hapi nu yihr!!

greetings!

to everyone in this enclave, have a wonderful christmas season!

Christmas Lunch

Today was our last day at work for this year. Most people at work didn't really work. Most fooled around, chatting, etc...every body was in holiday mood. Personally I am in holiday mood too but I had lots of work to do to make sure I've taken care of my "routine". The office will be close and I will not be able to come in.

Today was the day when most department heads/managers take their staff out to lunch or as some departments did, they had drinks in the office instead. Champagne bottles were popping everywhere around me.

Sadly, our department is the only one who do not practice this kind of festive season activity. Our manager does not believe in Christmas. I do not believe he is a Christian. Neither am I and most people in the office but everyone else celebrates Christmas or at least the past year.

The story was different last week though. Surprising, the manager told us all that he wants to take us all out to lunch. His exact words were he wants to "shout us to lunch" and that we should pick a day. He left it to our art director to pick a day and that she should pick the day most suitable based on our production schedule. I told her to pick thursday the 23rd as it is not only the last day of work but it is also a time when we would have finished all the work we need to do.

So she picked the day and I believe she told the manager. I believe the manager also invited a couple of people from outside our department. These two are the ones that hang out with him and the art director everyday. Somehow they feel like an outcast from their own department...or maybe they think they are too good for their department....who knows.

Anyway, so it was settled until today...noon came and I was hungry so I asked the art director about lunch and she said the manager haven't said anythign the whole morning and she thinks it is off. 12.30 came and I'm really hungry so I decided to buy my own lunch in the cafeteria. I was one of three who was having lunch there. Everyone else in the company is out with their department having lunch. A few minutes later, my manager went to lunch leaving me and my other male colleague in the building. He of course didnt have lunch as he was expecting a free lunch from the manager. The art director left at noon and decided not to return to work.

After lunch I carried on with the remaining of my work. My manager came back shortly after without saying anything.

Sad. I told someone this story and she said...your manager doesn't believe in rewarding you employees for all the hard work does he? I thought to myself...that is a spot on comment ....

Bah humbug to you too mr manager!

Have a Merry Christmas to everyone.

Drama king

My good friend "Idiot 1" asked me today... "Are you going anywhere for your holiday?"

Of course idiot 1 is the one that approves my holiday/leave applications - I said "no, not really." He asked "why not?" I said "Well, I do not want to go on holiday during the peak season. I wanted to go on holiday during the middle of the year or outside the christmas holiday period. but I am not allowed...so I may never go on holiday this year." Hearing this he acted as if he is the victim...he tried to relate to me saying how he also wanted to go on holidays in the middle of the year but the company does not allow it....what a load of shit! He has the power to approve my leave and his own leave. He is high enough he the food chain to go on leave when he can.

The truth is, he thinks we cannot go on holiday because we follow a strict production schedule. He is wrong.

Firstly, I do follow this production schedule but I can schedule to have a gap in each month enough for me to go on a 2 week holiday. It is him who does not want me (us) to go on holiday. Second, he stops himself from going on holiday and since he doesn't go on holiday, we are not allowed too. Third, every other people in the company can go on holiday at any time during the year so why not h9im and why not us?

The answer is...he is a control freak and he is a "Drama King". Fucking bastard..

Work Christmas Function

Wheeeee :-)

Had a brilliant xmas function yesterday :-)

Left from work in a party bus overflowing with champagne :-) One of the managers must've blackmailed one of the long-haul flight attendants to service the bus in the new air new zealand air crew uniform :-)

So she got in to the act and did the usual announcements etc... So we were on Flying Low Airlines, flight number B-O-O-Z-E :-) we were then given those Santa hats with the flashing stars on them, the left side of the bus (my side) were given red hats, and the right side were given gold hats.

First stop was at Toby's Jug for lunch. Prior to getting off the bus, we had a game called "I did it Thai way" (cast your mind back to Prescilla - Queen of the Dessert), wherein 2 female volunteers (one from each team) had to pop a ping-pong ball in to their mouth and pop it to another team member who stood a couple of rows away with a bucket in hand... Each ping-pong ball had a letter with a numerical value (think scrabble) - so in the second part of this activity, we had to put together the word with the highest value from the balls that were available :-) Gold team cheated by creating several words, but linked scrabble-like, whereas we came up with 'EXQUISITELY' - winning that contest :-)

Then back on to the bus for more champers, next stop Villa Maria vineyards, for a wine-tasting session^_^ before getting off the bus, we had to write a work-secret down on a piece of paper, for a game that was to be played after the piss-up, errr wine-tasting session... the chardonnay was yum, the sauvignon blanc was alright, the riesling was mmmm, never been a big fan of merlot so didn't rate that too highly... The organisers had put out too many sets of wines, and since I don't like things going to waste, I polished those ones off as well :-)

Shambling on to the bus, we were on to our next destination - woolworths in greenlane to pick up more beers, as those were running low... Enroute, we played the game with the secrets that we'd written prior to getting off the bus at the vineyard. Everyone had to put up their hands, and whenever their secret was read out, or a secret that applied to them, they had to put their hands down... Secrets such as "I was a pole dancer thru university" and "I'm secretly in love with my project manager" came out :-) bloody brilliant really :-)

Got to the supermarket in greenlane, and I just had to get some cheeseburgers for some reason :-) mmmmm cheeseburgers :-) one of the project managers had this drunkenly brilliant idea that it would be nice to have a real christmas tree on the party bus, so he bought one :-) the bus driver wouldn't let it on to the bus tho, so it went in to the carriage :-)

Next stop, movenpik in mission bay... Bloody hell that ice cream was melting fast, and in the state of sobriety that I was in (or lack thereof), I couldn't help but drip some on my shirt... Luckily enough, the managers broke out the waterguns and squirted everyone :-) the air hostess got a bit wet as well, and as I was getting on to the bus I couldn't help my make the super-astute comment of "you're kinda wet there" - to which she promptly replied "what a brilliant observation kit!" ^_^

Then off it was to town, where we spent a few more hours at the loaded hog drinking :-) I mistakenly told thea that I was at the Dog's Bollix instead of the hog, so I don't think she was all that impressed :-)

I'd have to say, that was the best work xmas functions, that I've been to :-) can't wait to see what they'll come up with next year :-)

Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do!!!!

Went to the PriceWaterhouseCoopers - Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists - End-of-year concert (pause... deep breath)last nite at St. Matthews-in-the-City

4 performers did there thing, to varying degrees of success IMHO... Since I'm in no way an expert on opera and the sounds/singers therein, I'll just make comments on who/what I found interesting :-)

Paloma Bruce (who funnily turned out to be a girl that Thea had gone to high school with) - just freaked me out with a prolonged note/sound that I didn't think a human was possible of generating... It was similar to the sound that you hear when you turn a TV on... But higher in pitch and volume... Shook me up something wicked to the point where it made the hairs on my arms stand on end... All this sound coming from a mere slip of a girl, was rather awe-inspiring...

