tonygoodson

I'm Back! Productivity discussion with Daryl Cook

"Well hello there, It's been a long long time. How ya doing, I guess I'm doing fine. It's been so long and it seems that, It was only yesterday. Ain't it funny how time slips away?"

So let's get back to this blogging and podcasting thing, starting with some Productivity, Technology,and Life, with my mate Daryl Cook.  Just the raw sound to listen to, no intro, no music, let's just get it done.  And no show notes!

Have a listen and tell us what you think, what you'd like to hear about.  Should we go back to The Productivity Show?  Expand to other subjects?  What do people want to listen to?  Do they want to listen!!

Click here to download the interview mp3

Happy Australia Day – Time for a New Flag

What makes Australia, Australia? What has the Union Jack on the Australian flag got to do with modern Australia?  Not a lot.  A heritage and a respect for building and defending the country, but it also hides indigenous guilt.  I think it’s time for Australia to stand up and be an independent country of the world, honour the past and build for the future.  And changing the flag is a statement of intent.  Changing the constitution and becoming a Republic is more complex and may take a little longer, changing the flag declares our intent for the future. 

Look at the new and old Canadian flag.  The Maple Leaf flag is beautiful, symbolic, strong, iconic. 

 

Before I lived in Australia I thought it was a progressive push ahead type country.  I got that impression from Australia’s sporting prowess.  But in fact it’s quite a conservative country set in a post colonial hangover.  The hangover cure is a new flag!

My favourite, is this flag. Past – the blue and Southern Cross.  The culture, Boomerang and Aboriginal Art, Green and Gold, and I like that the curve looks like a part of the West Australia coast with the coastal sand and land.  It’s not a simple flag that any kid could draw, nor does it have the simple lines and colours of traditional flags, but I like the look of it.

Here are a few more designs taken from FlagsAustralia;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course there are these two flags;

 

Gold Coast 2010 v Benidorm 1970

The parallels are remarkable!  The thing is, my Dad married my Mum, and had 2 kids, me and my sister.  I am at the same age now as when my Dad was married, married my wife and have two kids of same age.  So 40 years on, I have a direct comparison of life.

I’m on a Gold Coast holiday in Queensland, Australia.  Holy Shit, I thought as I arrived, this is like Benidorm!!  And I wondered where I was 40 years ago this year, err, Benidorm!  Yep, World Cup year, 40 years ago, I was in Benidorm, Spain, during the World Cup.  40 years later, I’m with my kids, World Cup year, in the Gold Coast, Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.

What’s changed?  The swimming pools are more landscaped and there’s a bit more shade!!  Same people, Aussies in Australia, not Brits in Spain, and no Spanish waiters to play football against!

Now you’d think that the quality of life would have improved, but other than aircon and TVs in the room, not much has changed, except Factor 30 instead of frying oil.  We are probably the first generation with an equal or lesser financial quality of life than our parents, and I was thinking how those package holidays of 40 years ago were all inclusive.  “Like Club Med.” my wife said as I tried to explain 1970s package holidays, “Yeah, but at a fraction of the price.”  Everything was inclusive then, except the drinks.  Flights, hotel, transport to and from the hotel, food.  The lot.  I guess many of the package tour and airlines of that era went bust, so maybe it wasn’t such a good business, but surely it’s possible to still put low coast all inclusive holidays together, here in Queensland.  Maybe it happens, but I haven’t heard anyone bragging about it.

The airlines would love it.  The hotel and accommodation places would love it, the restaurants and food places wouldn’t love it, because that’s where the money is made now, charging us day after day for food and drinks.

But you know, kids are kids, and what they want is to be in the swimming pool all day, with their friends.  Just like me 40 years ago.  C’mon Ingerland to Go Aussie.

When is a skin burn not urgent?

As if an accident isn’t bad enough, the actual A+E experience is absolutely dire.  Do hospitals deliberately make the experience dire, so we’re not too attracted to going.

My daughter burnt herself on her leg with an electric lamp last night.  It didn’t look like your average burn and was a biggish oval.  Yes, we could have treated it ourselves but it looked serious, so off to Clayton Hospital at 9pm.  Firstly, if something is urgent, where do you park?  There are a few 10min parking bays. Does that mean we’ll be seen to in 10mins and someone will look after my distressed daughter whilst I move the car?  Dream On.  So she hobbled from the carpark to the Emergency desk.

