Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Apparently this is true, although I don't expect anyone to come gushing forth with exultations about the joy they feel at my return to blogging.

Yes! I am back.

Now I realise that people will not have been waiting with baited breath for my next posting, but I do feel a certain amount of guilt for not posting for so long.

I have previously made reference to finding myself with not enough time to do things. Well, I am now at the stage of working my way out of this phase. Towards the end of last month, I was very busy. I was doing my usual full time work in the public service, but most evenings I was moonlighting for a few hours in another job. I won't go into specifics, but the area that I was moonlighting in is the area in which I would spend all my free time, if I could. But that issue is for another time.

What I found is that the time that I usually used for catching up on things, doing housework, looking after the kids, reading email, posting on my blog, etc., had disappeared! I also found that a hard day of mentally draining work, followed by a few hours of mentally energising, but physically draining work, was leaving me with no energy to do anything at all when I got home. I would get home, reheat my dinner (that was lovingly cooked by my wife hours before), eat said dinner, collapse on couch and fall asleep in front of the TV.

That was pretty much my life for the end of October and the beginning of November. Wake up, eat, work eat, work, work, eat sleep.

Anyway, I am through that period, but I still find my energy levels not what they used to be. I am gradually getting back to normal, but it may take a while.

So, essentially, I have not posted in such a long while, because I have been a lazy shit. Which I apologise for.

I will be resuming fairly regular posts from tomorrow. I have a fair bit of information to share with everyone about the Hippie at work, and also a few issues I wish to vent, and use my masses of readers as a sounding board.

Cheers,

DPS

Hypocrites in the workforce

The Hippie is a hypocrite. The Hippie is a hypocrite! The Hippie is a hypocrite!!

Let me say that one more time: The Hippie is a hypocrite!

My previous posting made some mention of the fact that I have joined the Union. The main reasons are explained in that post. Now the Hippie has mentioned before that she is an activist. She had previously asked me to grab her a Union enrolment form, which I had done. When I later asked her if she was going to join the union, her immediate response was..."It's expensive".

What? Expensive? She is on the same pay level as me, she has no kids, she rents a house out of town (cheaper rent) yet she thinks that a fortnightly fee of less than $20.00 is too expensive.

I have 3 kids and loads of debt (that we are gradually getting out of), but when I spoke to my wife about deciding to join the union, it was a no brainer. The cost is minimal to us.

Yet this "Hippie" who does not like large corporations or organistions, did not think it a priority to join an organisation that has the interests of the workers as it's core beliefs.

Fine...I never like the Hippie that much in the first place, but her value has just taken a plunge.

Yet, that was not all.

The Hippie likes to try and pass herself off as a self confident, mature woman. She has told me before that she does not play office games.

This afternoon our team managed to get ahead of our work allocation. For a good portion of the afternoon, the hippie was huddled in her cubicle corner whispering to another of our team mates. Everyone around knew that they were gossiping, and I can honestly say that I have never seen anyone gossiping in this office before. It just smacked of immaturity.

After the Hippie and her friend had their gossip fest, she told me that she was now all caught up on the office goss. I flippantly replied "what, who is sleeping with who?" She said "Yeah". I didn't want to know, and I stopped her by saying to her "Before you say anything to me, ask yourself if it will do any good. Will it make a difference to anything?"

That sort of stopper her in her tracks, but she really wanted to tell me the really juicy bit of gossip. She wanted to tell me that she knew who in our office has slept with everyone else. She wanted me to guess who it was, but I wouldn't play her little game. I can proudly say that I took the moral high ground, and boy did it feel good. She started saying names, telling me who it was not. Again, I stopped her and said, "Who cares? What difference will it make knowing that? Will it do any good knowing it?" She eventually realised that I was not going to give her the satisfaction of playing her game, and she shut up about it.

Man, did that feel good. You see, the Hippie is one of those self righteous bitches who have a belief that they are always right, to the point of self delusion, and that they can not be tricked. They make these kinds of statements with cheery smiles and believe that everyone thinks that they are nice. Unfortunately there are enough people that do not see past the smiles, and cheery voice, that people like the Hippie manage to get away with it. While she will profess one thing, she will do another.

The Hippie claims not to play office games, yet here she is trying to spread gossip.

I found it very easy to take the moral high ground in this matter. The fact that I do not like the Hippie aided me in this matter. Because the gossip was being offered by the Hippie, it was extremely easy to reject it.

I stopped her, and I would like to think that I made her think about if it was a good idea to keep gossiping.

