The wonders of technology and logistics

It is constantly surprising how progress is not necessarily any better than what went before.

Placed an order on Amazon last week and this is how the delivery was tracked.
Monday order placed and although the item is marked as being fulfilled by Amazon it is actually coming from a supplier.
Tuesday the log states " handed to carrier", in this case UPS ,who presumably collected from the supplier in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
Wednesday our parcel arrives at the ups depot in Dewsbury  at 1.41 pm having travelled just over six miles. Having had a rest it leaves Dewsbury at 11.30 in the evening to travel to Preston and makes good time on the 60 mile journey arriving at 12.35 am.
Later on Thursday it leaves Preston to travel to Manchester 32 miles away and arrives at 2 am.  It then presumably waits for daylight before entering on the final lap to Warrington just under 20 miles away and is delivered at 12.30 pm.
Warrington is just over 60 miles by road from Wakefield but our parcel travelled close to 120 miles. 

It would appear that UPS use a network of depots instead of direct deliveries.  Difficult to understand how this bypassing of the major hub of Manchester to go to Preston thus doubling the distance makes much sense logistically. Nor did the time taken from collection from supplier to the first depot seem reasonable.  It certainly doesn't improve the customer experience.

Work. What is it?

Do you know what work is? I want you to show me.

Seriously my idea of work is what you do, sometimes reluctantly, to earn money to eat and do all the other necessary things in life.  If you do something for no pay then it can't be work, can it?

If you don't have a paid job and spend your time sitting in the garden then clearly you are not working.  But if you get up and pull up a weed, is that working or does it need to be more than one weed to qualify as working.

A woman does housework for no pay but it still counts as working,but a man washing up is not.
The college professor in his study thinking about his next paper is working but the old man in his armchair musing on the meaning of life and perhaps death, is not.
The artist in his studio is working but the weekend painter is not.
The author in his office writing the outline of his/her next novel is working, the retired dustman writing his memoirs at the kitchen table is not.

All essentially the same activities but regarded differently.  Strange innit?

And then there are professional footballers: are they working when they are playing?

I wonder if I could get funding for a doctorate thesis on this?