When we arrived at the Emergency desk, three women behind the windowed desk are gassing to each other, no exaggeration, for over 5 mins, and didn’t even turn to acknowledge us.  I was patient, but in the end, rudely caught their attention.  Another 5-10min standing at the desk to wait for the triage nurse.  Now they know they’re admin staff and it needs a triage nurse to attend to us, but when patients show up in distress they don’t know that, and the signage isn’t clear until after you’ve been attended to and sit down.  If no triage nurse is at the window, you have no context for what a triage nurse is, especially as it’s an emergency.

Next, the triage nurse has a look and they tell you to sit down and wait, but without telling you her assessment.  Maybe they’re scared to tell you in case you kick stink at not being top of the queue.  People are really suffering in the waiting area, but only the most urgent (or those who kick stink) are treated quickly.  Why must the rest suffer because the experience of the staff is that most presenting cases aren’t that serious.  We’re encouraged to go to the doctor or hospital just to be on the safe side, but are then made to wait for hours on end in terrible conditions.

So here’s the thing.  If you don’t think my daughter is that urgent and you make us wait for over 2 hours, I trust your assessment, therefore I’d like to take her home and use Google to treat her!  Is that ok.  It’s not as though we don’t know what the problem is, she’s burnt her leg with an electric lamp.  We are then capable of reading up a few treatments and see which ones look like best groupings.  The only issue is finding a late night pharmacy and not being able to use anything that needs a prescription.

Why do we have to wait for over two hours to have a burn treated?  Doctors hate it when we self diagnose and use the internet, but you try waiting for a few hours with many suffering people, and a feeling that the hospital really doesn’t care, until they each apologise in turn for keeping us waiting for so long!!

Which MP3 Player?

What gets me blogging again after a few months?  Dropping my current MP3 player in the toilet!!  Looks like the player isn’t working, wonder why!!  Bizarrely, I received an email on Friday, promoting a product which dries out wet electronic devices that have been dropped in water, Bheestie Bag.  Leave the wet electronic device in the Bheestie Bag, and the bag dries out the device, hopefully making the device work again.

Meanwhile, I’m wondering what new mp3 player to buy to replace my Sansa e260 4GB player.  I’ve enjoyed having this player, with just one main issue, it doesn’t play Audible books with the V1 firmware.  I don’t use the player for video or to show off photos, just for podcasts and music, so I’ve “borrowed” my wife’s Sansa 2GB Clip which I think is just what I need for my travelling and cycling, something which is very light and clips on, and perhaps the 4GB version.  Here in Australia, there’s a pricing gap for mp3 players.  There are the cheapo sub $80 players,but they don’t always play all mp3s, and then there’s the range of Apple iPods, but they’re priced near $200.  I would have thought the $100 to $130 range is perfect, but there’s very few players in that range, Sansa, iRiver, Samsung?  Maybe the Australian market consists of, Cheapo, iPod and mobile phones, but that’s not what I want.

I do have an iPhone, but it’s too heavy for running, cycling, travel, and I’d rather not carry a mobile phone too near my body, and it’s an extra task to keep switching the iPhone on and off to flight mode.  So it’s a Sansa 4GB Clip unless anyone recommends better. 

Oh and I’m tempted to try out an audio book from Audible, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Bloody Vodafone

My latest in a series of whinges about telcos, and this time it's Vodafone Australia.  I have been in Perth for 12 days, in the city centre.  And for 8 days I've had no data connection.  No internet access for 8 days!  Let me correct that.  My Vodafone data access on my Vodafone Dell netbook has had no access for over a week, but my Vodafone iPhone has allowed me tethered access, burning up the 1GB data on my iPhone, by plugging into my Netbook for internet access, but no access to my 5GB of data using the SIM card data modem built into the Dell.

Both SIM cards work on my iPhone, the 3G network works perfectly on my iPhone, but no access from my Netbook.  It recognises the SIM card but can't find the network.  Why?  The iPhone and Netbook SIM are accessing the same 3G network aren't they?

Call Vodafone several times.  It's a network problem in Perth!  For 8 days!!!!  Blimey.  I'm now fobbed of with "We're still waiting for a technician report"  It must be a bloody amazing report taking 8 days to write!!  And in the process, Vodafone seem to having taken their mobile network down twice for 2 mornings, no mobile access for anyone for a few hours on 2 mornings, just to investigate my lack of data access on my netbook.  And still nothing!

Compensation? 10 Bucks!  A quarter of a month on the data plan.  Eh?  What about 8 days x internet access from my hotel room!!!  I don't want your bloody 10 or 20 dollars, I want my internet.

And when I suggest to Vodafone the ideal solution, they don't won't can't seem to comprehend or do what I'm asking for.  Give me more than the 1GB on my tethered iPhone, whilst you're trying to repair your bloody network in Perth.  It costs you nothing Vodafone to let me have a few GB of access via my tethered iPhone, into your stinking network.  Get it sorted now please.