Mind you, I am also fully aware that if it was anyone else, I do not know if my resolve would have been so strong. Part of me does want to know who has been sleeping with who, but at the moment my feel good, moral high ground, centre is winning.

DPS

DPS is a Unionist!

Ok...it has been a while since I last posted. I've gone through a period where I have found time to be very short. Have I been doing more than usual? No. Have the days shrunk? No. It just seemed to be a phase in life where no matter what you do, you never have enough time to do everything you want to do.

Anyway, enough of my winging.

I am now a Union member. Yes, I have joined the ranks of the great unwashed. I can proudly stand next to my fellow worker, and call them "Comrade". I have never been a Union member before. It is a totally new experience for me. I have never before really cared that much to bother joining a workplace union.

What has prompted me to do this? Three simple letters: AWA

These letters have struck fear into the hearts of many workers in Australia. They have existed for many years before, but they have never been that much of a threat. However, since Howard and his cronies introduced the current IR laws, AWAs have become a real threat to workers.

The public service organisation I work for, is trying to encourage all of its employees to sign AWAs. How is it doing this?

Well, I was recently in a meeting where one of our higher up managers explained to us the organisation's take on the available AWA model. He went to great lengths to explain that employees who are on the AWA will receive a significant pay rise straight away, with another pay rise on the year anniversary of signing the AWA, subject to performance standards (more on that below). Many people will see the immediate pay rise, and be lured by that alone. To me, this sets alarm bells ringing. If any organisation is offering a significant pay rise immediately, then you have to look at what the pay off is.

If, for example, a company is offering an immediate 10% extra to anyone who signs an AWA, then you can bet you ass that the AWA will remove or modify conditions, so that the organisation gains more than 10% worth of benefit for it. It may be difficult to identify exactly where the benefit to the organisation is, but trust me...it is there in one form or another.

This manager also went on to explain that the AWA is only really of benefit to those people who are good performers. The incentives, and pay increases are ony applicable to those employees who have performed to a specific standard (a standard that is not specifically outlined in the AWA). The implication here is that only poor performers, or bludgers would want to stay away from an AWA. Therefore, if you don't sign an AWA, then you are not a good worker.

There are many points that our manager tried to make about the AWA, but the one that really had me concerned was the provision that if you are signed onto an AWA, then you do not have the right to take industrial action. You can not strike.

Now I have never taken industrial action in my life. But, if there is one thing that will ever incite me to do it, it will be a large organisation trying to get me to sign a contract that will tell me that I can not do it. This is one of the main reasons behind my signing up to join our worker's Union.

In the past I have also had a fair amount of faith in the industrial relations of this country, and state. But now that Howard has continued to strip away the rights of workers, I feel that the government is not interested in protecting the interests of the common man. I am now of the opinion that the only people who will stick up for us is the Union, and I feel compelled take action to help have some say in the security of my working future.

So, am I becoming a Lefty Union Scumbag? Or am I just clinging to a last shred of hope, and trying to stick up for myself?

Reality TV...very real

Luci's struggles against Project Green Light Australia reminded me of my regular thoughts about the reality of reality TV game shows. I have my conspiracy theories about how rigged these shows are. Now the shows in question may not be directly manipulated to dictate who wins or looses, but the circumstances of the game can be adjusted to suit a particular contestant.

The grandaddy of reality TV game shows is Survivor. Every year a new wave of contestants try to outwit, outlast and outplay each other. But every year, we also see slightly different variations of the game each year. Tribes get mixed up at different stages, if at all. Tribes merge at different stages. There are different numbers of tribes at different points in the game. Because of the security surrounding the production of this show, no one outside of the production staff know what is up ahead.

But...how do we, the unsuspecting public, know that what happens has been planned right from the very beginning? I think it is obvious that the votes at tribal council are adjusted in the pot to be revealed in the most dramatic way possible. It is also very apparent that the host, Jeff Probst, has really disliked some of the contestants. Surprisingly enough, none of these have ever won a series.

Survivor is not the only reality game show out there that could be manipulating things, but as with any largest participant in a given field, it makes them an easy target. I don't want to target only Survivor (I am a fan of the show) but I am too lazy, and harried by children to get them something to eat (go eat some cardboard, kids), to properly research other shows.

My point still remains: How do we know that the sequence of events are not manipulated to suit particular contestants. How do we know that it is reality TV, and not just actors pretending to be reality TV contestants?