Sarah Wood - apart from her amazing voice, she had an impressive *ahem* set of lungs with which to captivate the audience ^_^ and the dress that she wor... Errrr, barely wore... Ummmm let's put it this way, she was in no way under-endowned :-) I'm not sure how her b00bs didn't pop out of her strapless gown, what with all the breathing/movement going on :-)

The other two performers Rebecca Crabtree and Malcolm Ede also did very well, but in my uninformed opinion, I think that Malcolm didn't choose songs which showed his skill at the lower registers so...

The amount of effort that goes in to opera, always astounds me, and seeing it from that close, you gain more appreciation from seeing the level of facial expression and physical grace that emanates from them...

At the end of the evening (which lasted for nearly 2 hours) - they got the audience to sing 2 carols of their choice. The first was "Away in a manger" followed by "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Nibbles and drinks ensued :-) stuck around for a while, then went and had chawarmas for dinner at the middle-eastern café on wellesley st.

All in all, not a bad nite at all :-)

A Matrix within a matrix?

Sadly, some people still do not understand, or refuse to, that we are all in the Matrix. Scientists have now claimed that they have cracked the 'computer code' that may be responsible for deciphering visual images.

Makes you wonder if Xbox was ever tested by Microsoft

Microsoft sued over alleged Xbox 360 glitch

Bloody oil slick

Had an accident today. I was riding to work and behind my building there is this bend where someone (presumably a boat owner pulling a boat) left a line of some kind of oil slick. It didnt look like an oil slick. It was drizzling that morning so it looked like some wet line.

My turn line just turned out to be exactly where this line is and before I knew it, my tyres lost grip. I felt it. With a second, I was sideways and hit the ground.

I heard the bike grind against the road. That horrible grinding sound. The damage could have been worse though.

Two guys from the tackle shop in that corner came out and asked if I was ok. They said I was the second bike that slid that morning. Later today, somebody spreaqd some sand or kitty litter on the road to absorb the oil.

I phoned the police and apparently several people reported this oil slick as well. I said I wanted to file a report/complaint but then the lady on the phone asked me to go to the station to file this report. This brought back memories of previous reports I made. How useless they are. I didn't think it was worth the time to go as they won't do anything anyway. Why? Because nobody died. Only when someone is dead will the police come out and investigate. Even then they probably won't even do a good job. And people wonder why so many hate the cops.

Jessica is bruised. Scratches on her left side. I'm bruised on my left elbox and left knee. The bruised knee didn't come out until the following they. I presume it was knocked by the tank. My elbox hit the road.

Well well!!!

Last wednesday nite was only the second time that I'd given blood this year, I usually manage to get 3 donations in, and occasionally a 4th one in just before christmas... Reason last nite was only the 2nd time was because the last time I got a call asking me to come in as someone needed some of my blood, my iron count was a bit below the level that they require you to have, or they won't take your blood...

Reason for that would have been because, I had been working pretty hard and as such hadn't been eating properly hence why my lower than usual blood iron levels...

So yeah, after easily meeting the iron level requirement, I happily gave blood. On average, it takes me about 5.5-6 minutes to give 470mls of blood. I'd have to say that yesterdady, it only took me 5m02s, probably due to me being rather eager ^_^ wonder how much faster I could give blood?

So after giving, and waiting a couple of minutes as per the nurses instructions, I hopped off, grabbed a drink and some bickies (mmmm gingernut biscuits!) and went on my merry way to get some dinner :-)

IMHO, the best place to get a kebab is from Betsia Kebabs on symonds st (across from where ray used to live) so I got a lamb kebab on rice, while thea had a combination on rice...

But to get to the point of this rather lengthy and meandering write-up, guess what I came across ^_^

yes gents, a pill store to get all your herbal *ahem* remedies, stocking all the fave brand party pills and such :-) I didn't look too closely, but I'm sure they had bongs in there as well :-)

On another note, has anyone tried those hot coffee in a can thingies
My workmate brought it in the other day, and I must say that it's not too shabby at all :-) and here I was thinking that I'd have to wait till I got to japan to try something like that ^_^

Prima Donna

Several months ago we all took photos for our new security ID access cards. We were all told then that the same photos will be posted on our intranet site. The execs suggested this becuase we have hundreds of people in the office and without the photos, there is no face to the names unless you have dealt with them personally. Also this can help when you are looking for someone who works in a different department.

Two weeks ago, I was instructed to upload/update the new photos up into the intranet. So I started putting them on. Surprise, surprise...conspirer_1 complained to me immediately and "demanded" for his one to be taken down. I of course tried to but somehow due to some
unexplained event, my comptuer decided to crash and it took 30 minutes for me to get it back up again. This made conspirer_1 very angry. He was red! Almost funny...but I know the type of fuss he can create so I tried my best to take it down fast. He made such a huge deal of this -
he tattled to conspirer_2 and conspirer_3!. All three conspirer somehow have problems with having their photos taken. I don't usually blame people if they are shy but these three are not. They are more like Prima Donnas thinking they are better than everyone else and demand a whole lot of things. Conspirer_3 emailed me straight away and kindly asked me (surprisingly kind and calm) to take her photo down.
Which I did of course and I decided to ask conspirer_2 is she wants her one to be taken down as well. She said yes of course.

I told them that it was an executive order from HR and COO/Administration but I do not think they believe me. In fact, I'm willing to bet they think I'm a liar and was doing this just for fun.

Anyway, I went to HR and told them what happened and HR told me I did the right thing (to take it down temporarily). They were of course surprised because the three conspirers complained that this is a breach of privacy. I contacted the privacy commissioner (or whatever
his title is) and he said it shouldn't be a problem if the owners of the information were told before hand what the info is gonna be used for. In this case they all were. They simply deny it and the keyphrase here is Prima Donna...Apparently two of them complained to HR and the
head also threatened to complain to HR. I told the COO later and he could not believe the three conspirers went on such great lengths complaining about it...

It's been quiet since I took them down but I was so pissed off because they don't seem to believe me that it was an executive order, second they think I was doing it just to poke fun at them, and lastly these three think they are all that and think they are better than everyone
else! Even the top 2 highest ranking people have their photos up there!

