Saturday 21 March 2009

Woolworths - Jobsworths

This is a really boring video of some of a trip from work to home, but you know, I thought I'd put it on. ONLY watch it if you've got nothing else to do. You have been warned!

At the end of it, I stop at Woolworths, which is a different entity here to the UK. What happened in Woolworths put me off my stride with finishing off the trip home movie.

They have a policy, like most of the major department stores and supermarkets of randomly selecting shoppers at the tills and asking to search their bags. I have a policy of refusing. On this occasion, I was taken on. The problem for me isn't so much the fact that they are implying that they think the person they pick on is thief, nor so much that they obviously make a value judgement based on the way I look, but the fact that having asked you if they can look inside your bag, they refuse to actually open it themselves because they're not allowed to. So I just say that they are welcome to look, but I'm not going to open it. OOOOOOh it makes me mad!

On this occasion a manager was called, I told him that I wasn't going to wait while the store decided what they were going to do about me. I said that I have nothing to hide, am sick of being treated like I'm a thief, and if they weren't going to look in the bag, I would leave. 'Are you going to look or not, cos I'm not opening it?' 'No I'm not going to look' ...So I said good day and left.

What gets me is the illogic of it. If I WERE a thief, all I'd have to do is what I do anyway, and I could walk out unsearched. So what's the point? The only people who wont object will be the people that have nothing to hide anyway!

Aaaargh!

Anyway... if you're at a loose end... press play.

Friday 20 March 2009

I don't have to vote here! Yeeedihar...!

This Saturday is election time in Queensland. You may or may not know that the Australian electoral system is split into federal, state and local government. The federal and state governments are both established under the Australian constitution. This election is a state election.

The Queensland legislative assembly is constituted by 89 members who serve terms of 3 years. The election is between the LABOR [sic] party and the LNP (Liberal National Party)

Voting is compulsory if you are a citizen, and you get fined if you don't. This may seem a little authoritarian, because it is. However, its worth noting that the 1995 state election in Queensland was initially won by the incumbent Labor party with Wayne Goss as the premier, by 16 votes in the district of Mudingburra. In 1996, the court ordered a re-run of the Mundingburra election and the result went the other way (to the Liberal party).

The new government was a split of 44 seats to 'the coalition', 44 seats to Labor, and one independent. (The coalition was a group of centre right parties that include the Liberal party and the National party. This agreement held - more or less - since 1922. Notably, under the notorious Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the National party broke the agreement and governed under their own banner from 1983 to 1989. JBP was removed from power in 1987 when accusations of corruption were so intense that remaining was untenable. You remember the blog I did last year about the mines in Collingwood park? Houses were built there because he took back-handers to allow it against the recommendations of Ipswich council...allegedly! Wayne thinks he was a saint! Yeah right Wayne.. )

Anyway, in 2008 the coalition agreed to merge and form the LNP. The front man for the LNP is a very self opinionated man called Lawrence Springborg. On the telly, he claims that HE formed the LNP. I knew nothing about them, so I looked it up. Given that they first hung out in bars together in 1922, that seems a little over eager. I looked up their site just now to write this, and the much advertised site is non operative. Ooops!

The Labor party is headed by a woman called Anna Bligh. The Labor party is the dominant party at the moment and the federal government is Labor. The Australian prime minister is Labor, (Kevin Rudd). To date I have NOT seen anyone use the obvious strap line 'Ruddy Hell'... but time will tell. It is a very true fact that it is next to impossible to maintain the euphoria that got you into power. Promises are SO much more real at the beginning for some reason. Even given that its politicians that are making them, people still seem to be surprised when they don't come true. Perhaps that's why people read trash love stories and go to church and do the lottery. They like to 'imagine' outcomes that they 'know' aren't going to happen.... and then they allow themselves to be disappointed when they don't.

Anna Bligh is in that position. There's been a lot of expenditure on infrastructure under her tenure, and much of it is over budget. This is bad news for her. When the PM gave away billions of dollars a little while back in an attempt to restart a flagging economy, it didn't go down all that well. He gave everyone a kickback and as you can imagine, even though it was only a few hundred bucks each, it came to a lotalota money. With bank bailouts on top, the Australian current account has blown out to the tune of 7% of GDP. ($19.3b in December) At that time, the chief economist at Lehman Brothers, Stephen Roberts said that the record deficit contained the potential for more pressure on Australian borrowers as the international crisis in credit markets escalated. (Huh... what does HE know eh? By the way, did you know that Lehman brothers is now trading as Neuberger Berman?. Their website says 'Our unique culture creates a performance-driven environment focused on meeting the investment goals and objectives of our clients. Clients interests [er making money] are aligned with those of portfolio managers [who like to make money too...?] who are majority owners of the firm and whose compensation is tied to the firms success'. Hmmn, so they learned a lot in the process of sending the global financial system into a tailspin eh? They go on to say 'Our commitment to developing customised investment solutions has always been a source of pride to our firm'!!!!!! Hey, just a weeny little thought, but wasn't it precisely that created the complex financial investment instruments that tied everyone in knots and led to the US sub prime crisis? No? OK, must have got the wrong end of the stick. That's the problem with being an oik.

