs on the drainer rather than putting them into the dishwasher! As a post script, Miranda got a lot of replies but the best one was sent around for us all to see and is duly reported below!

From: Carlton Ruth Sent: 01 August 2008 08:53 To: Cupp Miranda RE: Risk assessment

Thank you Miranda for a most comprehensive report which highlights some very interesting concepts surrounding one of our most important tasks.

I feel that the issues raised should be formally discussed at the appropriate committee meeting. I therefore humbly propose that we form a sub group immediately to consider the issues you have raised and report our findings to the relevant committee who can then forward potential solutions to the relevant school sub group who in turn may formulate a plan which can be taken to the divisional board for amending before it can be produced for the school management team in readiness to present to the relevant University management group. I envisage that we should have an answer for you in approximately 18 months to 2 years depending on the dates when the groups meet and how many are in each group who like the sound of their own voice.
I hope this time scale meets with your approval.
Ruth

Work continues to entertain!

We were all quite surprised to receive the following email on the staff intranet the other day. I have of course removed or changed any names but I also felt obliged to modify a little of the language by the substitution of asterisks for some of the letters; something that did not seem to bother the sender!

PHILOSOPHY SOCIETY
Thursday
8.00 pm
Stallion Street
George Tailor (Brightside University)

On F*cking Animals

Bestiality remains a taboo sexuality in the UK, despite ample evidence that, at the margins, it is a small but active sexual culture. In short, we don't f*ck animals, and we don't support those who do, Indeed, Section 69 (I kid you not!) of the 2003 Sexual Offences Act restates the criminalisation of sex with animals in a restricted and phallocentric way. The problem with this state of affairs, even if you are not predisposed to curl up at night with a four legged loved one, is that the ethical foundations that such a law is based on are compromised, and above an aesthetic rejection, opponents find few sustainable arguments to support their opposition. In this discussion, I want to survey the failures to make ethically sustainable arguments against bestiality, offer some alternative arguments that might work better, and also explain why having a coherent and sophisticated view on bestiality is so important to understanding more mainstream sexual relations.

George Tailor is Reader in Sociology and Social Philosophy and Centre Director of the Centre for Research Ethics and Ethical Deliberation. His main research interests are in ethical thinking, sexual ethics and radical theories and politics.

ALL WELCOME

Of course this created a lively controversial debate over the intranet with each person including a duplicate copy of the original email in their reply; thus ensuring that the potentially offensive statement was repeated over and over! The funniest reply was this:

I went home last night and looked at my cat Treacle with new eyes.....then thought NO WAY!

The final email came from computer services requesting that the
discussion be removed from the Internet and placed on the discussion forum!

I don't believe it!

Well, this needs no comment; bearing in mind that the plastic soap dish has no electric connections of any description. (Mind you, I suspect that someone might have been playing a bit of a joke!)