The big question is, why don't they like having their photos there?

conspirer_1 has always been like that. He claims that the company may use his photo to submit to other companies like they do for awards and stuff. He doesn't like that. There is this annual awards and everytime he submits his application, he'll use his high school photo (which of
course was decades old). The awards council will send it back and ask for a more up to date photo and he will simply send back the same photo. This can go for several trips and in the end the council will simply give in. A bit childish if you ask me. To him it is more about safety. He always claims he's got a stalker (there is really no proof except his word which at this time is not 100% believable). Apparently there was this stalker who was a mental hospital patient. He also
complains about this other guy named Russell Brown. Russell use to work in the same radio station as him. conspirer_1 hates Russell because he thinks he is up himself and promoting hiimself all the time in the media as the "Internet Expert" which of course conspirer_1
thinks the title belongs to him. So I think you can see why he is a Prima Donna. He doesn't wear his id at work at all which is a breach of the security policy.

conspirer_2 had a different story. Of course I cannot confirm her story. She claims when she was born with a deformed upper lip or something like that. So for a while doctors were trying to fix it and everytime will take photos of it to monitor the healing. I think this would have been done when she was really young (most probably before she started talking) and everyone knows, it is not easy (in fact almost impossible) to remember anything before the time you started talking. Heck I don't even remember much before high school.
Anyway...there is nothign wrong with her now. She is just a plain Prima Donna... who thinks everyone should listen to alternative rock. She also likes gossipping about people she gossips with. She also doesn't wear her id at work which is a breach if the security policy.

conspirer_3 is the youngest of all. She doesn't like showing her photo. Her one is a bit of a weird situation. I do not remember her being like this when she first started working here. Yet now, she talks like conspirer_2. Her partner is a cop. She appeared once of twice in shortland street as an extra I think..I seem to recall that. Not that I watch shortland street all the time (ahem...) I think she only complains about this id thing because of conspirer_2. She does wear her id at work but she puts a picture of a cat on top of her photo. Somewhat a breach of security policy if you ask me. How can you identify a person without seeing the id photo? She's one of those who
thinks everyone else is wrong..like you should listen to that radio station because I do not...that sort of thing. She and her cop partner are being gossipped upon by conspirer_2 and tag_along_1...

oh who is tag_along_1? She is this person who always tags_along conspirer_2 and conspirer_3 like they are all best friends. In fact conspirer_2 always talk about the other two behind their backs. tag_along_1 is apparently suicidal - as revealed by conspirer_2 openly. Funny thing is, I thik it may be true because tag_along_1 is always longing for attention and now acts like conspirer_2. And she is not even their age. tag_along_1 is like twice conspirer_3's age. Very
weird I think as I never see older people hang out with the younger crowd like that. Except of course conspirer_1 who hangs with university students...and he is like their grandpa. tag_along_1 recenly also asked for her photo to be taken off the intranet. Funny
thing is, her photo has always been there and its been there for months and months until she met conspirer_2 and conspirer_3.

Anyway...enough of this work politics. Why can't all people just be nice?

Karma

Not too long ago, some staff here at work (three to be exact)
conspired to get a sales guy fired (we'll call them conspirer_1,
conspirer_2, and conspirer_3). They hated him so much because he is a
happy Christian. They called him 'clappy'. But not only that of
course. The sales guy has been suffering from poor sales for months
now and instead of helping him achieve better results, these three
gave him shit and provided nothing but negative criticism. I remember
several months ago that he actually lost it but he somehow found
strength and carried on. Anyway, Ever since he was made 'redundant'
(official term) one of the three who conspired got his job, which is
Sales manager. She (conspirer_3) of course is inexperienced and
although she does rake some money in, she got the job because of how
well she bullshits. Well most sales people are like that anyway - at
least by reputation. This one just happens to be stereotypical.

This new sales manager got the job because she was the favourite of
the season of a certain influential cry baby (conspirer_1). The main
reason she got the job is, not becuase she can sell but because she
was cry baby's puppet. But this somewhat changed lately. She is still
a puppet. But the difficulty of the job is showing. Results are not at
all getting better. I think they are now in some crisis mode and
looking for a scape goat. I wouldn't be surprise if she started
looking for a new job to cover herself.

What I don't understand is, why is there no coaching available. Surely
the best way to do business is to train your staff to be better
instead of firing and hiring the same inexperienced ones? I say
inexperienced because they cannot afford experienced/successful ones.
Plus successful ones wouldn't wanna work in their bullshit negative
environment.

Just the other day, one of the three conspirers had an argument with a
different sales person. I'm not taking sides here but the argument was
pretty intense and extremely negative towards the sales guy. The sales
guy was basically asking for some space for a free ad to help lift the
image of the product and hopefully it will help make the product more
appealing to potential buyers (as indicated by feedback from buyers)
but conspirer_2 negatively and openly opposed him. Instead of saying
"no, i cannot do that because...", she went on the attack. Of course
the sales guys was surprised as he wasn't expecting something like
this from conspirer_2, especially it is not really her job. It is more
like the job of conspirer_1. They argued for a few minutes and beign
in an open plan office, the rest of the area were looking as well.

We'll see how this one plays out. I sense conspirer_3 won't be here
for very long as she herself is becoming a victim.

Bad news for Xbox

After just a day from the release of the new Xbox 360 in the US, users have reported glitches and crashing and they seem to be common occurences. Quite unusual if you think about it. Didn't Microsoft test them? Did they know there are problems? Or did they simply ignore it hoping the machines that go on sale are not duds? Microsoft did admit that there are glitches and offered to pay for the shipping to and from the repair centres.

Lets hope this gets better in future versions when the price of the console drops.

SSDD

Same Shit Different Day!

Sinc ethe beginning of the week I've been putting up photos on the intranet as per administration's request. Their are a few and I have to export each photo to reduce the quality just enough so as to not clog up the server space.

Today idiot found out and "demanded" it be taken down. What are the chances...my computer crashed and it took me half an hour to get it back up. Idiot took this as me refusing to take it down. He's email two of his other "team mates". Martial Bitch never said anything but I think she emailed HR and complained about it. Constable Bitch, I think, also emailed HR about but she emailed me too. She said in a sort of calm way...please take it down ...I don't want it up there...it is a breach of privacy.

I'm emailed the office of the Privacy Commissioner about this and ask for an opinion. All three mother bitches claimed it is a breach in privacy. I don't think so but then again I may be wrong.

They are not the only ones who emailed HR. Me too...I emailed HR and told the HR manager of the problem and she couldn't believe it! She said, "I don't see what the problem is. They do not walk around with a paper bag on their heads." She went to ask the legal counsel (sits on next desk beside her) and she too said it does not breach privacy laws.

Now I think Martial Bitch and Constable Bitch both think that I'm in trouble with HR because they think I'm a prick who simply wanted to play tricks on them and put it up there. WRONG! I had orders from administration and this included the COO. In fact the COO was rushing me with this job. The HR manager told me, carry on uploading all the rest and I'll take the heat on these three. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out that I was doing what was requested by HR. I wonder what they'll say then.