Anna Bligh became premier the day before we arrived in QLD, so we have an illogical affinity to her. She was sworn in after the resignation of Peter Beattie who had been premier for 9 years. His wife, a doctor said he was a 'tired, exhausted man with bags under his eyes'. Apparently she was rather a brusque person. He made reference to her in one of his ending speeches: "I thank Heather (his wife was called June... ha ha just kiddin') in particular for putting up with me and giving me that frank advice from time to time like you're fat and overweight and you've got bags under your eyes, you should keep your speeches shorter and all those wonderful things that my wife gave me advice on". GOD don't politicians put a gloss on things!

Mrs Bligh is one month older than me, and graduated with an arts degree in 1980. (Quick eh!)
It's interesting that the LNP are criticising her 'appalling handling of the economy' because before she was Premier, she had a spell as Minister for Finance, during which time QLD had an economic growth rate more than double the rest of Australia. Actually, like a lot of politicians, she was moved about so much that its surprising she didn't lash it up more than they claim. She was only in that job for 6 months before they made her deputy premier, treasurer and minister for state development. Australia has had a chequered history with debt, usually punctuated by periods of high minerals exportation. We just had one of those, and its just stopped.

Maybe one day, they'll start investing in creativity....

Incidentally, I accidentally threw away Daile's registration papers. She's not on the electoral register, so she doesn't have to vote here either! Yippededodar!

Er...update (next day). She does have one. And she did vote... honest!

Saturday 14 March 2009

How slick was this?

So a ship carrying 50 containers of Ammonium Nitrate lost 31 of them overboard in heavy weather. Not just heavy weather in fact, but the downgraded category 3 cyclone euphamistically known as 'Hamish' about which we'd all been hearing all week. This cyclone was a category 4 cyclone the day before with winds of up to 230 kph and large tracts of the North Queensland coast had been evacuated in preparation for what might happen if it came over the land. On the way past the hull, the containers ripped a hole in it. It happened off the coast where Matilda and I camped on Stradbroke Island.
Personally, I think this is a reflection on our priorities socially, as much as the particular ship. The financial pressure to go faster, with more cargo, means that accidents like this are going to happen. Was it ever thus? I don't know, probably, and the perpetrators always seem to get away with it!
Swire, who are the company who own the ship made a profit payable to shareholders of £545 m in 2008. They are being told that they MAY have to pay a fine of 'up to' $1.5m (£700k) IF they are seen to be in breach of environmental laws. (So that'll be fixed up then) They are also being told that they MAY have to pay for the clean up, (or will be pursued for the costs) currently estimated to run to circa $700k (£330k). Probably it will be covered by their insurance. Ooh they must be SOOO worried! I wonder if their insurance premium will go up?
In the meantime, Queensland's pristine beaches look like this:







When the ship made it to Brisbane, it had another go...



The politicians said (initially) that it was only 20 tons. Later they admitted that it was actually 42.5 tons (after they had measured it more accurately in port) Now this is a really small amount given how much the ship was capable of carrying. Given the volume to weight ratio of oil, this works out a space of about 2m x 2m x 15m that has been emptied, or about half a container's worth. Not much when you look at it like that. But it means that it released 61 thousand litres of it, and whilst crude oil is not so likely to spread as thinner fuel grade oils are, the picture above shows that it does still behave in a very similar way, so each litre goes a long way. The slick above is probably only 5 or 10 litres!

Really unimpressed!

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Hello stranger...

What's occurring? Well, the boat is at the boat yard being looked at. Daile and I took it down to the river a couple of weeks ago to see how it ran and it didn't run all that well. The smell normally associated with turning over an non starting engine was not there, and had been replaced with an entirely new smell (to me) of 'old fuel'. What happens is the fuel degrades in some way when it's left. There's no water in it or anything, its just OLD. Consequently nothing works with it, and now that I DID actually run it, albeit only for a few minutes, we have to have the carbs cleaned out, and the idle jets cleaned out. Same with the tank, which needs cleaning and flushing as well as the fuel lines rerouting as they were in the wrong place. (Fire risk). This motor is about a 1.8, four cylinder (V) and each cylinder has its own carb. It's also a two stroke. The mechanics all seem to speak of it fondly as a 'Looper' (unless I'm misinterpreting their wistfulness and it's sympathy!)

Once it's back here, (next weekend) and we know it's all working OK, then I can spend a bit of time on the bodywork knowing that I'm not waisting my time, or what little money we have for this now... since I still haven't managed to find a job.

This afternoon whilst in the garden finishing the kids tree house, I brushed against the leaf that this fella was on. It was like being bitten by several ants at the same time...and i got a reaction like a load of nettle rash. The raised lumps have very fine hairs in them that don't show on this picture. You have to get them off by putting gaffa tape over them and removing it quick like you were de-hairing your arm.



You only have to look at it to know not to touch it... I just didn't see it that's all!

Daile is working down the coast at the restaurant Carlene is the manager for, and spends her day on the till. We're waiting for the paperwork from the British Psychological Society to confirm her registration with them (£500 fee) which should arrive at the end of March. She then has to register with the Australian equivalent ($1000 fee) and when that comes after several months like this one, she then has to register with the Queensland equivalent... guess what... ($1000 fee)
And then, she might if she's really really lucky, be able to use the qualification to actually work as a psychologist.

In the meantime, I'm not getting many interviews, so I'm still plugging away at developing the website. I hope to have it online in a couple of weeks or so. I hope that it works out...
or that something does! It's mainly due to this, that I've not been writing here.