DPS

DPS

They go in threes

Has anyone else noticed that celebrities seem die in groups of three? There appears to be a trend that there will be a group of celebrity deaths within a week or so of each other. Of course, I can not bring up any corroborating data to support this statement, but it is my general feeling.

Having stated this, I am fully aware that Australia has had 4 celebrity deaths in recent weeks:
1) Don Chip
2) Colin Thiele
3) Steve Irwin
and now...
4) Peter Brock

Now, as far as I can predict, my feelings about celebrities going in threes is about to be shot down, or we are due for another two famous deaths within the next week or so. These will not necessarily need to be Australian to qualify.

We will have to wait and see.

DPS

The wonders of music

Last weekend I watched School of Rock for the first time. I know, I know...it's been around for ages. Its just been one of those movies that I never got around to seeing. Until now.

This posting, though, is not about School of Rock. This movie reminded me of my opinion of the music industry. An opinion that I would now like to share with you.

Record labels suck. Big time. They are companies that are following a business model that came into existence over 50 years ago, and are extremely reluctant to change, no matter what technological changes occur.

The media often run stories on the decline in CD sales, and how the record companies are blaming the proliferation of illegal MP3s on the internet.

I can not remember where I read it, but I have read someone pointing out that the sales of CDs has been artificially inflated due to the number of people replacing their vinyl and cassette tape collections with CDs. This replacement phaze is apparently petering out. Therefore the number of CD sales has been dropping, as people are scaling back to be only making new purchases, not purchases to replace vinyl LPs or cassette tapes. Yes, some CD sales wil be lost by free mp3 downloads, but how many people in the past have had a taped copy of a CD they "pirated" from a sibling or a friend? I know I have.

If record companies want to win back market share from internet downloaded music, then they need to be offering something extra that you can not get via download. Not just a CD with a bit of cardboard acting as a cover. Something else needs to be offered. Something that you can not access through downloading the songs. Some bands have made their record companies follow this path e.g. Pet shop boys re-released some early music, and added a booklet for each CD (slotted into the cover). these types of booklets can be a fan's nirvana, providing extra background and inside information on the music and the band. Not many bands have done the same thing. Why would people bother to pay for a CD, when they can get a copy for free, either by downloading it, or burning a copy of a friend's CD.

MC Lars' song "Download this song" is a great thesis on the new music distribution model, and the hipocrasy of the major record companies.

$18.98 Iggy Pop CD?
What if I can get it from my sister for free?
It’s all about marketing Clive Davis, see?
If fans buy the shirt then they get the mp3
Music was a product now it is a service
Major record labels why are you trying to hurt us?
Epic’s up in my face like, “Don’t steal our songs Lars,”
While Sony sells the burners that are burning CD-R’s

As a side note, I find microsoft's Digital Rights Management a laugh. Windows media player will not let you directly copy a protected CD (e.g. straight from CD-ROM drive to CD-R/W drive). However, it will not even raise a murmer if you rip the CD to your hard drive, and then burn the CD's contents to a blank CD-R or R/W. Great protection!

Anyway, That is my first major issue with the music industry. I was reminded of my other beef while I was watching School of Rock.

My other beef is the lack of originality in many of today's groups and/or atists.

Where are the supergroups? While the majority of the music industry's new artists are RnB and rap fuckwits, there are no new supergroups like the days of old (60's-80's), like The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Genesis, etc. The only thing we have today, even slightly resembling the supergroups of old, are...those same supergroups themselves. Revived, and pushed back out onto the world stage in a last ditch effort to prop up the record companys' bottom lines. There are fewer and fewer bands and/or artists with the ability to put on a good show these days. Even the middle aged reanimated groups of yore are not as energetic as they used to be.

Tied in with all this is a problem that I refer to as the lack of virtuosity in bands today. We rarely see bands with members who could be said to be a virtuoso of their instrument. I remember the days when concerts used to have a certain period when each band member spent time doing a solo, showcasing their virtuosity on their instrument. We don't see that anymore.

All we get now in new bands is RnB and Rap shite, or bands emulating the sounds of the 60s and 70s, like Wolfmother (blurgghhhh!) and Jet, for example. The record companies are not interested in nurturing and developing new and different talent. They want to be able to quickly produce a product that they know will work, because it sounds a lot like something else that was very successful in the past. They are not willing to take a risk and try something new. They will keep trying to find acts that will reproduce a sound that has already prooved to be successful in the past.

