Into The Blue

OK, I admit it, I'm spoiled. I grew up in Germany.
I was a geeky kid that could write software before I knew that girls are good for more than dumping itching-powder down their T-shirts.
I could set up and operate a PA system before I even was a teenager. While other kids were playing soccer, I was trying to get my Commodore 64 to do 3d graphics or building a lightshow for a friends band.
With puberty came Rock 'n' Roll. And then touring. But that is another story...
Anyway it's no surprise I ended up beeing an Audio and Video engineer, even if it was a long and winding road.

As a young, aspiring musician (well not really aspiring – to busy living for that), I had many different jobs and therefor aquired many different skills to complement what I had learned at engineering school and on the road as a Soundtech and roadie. From construction to demolition, from driving a truck to driving a forklift, from factory work to computer tech, from barkeeping to Dj-ing, whatever I was doing, there was always something to learn from the experience.

Anyway, to get back to the point,
I'm spoiled. I grew up in Germany.
I grew up in a place where powerlines run underground, trains run on time, roads are built (and maintained) for speeds over 200 km/h and Cars are built that much better.
Actually, now that I think about it, pretty much everything is built a little better..

Which brings me to todays topic:

The three little pigs
or a comparison of building things

I've been living in Canada for a little more than two years now and still my attention stumbles over little things on a daily basis. And, since I am a techie, a lot of those things are related to how things are built. Now,many of you will say that, when it comes to engineering, comparing anyone with German engineers is not a fair match. But I'll do it anyway! After all, Germany is my base of reference. (I'm spoiled – remember?)

So, one of the most obvious things that caught my attention, was the way houses are built.
Now I'm well aware of the fact that wood is much more plentyful in Canada than pretty much anywhere else in the world and therefor a cheap material for building.
However at some level logic must kick in. Does it really make sense to build a house in a way that needs major renovations every 20 years or so, that will completly burn down in any fire and be flattened by every storm, just because its cheaper? Won't you end up paying twice?

This is what I call the "three little pig paradox"
Now I have written about this before, but this time I'd like to take a closer look.

Okay, I can't get over the three little pigs thing. But come on, it's a nursery rhyme and every child gets the message.
Everybody? Really? So why the hell are there scenes like this:

 "I'll huff and I'll puff ..."

Note that the trees are still standing, but the house is flattened.
Makes me wonder how many times this will occur when you live in the tornado-belt...?
Building insurance must be hell.

Yes, I know there are no tornados in Germany.
But there are storms with windspeeds that are right up there. (Of course their cars are even faster)
I actually had a really hard time finding pictures of storm damage in Germany.
Most of the pictures I found were ads for roofing companies and looked something like this:

Note that in this before/after pic the trees are trashed (and needed to be cut up for removal) while the house only had minor damage to the roof.
Alegedly this was taken after a record breaking, hurrican-like storm in Germany.
All of the pictures I found in my pain staking research (funny what an empty google search box and a joint will reveal) had one thing in common:
Usually, only the roof was damaged and the structure stayed unharmed.
Once again I'm aware that a Tornado will do significantly more damage due to its aerodynamics, but I dare to say that this type of building would still be habitable if you dont mind broken windows and a slight draft in the upper floors..

But I guess that's what you could call home builders poker:
"I'll build a house for 350000 and maybe, just maybe, if no Tornado comes by and flattens it or no fire burns it to the ground because of a faulty toaster, it'll last for about 15 years before I have to invest another 150000...."

Or you could build it storm-proof and fire-retardant for 500000 and sleep easy because it'll be at least 30 years before you start to think a new paintjob wouldn't hurt... and your grandkids might at some point want to redo the wiring...

Go figure.

Just have a look at these pictures:

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
I often wonder why there is such a difference in what I'd call 'quality of work' between two countries that both rightfully belong to the big league of nations. It can't be about wealth or knowledge, so what is it? In todays interconnected world anyone can benefit from the mistakes of others (...if they're not to busy laughing about them).
Product availability also can't be the issue on this global market, nor can it be the level of education in those countries.
So, in a brave effort to solve this dilemma, I've developed a theory.
I believe it comes down to mentality, to an attitude, to the deeply endoctrinated understanding what is good enough, to the summed up influence of your surroundings.
If you grow up in an environment where good enough means 110%, where there is no such thing as close enough (no wonder they don't play horseshoes) ,where being on time means being 5 minutes early, where one minute late is to late, well, I'd say that will have some kind of effect on the way you set your standards.
So where in one country it's drilled in your head to be exact, punktual and thorough, in the other country the dominating doctrines could be to be polite, considerate and friendly. So what you get are two groups of people with two different sets of priorities, views, skills and attitudes. And this is the point where my theory comes full circle. (Kinda nice how that worked out.)

So where in Germany people protest because the national railways has an average delay of 3 minutes, the train schedule in Canada only reads: "frequent service"
Where the Canadian patiently waits in line, the German will use his elbows to get a better position.
One country has better engineers, the other better hockey players. One is efficiant, the other friendly.
Both like to drink beer and travel to other countries.

Cheers!