Buying a badge

I had a little talk to the guy diligently selling  "Vietnam" badges.    Or, rather, I lent him my ear for a couple of minutes.  He was quite happy to tell his stories, but he wasn't much of a listener!  Just for the record, he was an infantryman in 1 RAR.
 
And I'm not sure that I like the design of the badge (but I didn't tell him that), although I assume that it represents the Long Tan cross.

Occupying seats

Noticed on a recent train trip. The passengers concerned quite deliberately placed just a couple of items on the opposite seat as soon as they boarded.


No, the train wasn't completely full.  Perhaps about 50%.    But I wasn't impressed.

Rubbish bins at your desk - and spin

So, the Tax Office is removing individual rubbish bins in its offices.   This is being said by some as being a belt-tightening exercise;  perhaps it is.  However, at the office in which I (sometimes) work, individual rubbish bins at the desk disappeared a long time ago. 


It was portrayed as an environmentally friendly move:   rubbish has to be disposed of into various recycling bins in communal areas.    However, individual boxes in which to place waste paper have been retained, which means the outcome isn't too tough as, in the office environment, a lot of the material that actually goes into the bin is in fact paper.

It seems it's all in the "spin".  Perhaps if the ATO  went on the front foot and told the world that the change it is making was for "environmental" reasons, the reaction would be better.

Seniors' parking

An interesting idea, reserved spots for "seniors" near the access ramps in a local shopping centre.  These positions were close to the spots for the disabled and the parents with children!

But, is this enforceable, as (at least, to date) seniors don't have a card to display?   Perhaps the idea is that it will be self-regulating!    After all, who wants to admit that they're unable (unwilling?) to walk a few extra metres?  I for one didn't have the courage to occupy one of the spots! Of course, getting a small discount at the coffee shop is a different matter since that's an opportunity not to be passed up.

"Dear Neighbour...."

It's quite common to get a little note in our letterbox, along the lines of, "Dear Neighbour, we're having a party, we won't make much noise, but apologies if you do hear something....". 


All very nice and civilised I think.   But never an invitation to join in!

Roofing and marketing....???

I just don't get it.   We're still trying to get some routine maintenance done on our roof.   I've previously posted about the reputation that roof people have as being hard to tie down, but when a leaflet arrived in our letterbox from a roofing business, and specifically mentioned the type of work that we need, I thought I'd give them a ring.
When I made contact (just a day or so after the leaflet arrived), a time to come around and have a look was set up.   He wasn't entirely sure that he could make it, but if he couldn't, he'd let me know.

So, what happened?  Yes, a "no show".   No phone call before or since.

So, why spend money producing a quality leaflet, and then pay someone to put it in letterboxes in the area in which you're seeking work...and then not follow up at all on the leads that are generated?

A chook stamp?

I was fascinated to receive a stamp featuring a chook at the post office.   Perhaps "chook" isn't the internationally-favoured word, as I see Wikipedia states it's mainly used in Australia and New Zealand (although sometimes also in Britain).   However, it's the term I was brought up with, and I see that even Australia Post uses it (see line 3 of their blurb).

But I digress!    My point is merely that it's an interesting subject for a stamp.

Prince Harry's Beret

Did you notice that, when he was here, no matter what uniform Prince Harry was wearing, the beret was the same:    the Army Air Corps' sky blue beret?
Got one here in the cupboard, dating from a long-gone era! (But not everyone is/was a pilot, of course).

Daylight saving

I'm all for daylight saving, but the timing of the switch-over this year was a little unfortunate so far as I was concerned.     We had arrived back from Europe the previous day, so I was severely jet-lagged  (as always happens to me when travelling from west to east).   But then to compound the issue with a further one hour time change a day later..... I wondered if my body clock woud ever fully adjust!


I guess it could have been worse - for example, if I had over-looked that daylight saving was about to start!

The Guy in the Doorway

We were walking through the local shopping area recently during the evening.  In one of the doorways there was a man apparently settling in for the night.  He approached us, but it was during the evening and even though the immediate area had some lighting,  the night was dark and there were hardly any people around.    It's one of those decisions that you make quickly, but we ignored him and walked on.

I thought about our actions later, especially as this week is Homeless Persons' Week:  see here.

We are often told that homelessness is an issue in society (leaving aside all those definitional issues....seems it's broader than "rooflessness"), and of course we are sympathetic to people who are in this situation.  However, ought our sympathy extend to putting our hands in our pocket each time we encounter someone who looks to us?