Of course, there are always exceptions to any rule, as there are some groups and/or artists that do not fit into this mould, however on the whole, my setiments hold true.

There is nothing new in the music scene. Except for Ultimo, of course.

DPS

I can't believe it!

Well, I guess I shouldn't be suprised. It was going to happen sooner or later. Someone has posted the video of Steve Irwin's death on Google Video.

I'm not even going to comment. Each individual will have to make up their own mind if they want to see it or not.

DPS

Funny

Check this out. This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

The Princess strikes again

Naomi Robson has once again shown her arrogance and willingness to blame others for her mistakes. Robson was apparently forced to apologise for a "tacky" move during a broadcast outside Australia Zoo for Today Tonight. She appeared on camera in a khaki outfit, with a live lizard on her shoulder.


Come on! What the fuck is this woman's problem?

What is going on in her precious little brain that makes her think that this is in good taste? This just smacks of the media trying to emulate the big story of the day. There is no sincerity in this type of move. But, I guess I should not be surprised by this. I have heard a number of stories about Robson, and her "Princess" attitude. But, the commercial channels themselves have been doing this kind of thing for years. Who remembers the man who was lost in the middle of the desert in remote WA a few years ago, and when he was found by a commercial camera crew, they didn't whisk him to a hospital straight away in their helicopter? Oh no. They got him to walk around for a bit first, so that they could get some shots of him from their helicopter, then do a story, and then they were kind enough to actually rescue him. I can't remember which channel it was, but it was the sort of thing that is not confined to one particular show.

There are many other examples of news and current affairs reporters' egos getting in the way of their judgment, and trying to maximise the "exclusivity" of their story by doing things that are either stupid and ill considered, or just plain fucking dangerous. Not dangerous for themselves, of course, but for someone else "in the line of fire" (remember Mike Willisee and the kids held hostage by muderers near Dorrigo/Armidale, NSW).

Back to Robson's crass display, I love this: "In a rare victory for Channel 9, viewers even went so far as to switch stations to rival A Current Affair, which overtook Today Tonight in the official viewer ratings for the night." Nice to see that viewers showed their contempt for Robson the best way for Channel 7 to sit up and take notice.

Another good indication of the public's lack of tolerance for this type of thing, is from an online poll conducted by The Daily Telegraph. Now the Tele's readers are not usually considered the most enlightened lot, but even they were not appreciative of the khaki appearance: In an online poll 71 per cent of Confidential readers thought the khaki shirt and lizard stunt were too crass so soon after Irwin's death, with just 28 per cent saying it was a fitting tribute to him.

Now, if an inbred pack of Telegraph hick readers feel this way, then I feel confident in saying that the rest of the educated public would feel even stronger about it.

If all that isn't bad enough, when Robson was forced to apologise, she tried to shift the blame onto, a) her wardrobe assistant for the khaki outfit, and b) a young Irwin fan.

Oh come off it. a) We all know that Robson would not be seen dead on screen in any outfit she hadn't personally approved, and b) we also all know that Robson wouldn't be seen dead on screen with any live animal that she hadn't personally approved.

I don't know about you, but I'm not buying any of it. We all saw how she was dressed during some of the broadcasts from Beaconsfield (not live to air, but as reported by other sources), I have heard too many other stories from reporters about Robson's behaviour to believe that she was not in charge of the whole episode.

To be partially fair, though, I have to admit that I have had no personal dealings with Naomi Robson, and that she may very well be a very nice, polite, considerate lady. Then again, she may just be the most stuck up bitch that the western world has ever seen.

You decide.

DPS

PS. Strangeness...I've searched online for an image of Mike Willisee, but can't find one of him anywhere. Well, nothing recent. Has he managed to wipe his previous career as a current affairs "journalist" off the pages of history?

Dreaming of good customer service

My previous posting about telemarketers, or CSRs, seems to have pervaded into my dreams. I woke up this morning on the tail end of a dream....

I was at my grandmother's house, only the lady in question was not actually my grandmother (both of whom have passed on), and we were in the U.S.A., but I was calling her grandma, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Anyway, my 'grandma' was talking about how she had recently fallen in the bathroom and had been unable to get help (how this situation was resolved was not discussed). It cam out in conversation that she now had one of those emergency beacon distress alarm thingys, in case it happened again.

I found it in her dressing gown, hanging on the back of the bathroom door. In my dream, this beacon looked like a mobile flip phone. I opened it to check that it still worked, and saw that it sent a signal. I don't remember specifically how I saw this, but I knew it had happened. After I knew that it had sent a signal, I though it would be wise to call the monitoring people, and let them know that there was not a real emergency. So, using the emergency 'phone', I called the monitoring people.

