- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
I have two young daughters, and apparently each of them has a one-third chance of living to be 100 years old. They have some advantages in the longevity game, not least of which is being female. Females around the world live statistically longer - much longer - lives, possibly due to males in general indulging in riskier behaviours (and smoking and drinking more). The cement industry is now much more concerned with the overall health of its employees than previously, and not just at work. I recently read an interesting article by Jessica Salter1, who gave a few useful tips for anyone who wants to increase their chances of living to be 100...
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
I recently enjoyed the film Bladerunner 2049, where in an early scene, one replicant (synthetic human), smashes another through a wall apparently made of gypsum wallboard. A bit later on, the surviving replicant takes off in a flying car. While some things change, some things stay the same.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
It’s recently been discovered that spending more time outdoors could boost your happiness as much as quadrupling your disposable income.1 The same study also suggests that having quality sleep and being satisfied with one’s love life are the two most important contributors to ‘living well,’ while job security, the good health of close relatives, chatting to neighbours and having a strong local support network are also factors. Even sitting down to eat socially with family and friends can have a strong influence on your happiness.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
First of all, I think it’s useful to decide whether there is such a thing as ‘Human Nature.’ By Human Nature, I’m thinking about the innate essence of what it is to be human - something that cannot be changed, or at least cannot easily be changed. I have the feeling that the way that you are as an adult human has essentially been hard-wired into you by your genetics and by your life experiences up to that point. What you are now is the combination of all of your ancestors back through time, and all that you have ever experienced yourself - your childhood, schooling and all of the learning and culture you have ingested and retained, including all of your rules of thumb, mental models and prejudices that help you get through the day. Inasmuch as there is such a thing as Human Nature, it is the sum of everything that has gone into making each of us who we are.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
As editorial director of Global Cement, I need my email address to be ‘out there’ so that anyone that wants to contact me can easily do so. Lots of interesting cement industry people do contact me, from all over the world, asking questions, sending the latest information, proposing an article or presentation or asking about forthcoming events. That’s fine - I welcome these ‘serious’ emails. However, I’ve recently realised that I was spending too much time dealing with spam. I might receive 10,000 emails each week, and my junk filters were set at a level that I had no false-positives. I might have to wade through 400 emails each day to find the good stuff.