What annoys me is:
1) They think I'm doing this to have fun at their expense.

2) Idiot telling the other two...he is such a tattle tale.

3) I'm annoyed that they think they are so much better that everybody else that they do not have to do what others in the company is required to do. - Prima Donnas!

There is an explanation of the privacy act and this article pretty much states that:
1) you have to tell the person what the information is usewd for. In this case everyone were told that photos will be taken for the photo id cards and the photos will eventually be uploaded to the intranet to help identification in a large office environment.

2) The personal information cannot be used anywhere other than what it is intended for. In this case, the further it will go is the intranet phone book.

3) It also states that the company cannot release/disclose the personal information to third party agencies or persons. Which is the case here.


To be frank, I'm not sure what their problem is. I do not get what idiot is so concerned with. Is it because he is concerned that people will say he resembles a half shelled desert reptile?

Martial Bitch claims she has a phobia of some kind because when she was young she had a deformed upper lip of some shit like that. And that doctors have taken photos of her throughout her childhood...sounds like a lie to me...she looks perfectly normal and no operation can do that especially if the technology is 30 years ago.

Constable bitch actually don't look bad. She looks normal...I realy do not understand her problem. She is just using the breach of privacy and following the lead of the Martial Bitch and idiot.

I carried on adding photos to the intranet and made sure they saw it. So they'll know that I am not just fooling around with their photos.

It would be interesting to see their reaction when they get told by the HR that the request came from them. Proving them wrong.

If anybody have comments about the privacy act, please feel free to post a comment.

One last thing, if they are in pinas, patay na sila!

Hooray for tax cuts!

Michael Cullen is getting the pressure now. The Treasury is recommending tax cuts similar to what National proposed earlier during the election. Obviously National is not the only one who supports economic growth. Labour just do not understand this.

On a different note, I still do not understand why Winston Peters is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is clearly against foreigners, more specifically asians. He seem to deliver mixed messages...

Good news for student loan holders

The new government is pushing to have interest-free student loans.

However, unlike the last Lanour government promise, this time it looks like they are considering all student loan holders who are living in New Zealand.

I must admit that I wasn't expecting this from the Labour government since previously they only gave interest-free loans to students (students still studying) which means as soon as you get intot he work force, you get interest on your loan.

We'll see if this one comes true. It would be a good consolation prize for not havign a change in government.

Also, we have yet to see a change in the revenue-gathering *ahem** police system. So we'll keep an eye on that, too. More stories of 'sick police culture' are surfacing. Surely the governemnt will act.

Fireworks: Guy Fawkes revisted

Since my last posting about fireworks, I'm reconsidering my position regarding the legal status of fireworks.

Mainly because I am worried that education may not be enough to prevent disasters like these:

• Fireworks leave trail of destruction
• Loss of historic hut blamed on fireworks
• Blaze next to chemicals threatens stretch of city

I'm afraid there is no hope for stupidity such as ones demonstrated by youths today. It is usually the combination of alcohol, peer pressure, boredom, and lack of education from parents.

There are several solutions to this problem and I do not think there is single solution that can solve all. Reviewing the law may now be necessary. Partial ban may be required. Increasing age restrictions.

I mentioned boredom above because youths today easily et bored. Why not let malls open later? I'd rather see children in malls than hanging out with peers plotting some crazy shit.

Peer pressure is probably one of the harder things to control. But parental education plays a part in this. As long as children are well educated by parents, kids will not easily give in to peer pressure.

I still think education plays an important part in preventing disasters during the fireworks season. So here is my bit in educating people young and old:

First, try to avoid getting drunk when playing with fireworks. Alcohol reduces your reaction time - i.e. your flight response goes down.

Second, never let your friends dare you into doing something dangerous. Do not let them tell you that it is ok and it is safe.

If you were held at gun point and were forced to have stick a rocket up your arse, try sticking the rocket further up so the sparks are at its furthest from your cheeks.

In case you weren't able to avoid 1 and 2, once the rocket is lit up...if you do start feelin' the heat, bending backwards will only make your arse hold on to the stick tighter. You will end up burning more of your arse...

And your arse will look like this...

And you my friend, can now be called a DUMB ARSE with a numb arse (and not so numb)!!!

Another day ruined by idiot

Imagine you are told to fish a normal sized basketball out of the middle of the ocean with both your hands and feet tied behind your back. Hard right...? Impossible maybe. Idiot enjoys these things.

Problem is you come up with ideas and they will work fine but the old fashion idiot gets in the way. True there are potential problems to any idea but instead of putting disclaimers and clear labels, idiot shuts them down ASAP. If I know better I'd say he doesn't like the ideas because he wasn't the one who thought about them. Reminds me of the scene in Spiderman 2...

Newspaper editor (how appropriate): We need to give a name to the new villain Dr Octavius.
Other guy (I forgot his name in the movie): How about Dr Octopus?
Newspaper editor: Stupid idea...

Other guy suggests other names

Newspaper editor: I know...how about Dr Octopus! Doc Ock!

fucker!

After deliberating this ingenious idea (exactly how idiot described it) he tried to get some people to his corner of the ring. So he asked over a couple of people. We explained to them. But to his surprise, they both liked the idea and thought any of idiot's concerns can easily be protected with safeguards - kinda like shields.

Idiot rambles on and knowing the idea is actually good, he focuses his attention on something else! He goes, "this is confusing! Shouldn't this be here and this there. I think anyone who comes here will become confused!"

More like just you! If you are so against it, why even bother commenting on the arrangement!? He then asks why his usual ally is quiet...hehe... sad really.

Just when you think its over (and he is going to dismiss the idea anyway) he focuses the attention to something else again! This time he focuses the attention to something that we agreed last year! Well I've already implemented what you wanted last year! It was an old matter.

Finally, thinking that the two focus shifts he made was enough justification, he rejects the idea openly. What a fucker!

I told myself yesterday that I'm not annoyed at his decision...but maybe I am just a little. Not because he rejected it. Not because he knew about it months ago and only decided to reject it now AFTER I completed it. But because of how he handled it.

This is a guy who claims he likes change. Hypocritical fucker!

On a separate but somewhat related matter, he tried to force the responsibility of this event to me when it is really someone else's. Funny thing is, idiot brought it up with his boss and she looked at this other person first instead of me. haha..clearly she thinks it is another person's responsibility too! Oh I don't mind helping though. Which I have initiated yesterday with the department responsible. So I'm working with them.