I explained to the man that answered that there was not an emergency, and that we had just briefly opened the 'phone'. I heard him mutter something, then pause, and then say something like "thank you for calling". I asked him what he had said, and he refused. Then I figured out that he had said "Wanker". I told him that I hear what he said, and I knew what it meant, as I was Australian, and not American (remember, my 'grandma' lives in the U.S.A.).

The bit that tells me that my previous posting has pervaded my dreams is that I didn't go off at this CSR. I calmly talked to him, and explained to him why it was inappropriate to call people a wanker. Unfortunately, I do not know how the conversation ended, as I woke up part way through, but it seemed to be going well.

I am slightly disappointed though, that I didn't fly off the handle. I mean, if you can't do it in your dreams, when can you?

DPS

A man of the people...NOT

John Howard has once again demonstrated to the rest of the world, that he is definitely not a man of the people. In parliament today, he was speaking of the tragic death of Steve Irwin. I wasn't able to catch all of what he was saying (kids were making noise) but I heard him refer to Irwin as the "Crocodile Man".

CROCODILE MAN? You've got to be kidding me. It really irks me when people like Howard (sorry Mikey_Capital, I think Beazley is just as bad) try to show how in touch they are with the everyday people of the population. All it takes for their shallow attempts to become unstuck, is for them to make a simple mistake in their grandstanding speeches.

To me, if you can't get the name of someone right, then they are obviously not all that important to you. How dare Howard stand up in parliament and espouse how great Steve Irwin was, and then not even bother to get his common name correct.

Kids on the 'Net

My daughter came home from school on Friday, excited to tell me about a web site one of her friends had found. It is a short flash cartoon series that they had been looking at during school time. I don't know if you have heard of it. It is called Salad Fingers, by David Firth. It can be found, amongst other things, here. It is building up quite a following, including parodies, Fan Fict, clones, Lego models, and served as the inspiration of other animations. It even has a wikipedia entry. Just do a Google Search for "Salad Fingers", and you will find your bounty.

Now, have a look at some of the episodes. When I saw them I thought, "weird, but cool, and yet slightly disturbing, which can be cool too." My second thought was, "the teacher let the kids watch this at school?"

I don't personally have a problem with it, but I could imagine teachers and some parents getting quite offended if they knew their children were watching this at school. I asked my daughter what her teacher was doing when they were watching this, to which she informed me that her normal teacher was not there, and that the Computers teacher was taking them at the time. She didn't enlighten me as to what the Computers teacher was doing, but she seemed to imply that the teacher knew what was happening. The teacher probably just thought the kids were looking at harmless fun animations, without really looking at what they were doing.

I found the whole thing quite amusing, and I was happy to see that my daughter seems to be developing the same appreciation for the darkly absurd that I have. I find it funny what kids come home from school with knowledge of something totally unexpected. Most times you will find that it is knowledge that has been gained from other children.

I do have one doubt about this whole thing, though. It clearly shows that the children are not very closely supervised when they are on the internet at school. This could be a worry.

DPS

P.S. Another great flash animation I have seen is the Banana song at rathergood.com, One of my all time favourite internet songs. It gets stuck in your head. I challenge you to watch it, and then not have "I bought the wrong bananas, I bought the wrong bananas (I bought I bought the wrong bananas)" going through your head afterwards. Go on, I dare you!

The Joys of Telemarketing

In my previous post, I stated that I am not in the business of writing on the IT industry. However, I do like to keep my finger in the water, so to speak, and keep up to date. One of my previous positions was as a department's IT Co-Ordinator. It is not as technically minded a role as it may sound. Part of my keeping in touch involves subscribing to some email newsletters, one of which is ZDNet AU's Weekly Insight. Recently they sent out a story about outsourced call centres in relation to an SBS programme, Storyline on Aug 24.

Call Centre staff (often referred to as CSRs, but usually as Telemarketers) are one of the most maligned groups in the modern day work force. They are seen as a plague on society. Especially when they call you at inconvenient times, and are obviously speaking from India or Malaysia, yet try to tell you they are in Australia (one of the biggest give away is the time delay. If I don't get an immediate response when I answer the phone, I hang up, before they can say anything with their 3 second delay).