And....I'm not convinced that lack of access from my Vodafone Netbook is from the network, I think it might be with my Netbook, but the technical staff seem to have given up and left it as a network problem.  Hey Vodafone, you try having no internet access for 8 days, and are you working on this problem 24/7 since last Saturday?

And corporates love you having all your services with them, until you try and use one service to compensate for another service.  My mobile and netbook are on one bill, but there is no way I can use my mobile to help my netbook through this trying time.  Hello Telstra, I love you right now.

Food needs a fundamental rethink

Do you think a state government, or federal government, or a world body/government can change things?  No, neither do I!  It’s so disappointing that in the current age of interconnectedness, we can’t effect change, even if we know we’re heading down the plughole.

Food needs fundamental rethink, is reporting on a talk given by Professor Lang from City University London

"Global food production will need to double just to meet demand…..We have the knowledge and the technology to do this, as things stand, but the perfect storm of climate change, environmental degradation and water and oil scarcity, threatens our ability to succeed."

Our food supply system is based on the 1940s.  Which politician is going to develop a 40 year plan to feed a country or the world?

Water Water everywhere and not a drop to drink

Just reading a great booklet, on water in Australia, Our water mark – Australians making a difference in water reform, published by Watermark Australia.   A complete guide to water, where it comes from, where it goes, and what we can do about it.

Something that I hadn’t realised is that the water on the planet is based upon a closed system, whereby, it’s the same water that has been there for 4 billion years, it is neither created nor destroyed, just existing in different forms, with salt or pollutants added. Okay, there may be a fraction of a percent of water created and destroyed, but it’s insignificant compared with the planet’s water that has always been around.

It kind of gives me hope knowing that we can get water from somewhere, it’s just a matter of how, and how we look after the fresh water we do have.

Australia has the eighth highest footprint of water consumption per capita, and the largest per capita domestic footprint in the world!!  Most of our water is consumed in agriculture, but it’s interesting to realise that on top of our proportionally small domestic consumption, it’s our food demand and economic lifestyle that puts the most demand on water.

Our demand is only part of the story.  It’s our collection, recycling, and stopping the evaporation of water, that contributes to the supply of water.  Like many things on this sustainability dashboard, it’s a gradual deterioration of availability of water such that we don’t notice, until it’s too late.  What can you do?

1. Read the Water Mark booklet or pdf
2. Work out how you are going to save water at home
3. Work out how you are going to save water in your working environment
4. Educate the next generation
5. Read the 20 Principles guiding water reform, and act!!

Movember

It’s Movember, so get growing those moustaches for Men’s Health.  I am!  All donations welcome, and I’ll keep you updated on how that weedy caterpillar is growing across my top lip.

Luna Park - Fun to Queue!

And today's whinge.....I took the kids to Luna Park yesterday.  The spring holidays, and Melbourne's iconic amusement park.  Got there at 10-45am.  There are 50 people waiting outside, for the gates to open at 11-00am  My first whinge is opening at 11-00am during the school holidays seems a bit late.  Oh well.  Took the kids for a drink on Acland St, whilst we were waiting.  Got back to Luna Park at 11-15am, and there's now a 1 hour queue to get in!!

I took the kids to the front of the queue and realised that the queue wasn't to get in, but to buy tickets from the box office to go on the rides!!  I asked if I could take the kids in without buying the tickets for the rides, and so we jumped the queue, but with no rides!  The rides were mostly empty, because people were queuing to buy tickets.  The bottleneck is a ticket office with probably only 3 booths open, and 1000 people buying tickets.  You'd think that with running a business, getting people to pay shouldn't be the main bottleneck!  Surely, there could be a better and not too expensive way of 1000 people buying ticket rides, quickly!

I took the kids around Luna Park, fed them, let them go on the amusement arcade rides (not the ticketed rides), and left 45mins later.  Leaving Luna Park, I noticed the guys who were in front of us when we arrived at the back of the queue, still queuing, with 30mins more queuing to go!

And the bonus whinge....flew up to Brisbane last night, and whilst landing at Brisbane, the air attendant suggested that best way to get the 2km from the domestic terminal to the "International" terminal is, "hire a taxi".  Eh?  You have to hire a taxi to get from one terminal to another!!  Is this a permanent thing at Brisbane?  Are there alternative plans?  Was it because the plane landed after 9-00pm.  No buses?

Oh and if you have an Inner City Bypass (in Brisbane), do you think you could sign-post it so I can find it, instead of signposting it "Northern Suburbs".