Yesterday I got a present in the mail. No it was not a bomb or white powder. It was in fact a chocolate fish. It came from a customer who rewarded me for my customer service efforts. How nice of her. The thing is, this customer service was not even my job...hehe. Do I get a praise from idiot about it? not really. Not as much as I deserve. He didn't even mention it to other department heads the way he usually mentions himself.

Don't wanna make too much fuss about it. Choc fish made my day - which later was ruined by idiot.

I love this job, but I hate THE idiot!

Fireworks blaze just averted

Would a video footage help? Or maybe a phone number of the offender?

So this is why my case was never followed up

A guy named Charles Simms (no not from the game) reported his van being stolen in September this year. He apparently reported it to the police and even provided a name and phone number.

The police never followed it up. Didn't do anything.

The herald reported that this is how the police handle crime reports (and what I think it means):

Mandatory services
Responding to ministerial correspondence (Speeding especially when the PM enjoys it)
Responding to parliamentary questions (Why were you speeding?)
Sudden deaths (Which sport?)

Critical services
Home burglaries (Even though this is under critical services, they do not respond for days)
Homicide (Now this one they do respond, hopefully on time though)
Serious drug offences (I think they use the confiscated drugs themselves and form a 'sick police culture' over in South Auckland)

Priority services
Vehicle theft (If this is a priority, why wasn't Simms' case followed up? Especially he gave the cops a lead)
Family violence (oh you mean police officers raping women?)
Child abuse (I hope so. Although Child, Youth and Family usually respond to these)
Robbery (ah yes, you dial 111 and report a robbery and the first thing they ask is if the offender is still there, if not, they continue on their sick culture and come several days later)

Discretionary
Commercial burglaries (I do not know why this is separate from Robberies...oh yes...the offender is not there so it is not priority!)
Theft from cars (As above, what is stopping them from investigating if leads are provided)
Company fraud (hey, steal millions of dollars from companies and the police may NOT investigate!)
Shoplifting (Commerical vs retail...since it is under the 'we don't care' section, might as well combine this with the Commerical Burglaries)


The police system is useless. The Herald did forget one thing under Mandatory. i.e. Revenue gathering, issuing speeding tickets, rituals for sick police culture!

Worse than a teenage girl in a clothing store

Another annoying day.

I have this project right... I wrote up a document describing it weeks
ago where this person, whom for the sake of this entry we'll call him
"idiot", approves it.

Initial idiot said he wanted this project to look like so and so.

So..I made it look like so and so just as he asked. I also documented
all these in my paperwork complete with layout diagrams and page
descriptions!

I've completed this project and now I need for idiot to check it, he
changes his mind and complains about the layout and design and shit.
He wants this changed, he wants that changed...what happened to the
document you agreed on several weeks ago?!?

Knowing idiot, I sorta expected it. Now the layout looks nothing like
the original planned.

I don't get. I had someone else tried using this site and she, without
confusion and question, was able to find her way around!

I reckon it must be old age kickin in...he complains quite often about
this other colleague of ours and idiot calls him senile...me thinks he
is not far away.

Guess What...

Police are on spot light again?

At the beginning of the year when I made a complaint to the police about a theft incident, they didn't do anything. They completely ignored my story (check out the June Archive). But since then police incompetence seem to have quiet down a bit until today.

Police ignore park thieves on film
Now this is just sad. I feel a bit better now as my complaint to the cops didn't have the benefit of a security camera unlike this one. Although I did have a document with photo evidence and witness accounts. It was like I did the investigation for them. But they ignored it. Don't get me wrong. I'm way over it - for a long time. I have some to accept that the cops in this town are stupid and incompetent. To be fair to good cops, it is the police system that doesn't work.

Fines in mail for dobbed-in drivers
Here is another one. Is this even legal? So this means anyone can make a complaint about anyone and they will be given a ticket!?

I think this is unfair and not on! A warning would be more appropriate. Another symptom of the ailing police system.

Guy fawkes

Yesterday I was switching channels between NCIS, LOTR, and C4. On C4 there was this guy "reviewing" firecrackers that are currently available for purchase for the up coming Guy Fawkes Day on saturday (if I'm not mistaken).

This dumbass(!!!) is such a bad example. Considering he is showing this on TV and that the majority of viewers are youg people, I thought TV4 would have been more responsible when it comes on safety issues.

What this guy does is light up each one up and gives them scores (out of 5 I believe). The problem is, he holds each one using his left hand and lights them with a lighter using the right hand - WHILE HOLDING IT! How stupid can that be!? These are the fountain and spinning types - the one yo normally put on the ground.

The proper way of lighting them up is to put them on the ground first and make sure they are firmly on the ground. i.e. they are not wobbling on an uneven surface. Then light them up. Better still, these packs you can buy usually comes with a plastic base/stand where you can secure the firecracker befre lighting them. The reason for this is sometimes the force of the flames can cause the firecracker to tip on its side and may endanger people around it.

This guy never followed any of the safety procedures! I think this poses a very bad example for young people who today already cause a lot of problems during Guy Fawkes. We all enjoy fireworks and I am not an exception. In fact I think educating people about fireworks is more important than banning them altogether. We are after all are not in the hitler era.

Shame on you C4!

Jessica Alba

TOPLESS!!!! < - CLick to view

RARE!

Conversation heard at work

2 girls and a an australian guy, talking about the plant beside their desks...

Blonde 1: What does it mean when the leaves turn brown?

Blonde 2: It means the plant is dying.

Blonde 1: [Startled and worried look on her face]

Plant Lady walks pass...

Australian Guy (asking the plant lady): Does it hurt them if you cut the leaves?

Drinking Lesson

I hope you don't do this shakoo. (wait for it to load fully then watch the normal speed)

Rabbit Sex

Hmmm...

wtf?

Rats as big as cats

This is cool man. I saw the other photo where a man was holding one of the rats. Huge as. You can put them on a leash and take them for a walk.

(Source: NZ Herald)

Giant rats put to work detecting mines


MOZAMBIQUE - Gambian giant pouch rats are being put to work in Vilancoulos, southern Mozambique, to detect mines planted in the country's 20-year civil war. The rats are trained from an early age to associate the scent of explosives with a food reward and indicate the suspected presence of explosives by grooming and scratching the earth. The rats, which grow as large as a domestic cat, have a sense of smell as powerful as that of a dog. They have also been used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis by smelling blood samples in a Belgian research programme. The clearing of Mozambique's many minefields is funded by international donations, the country's non-government organisations and the Government.

Blonde Chick Asking for Trouble

Ghost in the machine

I was on my way to work two days ago when I stopped at the Nelson Street Off-ramp traffic light from the N'Western M'Way. I sat in the middle lane waiting for the light to turn green. It didn't take long. I changed into 1st gear and started rolling.