I used to work in a high volume call centre for one of Australia's main ticketing companies (Ticketmaster or Ticketek, you decide...I'm not telling). I am currently working in a small team in a large Public Service department that requires much of my time on the phone. I have also worked in a carpet cleaner's 9 person call centre, cold canvassing the phone book. Out of inbound and outbound calls, I much prefer inbound.

I am going off at tangents here, which I apologise for (but I will probably continue to do). The point I am trying to make is as follows:
1) Yes, CSRs call you can be very annoying
2) It is even more annoying when they are from overseas
3) I have worked in a call centre, so I can appreciate the CSRs frustration too.

Apart from hanging up on overseas telemarketers/CSRs, I tend to treat those that I do talk to with a certain amount of respect. When they start their spiel, I politely interrupt them, usually with "Look, I'm sorry but I am going to have to stop you there. Thank you for calling, but we are not interested." Sometimes I may have to reinforce this to them, but I always try to be respectful. I know that they are only doing their job. They may hate it just as much as I do. The company they work for may be pressuring them to get their quota of leads, or sales (highly likely). They probably don't have much of a passion for what they are doing, and are just going through the script. This may be the only job they feel that they can do, and will comply with any directive given by their employer, if they felt their job was at risk. Even if they hate it.

I have been in this position (making outbound calls to cold contacts). It is not fun, but it is also just a numbers game. When you are doing it, you know that for every X number of calls you make, you will have Y successes. So to get your Y*2 number of sales, you have to make (on average) X*2 calls. So you just trudge through them. Well, that's how most people do it.

You do find people who, while they don't like the work, are able to sound like they are enjoying it. You know the people I mean. They are the ones who can take the time to have a conversation with you, instead of just launching straight into, and sticking rigidly to, the script. Strangely enough, it appears to be English females who work this way more than any other demographic group. That may just be my skewed perception, but that is my belief. I think you can really feel the difference when you are talking to someone who is intelligent and has a decent command of the English language.

Basically, the point I am trying to eventually get around to is that the people calling may be having as much fun as you are. I know friends who are abusive to telemarketers, and who have a variety of "ruses" to get back at them. Some people have even developed a type of "Anti-Telemarketing" script. This is unnecessary. Treat people with respect, and most of them will treat you with respect too.

I don't like overseas CSRs calling me either. And my quick hang up is the only form of retaliation I take out on these people. I have been on both sides if the cold contacting CSR, as well as that of the customer. I am not claiming to be unique in this, but it has given me an understanding of the pressures and hassles of both sides. If you abuse the caller, you are going to darken their day, and also darken your own. Is it worth it?

DPS

Best Design App Ever

I am not in the business of writing about the IT industry, but every now and then, an application comes along that will totally revolutionise the way people work. There have been many writers in the IT world who have claimed to have found the next killer application. Some of them have been pretty impressive. Some have certainly changed the way a lot of people work. Few, though, have made such a huge leap in usability and functionality as the application I am about to reveal.

Many of us will look at CAD (Computer Aided Design) packages and think "What the...?" and just stare dumbly at the screen trying to figure out how the hell this thing works. NapkinCAD is a CAD interface that I think just about anyone can use. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that if you can use a pen and paper, then you can use NapkinCAD. It really is that easy. The interface is incredibly easy and intuitive to use. Check it out and you will find yourself drawing up detailed designs in a matter of minutes.

Bridge building 101

This is a continuation of my previous posts regarding Indonesia, and is in response to Mikey_Capital's remark to it.

I agree that Indonesia is VERY important to Australia, but the way the Howard government is doing things is not in Australia's best interest. Howard has managed to undo all the good that Keating had done in regards to Australia's relationship to Indonesia (in fact much of the south-east Asia region).

Keating was building bridges to these countries in a manner that encouraged mutual respect and economic cooperation. Then Howard comes along and undoes it all.

Howard doesn't seem to know much about proper, effective democracy, as is you scratch my back - I'll scratch yours. His method of diplomacy seems to focus on manipulating opponents into positions of weakness. The problem with this is, that when you opponents find themselves in positions of power, they exploit it to you detriment. Now, I don't know the full situation of Howard's relationship with Indonesia (and I'm sure Mikey_Capital could fill me in), but it wouldn't surprise me if that is the situation we find ourselves in: Howard has effectively burnt bridges to Indonesia, so now the only form of discourse he understands is threats and intimidation - exactly the sorts of tactics used by the Bush administration.