It may be callous, but these days I'm generally reluctant to respond to people - usually males - who approach me on the street.  Frankly, the lack of gratitude, verging on abuse ("is that all?"), that I encountered on a couple of occasions some years back didn't help.    In our society, the fact that a person is "on the street" seems to me often to be a symptom of other issues.  Yes, domestic violence is said to be one such issue (although I'm doubtful if it's the issue so far as the males who approach you on the street are concerned), but there are others:   drug addiction, alcoholism, mental illness and so on.   There are agencies who work with people with these issues, and although in this area, no matter how well-resourced the agencies are, it will "never be enough", the services are in fact available.   Thus, my view is that my support ought to be directed to such agencies - as it indeed is - and that I am not bound to apply a band-aid every time I'm approached.

Betting on the footy

Walking past the TAB last week, I see that you can bet on just about anything!

Gold Coast for premiers.....????

.... returning home

It's nice to have a few days away, but it's also good to return to familiar surroundings (and internet access at a respectable speed)!

Of course there are a few little issues:    the flight was slightly delayed (not a big deal, I guess);     charges at the airport long term car park have increased (AND there's now a 2% surcharge on credit card payments ...not sure if there's a debit card option?); and there were NO messages on the answering machine!    The latter is a bit of a blow to the ego.  Didn't anyone miss us?   (Just joking coz obviously everyone was reading this blog and knew we weren't here!)



EDIT - it seems that, had we been travelling a little later, we might have been caught up in more extensive delays:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-20/virgin-cancels-12-flights-after-check-in-system-fault/4832744 

Vilification

I won't enter the controversy as to whether a 13 year old girl ought to be sanctioned for the use of the word "ape", or comment on whether the AFL's response to such matters depends on whether you're Eddie McGuire or only a mere mortal.  I recognise the political imperative for the AFL to toe the line in such matters.    However, I do wait with interest for the day when they take a stand against the vilification of umpires - and in particular the amount of obscene language used in this regard at football matches.

So, I didn't get into Law School....

I remember reading something about it at the time, but it came back to me when I came across this blog.   It concerns a mother and daughter who sued Geelong Grammar because the daughter failed to gain admission to law at Sydney University.  The daughter had apparently been identified as "gifted" but it was said that she failed to apply herself to her studies.  The suggestion seems to be that the school didn't do enough to motivate her.   The claim against the school (based on breach of contract and misleading and deceptive conduct) was made despite the daughter achieving marks sufficient to gain admission to another law course (after completing the year at another institution).   To my mind, based on observations over a number of years, litigation has to be a last resort, so how this case even got to first base totally eludes me.  The tribunal threw it out.

Numerous thoughts passed through my mind when I read about the failure of the claim, many of which have already been aired in the blogosphere.   Perhaps it will suffice to mention:   a small victory for personal responsibility?    A commentary on obsessive parenting?   A Googleable-trail accessible to every future employer (even in Houston) - very scary! 

Counting the change

When I was much younger,  the person in the shop often calculated the change by taking the coins/notes out of the till in order from smallest to the largest.  Thus, if you handed over a $20 note for a purchase of $12.40, the shop assistant took the change out of the till in order, such as 10 cents, then 50 cents, then $2, then $5, and would often count the change to you as the individual coins (or notes) were handed over, "$12.50, $13, $15, $20".  I don't think they bothered to work out what the total was.

This skill has become redundant in an era where cash registers calculate the amount of change.  Hence I was taken aback (and pleasantly surprised) when the (relatively young) cashier in a supermarket recently handed me my change and counted it out to me in this way.

Perhaps the passing of this is not really a cause for regret, as the requirement for the cashier to key in the denomination of the note that they've been handed reduces the margin for "error".  I can well remember my mother being very upset when she was handed change in the milk bar for a 10/- note, yet she was adamant that she had handed over a £1 note.   Even today I get edgy when the cashier places the note in the drawer before taking out the change, especially if a modern till isn't in use, or isn't used to calculate the change.

Refrigerator buying

I wasn't sure that we needed a new refrigerator, but it wasn't really up to me.   And a family member was prepared to take the hand-me-down one. So, the process of buying a new one commenced.

Fortunately, the choice was to some extent dictated by the space available, on the basis that we ought to get the biggest one that would fit.    In fact this conveniently limited the choice to a range of refrigerators that, while slightly bigger than I would have thought necessary, were not excessive.  But as a result of a little research on the internet, by reviewing catalogues and by visiting bricks-and-mortar stores (four, by the time we'd finished!), we found out that there were at least  half a dozen brands with the desired capacity.  This was narrowed down to a short list of three, and eventually the favoured model was selected. 

None of the retailers stocked the full range of brands (perhaps understandably), but interestingly, Mr Harvey's franchisee stocked the most limited range (and was eliminated early in the piece both because of this and a strong perception that his pricing wasn't competitive).