Suddenly, my engine went dead. I let go of the clutch and I felt the engine breaking. I stopped in the middle and for a few seconds I was blcoking everyone else on the road.

Shit!

I held the clutch in and pressed on my ignition and the engine started again. By this time the lights went red again so I stayed there until it was my turn to go. All the time I was sitting there, I reviewed what had happened in my head. It wasn't clear but due to the circumstances I concluded that I must have miscalculated my clutch release and the engine died. Simple.

Do you want to hear something freaky?

Tonight after work I was on my way home. I left work late so it was already dark and the motorway was pretty clear. It wasn't raining, thank goodness, but it was windy. So there I was on the N'Western M'Way heading Northwest...I was travelling at flight speed with my headlights on.

Approaching the waterview exit, all of a sudden my engine died. My headlights turned off. I was still in gear and since there is no power, the bike started slowing down. I cautiously proceeded changing lanes towards the shoulder...I was on the fast lane. I had to pull my clutch in just to make sure I can enough roll.

When I stopped safely on the shoulder. I thought, shit! I hope it is not my battery dying. I don't even recall leaving headlights on or draining the battery in some way. I remembered what had happened to me 2 days earlier. It looked familiar.

I looked at my dash and it was ll off. I tried to figure it out although I was not panicking. By accident I managed to turn the key and I saw the red light on the dash come on.

I paused - wait a second. How can the ignition be in the off position. I never turned it off. I was going at flight speed looking on the road and no where were my hands anywhere near the ignition key.

I turned the key and started the engine. The engine started first time.

But that's not all. Here is the weirder part...my dash back light is off because my headlights were off. How can this be. It was on. I always turn it on even during the day time and I certainly would turn it on at night. It was on as soon as I got out of the carpark...My headlight switch is one of those lever type and turns off when you pull the level towards the right. So even if I accidentally pushed the headlight switch, it would not have turned off.

How can:
1) My engine turn off by itself; my ignition turning into off position when I have not touched it while I was going at fligth speed?
2) My headlights turn off when I was nowhere near the switch and even if I was to accidentally push the switch, it would have gone to the "on" position?

the weirdest bit is, how can 1) and 2) happen at the same time?

Another Bali Bombing

What is the reason this time? Why would terrorists keep on bombing tourist places like these? If they want to make a statement, perhaps they should organise an attack on government buildings and officials instead of the members of the public.

Back with the old I guess

National leader Don Brash finally conceded ... Helen Clark is again NZ's Prime Minister and we again have a Labour-led government.

While some may disagree, I do think this is NOT the best for NZ. In fact, more than 70 percent of people at my work disagree with this result.

No it is not the rich people voting! None of us at work are rich folks. Just normal people. Not the highly paid tv/news type of people.

Personally one of the changes I want to see is the improvement of the Police System so that the police will better protect and serve the people who ultimately are their employers. I do not want to pay cops to gather more revenue from me. I want the police to investigate crime no matter how small and not wait until a dairy worker gets killed because every other complaint in the area was ignored.

Taxes. While taxes are essential for the running of the country, I do not believe in paying more than I should so that the government will have too much of a surplus. I do not believe in people living off dole. Yes, benefits can help some people get back on their feet or survive through studying. But I've paid enough tax to repay what I received and much much more.

Yehey for the student loan holders?!? Student loan interests will be written off by Labour. Is this for all student loan holders? Or is it just for the students? Abolishing the interest rates will encourage new students to borrow more. What about working people with student loans? Don't they get interest write offs? Oh yeah...now that they are working, they are forgotten..no wait! They're not forgotten. These are the people who will be funding the new students!

Roading and public transport. These two are in conflict. Some people say roading is more important especially for businesses. While others prefer public transport. Personally, I think we need both. We need roads so businesses can transport goods. So that people who build this country can go to work. Public transport cannot do that - "Hey boss, hurry up with my deliveries. I need to catch the 470 bus!". In saying that we do need public transport for "public transport" We have a pathetic train system. Our bus system is not so efficient. Hopefully Helen can give us more roads and more public transport.

I only know a few people who support Labour. I am not criticising you for voting for the government who you think is going to serve your best interest. In fact, we all vote for the government we think is going to serve us best. In a way we are all selfish. But one thing I do find is that some people tend to choose a government based on what they want in the near future. Such as within the government's term. I made that mistake once as a student. Now that I'm not a student anymore, the government has forgotten about me.

Somehow the government can only see the lazy as folks and continue to give them benefits and shit. They don't contribute to society! What about prisoners? I hear they get fed a lot with motel like facilities. They are in a rehab program, not on holiday!

The Greens...what about them tree-huggers huh? Look dudes, I care about nature and trees and I am against polluting the earth and shit but the Greens are going to take us back into the stone age. That caveman Nandor Tancos is definitely in the "stoned" age. Apparently he is now goign to the bush to medidate since he lost his seat. While you're at it you probably want to tend to your hydroponics eh?

What is it with the GE debate? Granted, GE can be dangerous if not used properly but banning it does not help progress. We are not gods but if "God" gave us the brains then I do not see why we can't use it to better ourselves. All we need is better regulation.

*sigh* enough ranting...good morning...

road rage

in recent times, i have learned to simmer down when ever i feel engaged in a heated argument, or when i can see the symptoms of this malady coming to a head. today, i neither had control nor the predisposition to rise above a case of road rage.

i was waiting for a parking space to be vacated by a shopper, and i reversed by a bit to make more room for him. as i look at the back, there's another car parked behind me. i thought, "plenty of room", so i did what i had to. then he honked at me with some degree of passion, which prompted me to release my seat belt prematurely. my mother, whose company i kept this afternoon, became anxious as she is aware of the Hulk fighting to get out. instead, i merely waited patiently in my seat, and tried to park the car gracefully as the previous occupant was leaving. but as i was driving in, the driver in the other car stared me down, and talked as if in a silent movie behind their shut windows. bad move. as soon as i parked the car, i marched to his direction, and naturally, we had a colourful exchange of words. my mother held me with her wisdom: "don't stoop down to their level". by then i knew i was doing more damage to us more than to anyone else. and i stopped.

Study: Oxygen helped mammals grow

Uh hello..?!... Without oxygen mammals would have died?!

Scientists photograph giant squid

This is so exciting!

legends

having some free time for myself at the moment, i managed to hunt down some collectible marvel figures from shops all across Victoria (wotta road trip!). the collection is a multi-figure set, so gathering all the pieces proved to be quite the challenge. that's what i enjoy about still being a collector of sorts, i guess... the thrill of the hunt, the adrenalin rush... and the satisfaction of the kill?! uhm, as i look around me, the items are still in their bags, and they're all just sitting on the floor... together with the another set that i conquered the previous week... hmmm. cricket chirping... typhoon evacuation warning... a tumbleweed passing by this ghost town that is Spencer Station.