DPS

Learning at a snail's pace

I have been released to the public! Our team have started to be rotated off the phones, and sent out to deal with the general public. We are to be rotated on a 3 weekly roster out of the phone area. Apparently our names were randomly selected to take it in turns. My name was the first. I say "apparently" our names were randomly selected because I think it is obvious that they have selected the team member who has mastered the phones the most. Yes, yes...I know. I'm a conceited prick, aren't I? 8)

Anyway, I thought I would be able to deal with our public customers and that I would have someone to sit with me, and make sure I didn't totally balls anything up. I was very much mistaken. Not about having a 'buddy', but about dealing with the public. Not for me, is the pleasure of being abused by a poor soul sick of beating their head against the brick wall of the public service. No. Not at all.

Instead, I have had the thrill of processing paperwork. I can't even make my week sound more exciting by listing off more than one activity. Paperwork is it! Processing forms EVERY day.

Actually, I tell a little lie. I did spend some time during one day, with the mail lady, learning the intricacies of processing the mail for our office. What a challenge. It wasn't too bad, she knows that it is piss easy, menial work, but sometimes it is good to do work during which you can tune out.

But, apart from that, I have been processing forms all week. And not even a variety of forms. I have only been processing two types of forms. I tell you what though, I am now the office expert at these two type of forms. YAY me!


Things have progressed slightly today. I have been allowed to deal with people who have some into our office, but only if they have one of the two forms in question to give to us. This then makes me a hobbled customer service officer. I ask the people waiting to be served "is anyone here lodging a *insert cryptic public service acronym* form?" That is all I can do.

Of course, this doesn't stop people from asking me other questions. Many times today, I have had to tell people I am new, and essentially have no idea what to do. Which goes down surprisingly well. I have even explained to some people that they are better off talking to someone else who will give them the right information, instead of me making things up and getting it wrong. I usually say this with a smile, and people don't mind.

The thing that annoys me the most, is when I get someone who I ask if the have a specific form to lodge, to which they say yes, but when I get them to my desk, they start with "I have this letter..." AAAARRRGGGHHH! It is soooooo annoying. Once they are at my desk, I have to try and deal with them as best I can, which usually means finding someone else to sort them out at my desk, while I stand around like chopped liver. Admittedly, some people do have the forms I can deal with, and then they have other questions, but I don't get the people who flat out lie to me. Why do they do it? Do I have "SUCKER" tattooed on my forehead? I guess I can understand it, these people see me as a shortcut to service instead of waiting in line for ages, but they don't seem to think about the inconvenience it causes other people. I do find a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that sometimes I have to wait a while for another CSO to be available. This can be enough to disadvantage them in relation to the queue of waiting people. Of course, I am polite to them while they are waiting, but inside I am thinking "Sucked in".

I digress. My main beef in this post is the lack of variety in my work, and lack of ability to do a large portion of what the other workers do in my office. I know that there is a lot of support for me, and the others in my team. My co-workers know that there is a hell of a lot to learn, and everyone is always happy to help out. But, I have let my team leaders know that I am ready and willing to learn so much more, but things are going so, so slowly.

Anyway, I will see how the rest of the week goes. Who knows, maybe one day, I will learn enough to actually serve a member of the public for real! Wouldn't that be exciting?

DPS

We are the new Indonesian state

Australia is now a part of Indonesia!

Well, not quite. But it seems we are heading this way. Indonesia seems to hold a lot of sway over the Howard government. It has probably been happening for a while, but only recent event have brought it out into the public. We saw how Indonesian politicians oversaw the Howard government's decision making on the West Papuan Asylum Seekers. We also now see the Indonesian government feeling bold enough to criticise the defeat of Howard's Refugee bill. (I know it is not really a defeat, but close too it.) The Indonesians say that by not passing the bill, Australia is making it easier for terrorists, and that we "opened the door for a new wave of asylum seekers, including illegal migrants who have been in Indonesia for years." (SMH, 15/08/06)

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda

Two things of interest to me here. One: Which country, out of Indonesia and Australia, has had terrorist attacks carried out on its soil? Two: If Indonesia knows there are illegal migrants on its soil, why doesn't it do something about them, instead of trying to threaten Australia with them?

The only two reasons that Howard withdrew the refugee bill before it went to the senate, is because he didn't want to face defeat, and it gives him the option of reintroducing it again at a later time.

It seems that if the Howard government is not trying to appease the almighty U.S. of A., then he is trying to appease the Indonesians.

Before too long, it seems that we may end up being Indonesia's newest state.