Having made the decision, the next issue, obviously, was to get the best price.   As is well-known, all is not what it seems when it comes to pricing for whitegoods, especially regarding sticker prices.    The internet is very helpful here, and as it happened, the chosen model was on "special" at one of the retailers, at what the research had shown was a good price (similar to the best price available on-line).  Even so, we asked for the "best" price, and, lo, a few more dollars came off!

Yes, it took some time and effort.  Was it worth it?  I  guess you have to go through the exercise to decide what features you want - although how important these will be in the longer term is difficult to say (for example, is the shape of the door racks really that important?)  However, in hindsight, for a number of reasons, we're glad we didn't buy the first refrigerator we saw - although at the time we would have been satisfied with it.  But delivery is still a couple of days away, so the final chapter remains to be written.
 

Telephone numbers

I see that the authorities think we need more telephone numbers: see
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_410424

Of course, there's nothing wrong with mobile numbers expanding into the 05 range from the 04 range.  But the interesting thing is, as ACMA states, that's an additional 100 million phone numbers.    The existing 100 million will apparently all be used by 2017.   So, together with numbers already available, the total number of available phone numbers for mobile devices is going to be 200 million (perhaps just slightly less, if not every number is considered to be suitable). 

 Let's see now, that's 7 or 8 mobile devices for every man, woman and child in Australia?   Sounds like a growth industry to me!

Catching Up

I think it comes with the acquisition of "senior" status:   these days, probably with more available time, I do more "catching up" coffees than ever before.  And in several cases, these are with people that I once knew very well, but haven't seen much of in the intervening years (probably mostly my fault).

A few days back, it was a pleasure to catch up with David M.   We had coffee at one of the many nearby coffee shops.   Our conversation seemed to pick up just where we last left off, perhaps a decade or more ago.

Shoe tossing

A pair of sneakers has recently appeared suspended from a power line close to our house.   Of course, such sights are not uncommon, but because this is close to us, I investigated the possible reasons on Wikipedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_tossing).

 
It seems that there are numerous possible explanations, ranging from the existence of a nearby drug dealing centre through to a way of marking a gang's turf.   Is it a coincidence that the power line is close to a newly-opened coffee shop?   Is there something going on in our vicinity that we're not aware of?

However, I'm hopeful that the explanation is more benign, perhaps the outcome of some adolescent rowdiness!

(edited 11 Sept)

Convergence

I heard an address by a Samsung person at a meeting of the PC User Group on the way of the future - as seen by Samsung.   In a word, it's all about having "smart" homes (and offices and in fact lives) as a result of "convergence". By this, Samsung envisages that all our devices - preferably made by Samsung, who seem to be a little more advanced than some of the other manufacturers - will wirelessly communicate with each other with technology that in fact is already available.

One example given was that in the office, powerpoint presentations will be seen by attendees on their tablets, rather than on the screen.   In the home, our smart phones/tablets etc will be able to share images with the TV, and the TV will likewise be fitted with a camera so that it can act as a Skype terminal, or even as a monitor of what's going on in the room.   Our portable devices will be able to communicate with our heaters, toasters, stoves and other appliances, even the refrigerator.   Fear not if your toaster or washing machine isn't geared up to be controlled remotely, you'll be able to instal an adapter on the power supply that will serve the purpose.

The idea seems to be that, if you're travelling home, you'll be able to instruct the heater and kettle to turn on so that all will be in readiness for you when you walk in the door.  Likewise you'll be able to monitor your security cameras while you're away, so you can watch the housebreakers at work!  And refrigerators of the future will be fitted with bar-code readers to keep a record of what's put in and taken out, with the obvious consequence that you'll be able to ask it via your phone when you're in the supermarket whether you need to buy any more milk.  I've taken a couple of liberties with what was said in the presentation, but you get the drift.

To me, an interesting aspect is that none of these concepts involve any really new technology, just a somewhat more sophisticated application of technology that's already with us.    What these concepts mainly involve, it seems to me, is a mindset that is accepting of these things, although of course devices that are easier to use will assist.    Perhaps my generation struggles with the need for this.   We're content to wait until we arrive home to turn the heater on and to look in the refrigerator before we leave for the supermarket to see how much milk is there.    But I admit that I may have plateaued.   I wonder.   I think of our parents, or grandparents, who survived without mobile phones and were content to wait until they arrived home to make a phone call, or to use a public phone by the side of the road for an urgent call.  Are we heading for an era when it will be just as natural to check the amount of milk in the refrigerator on your phone as it now is to make a call saying that you're delayed?