More Office Bullshit

I'm pretty sure I've made so many entries about this but here is another one.

Nearly a month ago I was approached by the IT department to help work
on a site for another department. I had to ask permission from my
manager since I report to him and he is not the sponsor of this
project. So we had a chat and he said that he knows this is good
experience for me and it will help my career so he is happy with it.
As long as he knows what I'm doing. i.e. he doesn't want me to go and
do work for different departments without his permission. Since I have
his permission on this then I thought he was happy.

So I carried out the work and yesterday was finalising some minor
details. Behind me is our designer and she tipped off my manager that
I was doing work on it. (I finished the bulk of it 2 weeks ago). Now
the manager says that he is not happy at all about it. My question is,
if he is not happy about it then why give me permission to do it in
the first place? I do not mind if he does not give me permission to do
it. The two fuck faces are now telling each other that soon all other
departments will come to me to do work. Which is of course what my
manager would not like.

He says he wish I would do redesign work on our stuff. Let me tell you
this. 4 months ago I did that work. To the point where it was ready
for lauch. I did the work from beginning to end with his permission
and sign off. What happened? He was over-ruled by his boss and all my
work went down the drain.

Another example. 8 months ago I did a redesign on another job. This
one I worked hard on. Me and him put our brains together, the design
was signed off by several people, I did all the work until it was
ready for launch and what happened? He was over-ruled by another
person in Australia. Again my work went down the drain.

I'm just about to start another one. I've done a prelim design and
doco on this and he seems happy with. I know this will go ahead
because it is to do with an event. However, he is playing a different
political shit this time. My job is to create and administer the
project, clean up results and present to them. He is worried that the
event may not be successful and we might not get enough people. I
personally think this is a marketing matter because it is marketing
that is suppose to put the word out there but he is laying this down
over my shoulder. He said it is my responsibility to talk to people
and promote this. How am I suppose to do this? Does my job title now
include marketing? So now I do not only develop, but I also do
support, writing, administration, subscription, call centre, and now
marketing?!?!?!

cumulonimbus

it's overcast outside, the kind of weather i like, when it gets dark and murky. i wish it'd rain a bit, and perhaps relieve some of the storms from somewhere else around the globe and in my head.

Ever get to the point

where you're brain just shuts down?...

Last week, i calculated that I worked about 80 hours, starting sunday lunch-time, through to friday evening. That's not counting the hours that I was on-call during the weekend, where i worked for another total of 10 hours...

This week, i've been good, cutting it down to 10-11 hour days... god i'm tired...

why do i do this? when there is effectively no over-time (although last week, since i was on-call i do get a tidy payout from it)...

i guess it's the fact that my work ethic goes along the lines of "work to the job, not the clock" and "work hard, play hard"... which also carries over to my personal life...

why do i do this? true, work pays well, and the perks are good, but is that all?
why push myself harder than most of the team? why stay back later than some of the team?...

got a totally unexpected promotion, which of course came with a pay rise - but how much effort is really worth it?...

right now, eyes are red and heavy, brain seems to be clouded in a fugue... mentally exhausted... seemingly in a stupor... and yet i'm still here... merely taking a break, to try and regather my mental faculties...

why push this hard, when there are some in my team that don't push anywhere as hard... that complain at the very thought of pushing harder... who keeps strictly to their 40-hour week, and god forbid that they should stay even a minute longer... who view the prospect of such banal activities to be so abhorrent that they stop answering calls within 30 minutes of their set time... a perfect example would be today - this teammate knew of an issue that could possibly affect hundreds of people, and yet they noted it and went home BECAUSE it was their time to go home... true, they were not on-call this week, but it is an application that resides in their support portfolio...

and yet i'm still here... why do i do this?

one reason i guess would be that i know that i have the abilities and the skills required to fix what needs to be fixed, to investigate and delve in to an issue which i know that some others might have the skill to even begin to understand...

it's the fact that i'd want someone like me to deal with the issues that i would not be able to handle... and with that in mind, i'm still here...

i don't know how my significant other puts up with me keeping such long hours, with being woken up in the middle of the night because i get a high-severity call that needs to be fixed within 30minutes, with being restricted to being within 60 minutes of getting in to work, should the need arise...

i don't know how she does it, but she does it, and i'm grateful that she does...

why am i still here, instead of at home with her right now?... 'cos i know she understands my need to be here, my need to drive myself at a goal, i have been aimed at a target and released... hopefully, i'll hit it soon... no need for me to abuse her understanding nature...

it's at this point that Pogz's saying would fit in perfectly...

"Go Home Kit!"... i think i'll take that advice...

drops of jupiter

can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken...? your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you’re wrong... can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance, five-hour phone conversation, the best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me?

Busy Times

It's been at least a week since I properly entered something in this blog. I've been busy for the past 2 weeks due to a couple of "projects at work" and it's not over. I have another one coming up which I'm due to start next week. This is, of course, in addition to my alreasy hectic schedule.

The week before last was the last week of a competition we run at work involving children. I got so many phone calls and emails from students, teachers, and a couple of parents. Some begging for an extension, some complaining about certain rules, but most are just asking for help or a nudge in the right direction. There is one question (which I will not post here) that somehow never gets resolved. We've been running this for many years now and people still ask the same question. It is definitely the ultimate "FAQ". May be there is a bettewr way of tackling the problem but I personally think it has something to do with knowledge of how the internet works.

Last week was the week of elimination where we eliminate entries and cull them down to the finalists. Most of the time it is fairly easy to do but it is the top 15-20 that is usually the hardest. Thank goodness I'm not one of the judges. I'll leave that for others to decide. We do have a system of judging but judging is never easy. It is not a simple TXTing who to eliminate like they do in the idols.

In addition to this, we also had an election yesterday! Elections are always tricky for the parties involved and the voters. The problem is politicians hide facts in favour of their policies. A very good example of this is the Labour Party's Student Loan figures drama that happened a couple of days ago. Who knows what the politicians are thinking. The results are realy close though for the two major parties. But at this time we still do not know who will govern or what coalition will form, not to mention the special votes that remain to be counted.

I'm not one that usually tries to convince people who to vote nor do I ask who people will vote for. I do ask whether you've decided but I never go further than that. That's because I believe who you vote for is not of my business. It is a personal choice. It is as personal as your privates. It's like asking, "Hey, do you have one or two testicles?"