DPS.

To Hell in a Hand Basket

I am fed up with politicians in this country.

Now I think that by now, even the most apathetic of voters must realise what an outright liar Howard is. His FUD campaign against Latham ran on the population's fear of rising interest rates. He led the people to believe his government could ensure that interest rates would stay low, and that it was assured that they would rise under a Latham Labor government. What do we find now, but that interest rates are rising under the Howard Liberal government. We are also seeing the Howard government repeatedly and blatantly flaunting the pretext of democracy, and creating its own legislation without showing a single bit of regard for the interests of the population they are supposedly governing for. If any interest is shown from the Howard government, it is towards kissing Bush's arse.

I won't go into details, but things are continuing to go from worse to worse under Howard. I will get strong disagreement from my friend, Mikey_Capital, but I do not think that the Beazley opposition is offering an attractive alternative.

All I see from Beazley et. al. is a thuggish contradiction of most of the Liberal policies. Anything that Labor does not disagree with, they propose stronger measures in a sick game of political one upmanship. He is just as unable to read the public mind as Howard is. "Oh, Howard has announced stricter security measures. I think people want this, I had better propose even stricter measures." No, Beazley we do not want stricter measures.

Unless Labor can come up with some constructive alternatives to the Liberal's policies, stop the thuggishness, and stop trying to out do the government, they will not be getting my support any time soon. Unfortunately, though, the minor parties are becoming so ineffectual, that voting for them will not do any good. Fortunately for me, though, I am in an electorate that is represented by an independent MP who seems to be able to achieve more for their electorate than they could as a member of the Labor or Liberal parties.

But, this means looking out for the local level, and giving up on the national and international politics of this country. What am I to do?

This leaves me in a position of despair. This whole country (and the rest of the world) is going steadily down the gurgler. My only consolation is my belief that things do need to get worse, before they can get any better. The rest of the world, particularly the non-rational thinkers are still driving things in a bad direction. There are plenty of people out there, with rational thought, who are crying out for things to be fixed. There is just not enough of them yet. By entering into a name calling, insult slinging argument with them, a-la Beazley vs Tuckey outside parliament, does not pay credit to either side. While this continues, the downward spiral will also continue. We will reach the inevitable stage where the irrational will be forced to say:" Ok, things are really fucked up. Lets set things right." Until things are bad enough that even they can't deny it, we will continue down this road.

I just hope that we get there sooner rather than later. Then we can start putting things right again.

DPS

Secret problems

I have a secret, and a problem. I'm not allowed to tell it to any one, the secret, not the problem, and that is a big problem. But then, the whole thing about secrets is a contradiction. I mean, what is the point of keeping a secret, if you can't tell anyone? But then you have the problem of a revealed secret. Once a secret is revealed, it is no longer a secret. You can try to get the person you have told it to, to swear to secrecy too, but you have already broken a confidence placed in you, so you are not setting a good example. The trust placed in you by the original secret holder has been shattered. You may think "It's OK, this person won't tell anyone", but the simple fact that you have already told someone else, means you have broken a trust.

Is this all making sense? No? Good.

Then you have the problem that I now have. I have announced that I have a secret. Simply by making that announcement, I have subconsciously placed an expectation in you, as the reader, that I will eventually reveal the secret in question. Why is this so? I guess the thought is "He has revealed he has a secret. Why would he reveal that, if he didn't want to reveal the secret itself?"

Well, part of me does want to reveal the secret. And herein lies another contradiction. I want to reveal the secret, but I also know that to do this will break the trust placed in me. I also realise that part of my wanting to reveal the secret is to show that I know something that you don't. But if I do reveal it, then you would know it too, and therefore my advantage of superior knowledge would be immediately lost.


There is also another fact to consider. The fact that your inner sense of self worth is improved when you demonstrate to yourself that you are capable of, and worthy of, keeping the trust placed in you. This is not something that you can express to someone else, without appearing at least a little but conceited or smug. So I will say nothing more on that, except to say that this is the reason that I am going to disappoint some of you, and not reveal the secret. Part of me is disappointed by this, but a bigger part of me is glad to show that I can be trusted to keep a secret.

(There is also the issue of a secret that has been discovered by accident, but that is a whole other can of worms.)

DPS

Betrayed!!

Television has made a liar out of me. **mumbled curses about TV stations rescheduling unannounced**

Ultimo's appearance on Video Hits has been rescheduled to the 26th, two weeks away!

Curse you Channel Ten!

DPS