Apart from it being a private matter, I think it is also the awkwardness that follows a conversation after you find out the other person is voting for someone else. This awkwardness is not because of the diference in your choices but for me it is the look they give you...kinda like "What..?? You are voting for them?" or the never ending "preachings" that you shouldn't vote for the party you just mentioned. The other day I spoke to a friend and he said he is voting Act. I personally think voting for a minor party like that is a wasted vote ( and the 1.5% percentage says that). That vote was better off going to a similar party who in this case could be the determining factor. But I did not say that. Because he is entitled to his own opinion and decision. I also provided him with a summary of what I think of the parties and he also respected my views.

Elections can make people as annoying as Jehovah's witnesses that come knocking on your door (don't get me wrong, you are entitled to your own religion. Whatever makes you happy as long as you do not try to recruit me.) I've had some people at work who think they are always correct and think anyone who is different is the devil. But I guess that is because they are journalists or at least influenced by their journo husbands, wives, or friends. There is this lady (whom I've spoken of in previous entries) who apparently has been preaching the Greens. Anyone she speaks to ... clients, colleagues, ... Someone said thay she didn't even sounded like her but she sounded more like her partner who is an editor of a community newspaper. I tell you elections can change some people...

Anyway, it is not over yet. This election was not a clean cut as the previous one so it will be an interesting week.

Shakoo..I know you have opinions on this so feel free to add...yup...you can talk about MMP, too, if you want.

Oh...btw. If any politician gets to read this blog, all I want is a change in the police system. More real police work please - you know, stopping real crime, investigating real cases. Issuing tickets and revenue gathering is not real police work. Catching the guys who vandalised my bike is.

Almost forgot to mention that I went to the Home Show yesterday. It was bigger than last so thumbs up there. I walked around for 7 or so hours! When I got to the last hall, there was a stand for the NZ Police. As usual, promoting the police, trying to recruit, but mainly making people aware of the 111 system. The cop came to me as I walked pass very tired almost dragging my feet - he said "He you go sport, put it on you fridge." It was a fridge magnet with the big "111" on it. I was ssooooooooooooooo tempted to say: "Hey thanks, a taxi may come in handy some time. Oh by the way, have you found the culprits that stripped my bike?" But I didn't I thought doing so will make me as low as them. God I hate these cops!

B0log3r didn't come. I thought he would but I guess he was probably hung over from his 9th-21st Bday Party. Yummy food, lots of people... the usual. Always great to go to his parties as his in-laws always prepare home cooked traditional (pinoy) food. Food I don't always get to eat. There are other things that happened on friday but I'll leave that to B0log3r to enter. Of course considering he may not remember the whole night :), the rest of us can fill/correct in as needed.

Xbox 360 Specs

Check it out here

My apologies for not posting lately. Been very busy at work. Too many things going on. Hopefully I'll be able to make time to post soon.

Welcome Jigasaurus!

goalee

the Commonwealth Games is just around the corner; the Australian Tennis Open is coming up even sooner; not to mention, it's almost Christmas time... there's no need to be afraid.

but with recent talks about the city of Melbourne being a possible target by terrorist factions from halfway across the globe, i would remain vigilant as an agent of light.

Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot that people remember is the one that gets past you. --Paul Wilkinson

I hope not to be remembered this way.

Dammiittt...

... that's expensive.. grrr. I need to find work that can supply IATA fares...

NZD 2,665.08 for 1 passenger(s) (total fare: NZD2,617.00 plus total taxes NZD48.08)
View fare breakdown
DateFlight details
Flight no.
Time(local)
Flight details
Class and stops
EK433

22 Sep 05
23 Sep 05
5:25 pm
6:25 am
Departs Auckland International Apt,New Zealand (AKL)
Arrives Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB)
Economy
2-Stops


Connecting to
EK923

23 Sep 05
23 Sep 05
3:10 pm
6:00 pm
Departs Dubai,United Arab Emirates (DXB)
Arrives Cairo, Egypt (CAI)
Economy
Non-stop
EK924

26 Sep 05
26 Sep 05
7:15 pm
11:50 pm
Departs Cairo,Egypt (CAI)
Arrives Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB)
Economy
Non-stop


Connecting to
EK432

27 Sep 05
28 Sep 05
8:45 am
1:15 pm
Departs Dubai,United Arab Emirates (DXB)
Arrives Auckland International Apt, New Zealand (AKL)
Economy
2-Stops

Anong....

....kalokohan to? ;P

What were you doing?

Sitting here at work, working 'cos we're upgrading to oracle 9i, as well as some unix app upgrades, and it just hit me that today is september 11, or 9/11 (as the yanks call it)

What were you doing on 11Sep2001?

I was on the late shift that day (1200-2230) - was still working for Ansett at the time, and so I got up late (around 8-8.30) and turned the TV on to channel3, when they had a newsflash about the WTC and such, so I quickly flicked over to channel 1, and watched in shock as they recounted the bone-chilling events that had transpired... As I sat there watching it, still groggy and semi-somnolent, I had a rather selfish thought - it was "oh sh1t, work is going to suck today", which was quickly over-ridden by a distinct feeling of self-guilt...

So I decided to go to work early, and got ready mechanically, my mind clouded by a hazy fugue, not really thinking anything... Didn't really notice at the time, but I can truly say that I can't remember what the traffic was like driving in to work that day...

Got to work, and the usual hubbub of an IT service desk was eerily subdued (which is weird seeing as we supported a combined total of nearly 20,000 staff, the majority spread across AU and NZ)... There's a tv (which we use for monitoring the schedules pages in teletext as we provide the info for those screens) in a central location (right by the a couple of memorex/telex green screen terminals)... It was currently on channel 1, which was providing the main coverage of the events, and updates as they came...

With the security lockdown in place, with regards to communications in and out of N. America, we had lost track of 3 of our planes... I was brought up to speed with regards as to what the operating procedures were for the shift (certainly not standard, by any stretch of the imagination)... The phones and the queues (the alternate ways that users could log issues/requests were via email or a website) were, not surprisingly, quiet...

Murmured conversation carried on in small groups, an unconcious drawing together of colleagues and friends seeking to draw comfort, strength and solace in the face of this manufactured disaster... I called an ex, whom I knew had a sister that worked in NYC, subduing feelings of awkwardness in an effort to be of some help to someone... Thankfully their sibling was safe...

The surreality of the situation will always stick clearly in my mind extended for the entire shift, lingering over the next few days and never fully clearing for weeks after the event...

stream of consciousness

apart from craving to play some badminton or tennis for most part of the day, i wouldn't mind a few games with the local pool shark to loosen up a bit. the weather's been fickle-minded this side of new orleans, and the love handles are not waging war on retirement. this is actually how i picked up spanish, by the way... by counting the balls in the native tongue of our first encounter with the western world. that was a long time ago, almost as long as i've been playing with my stick and my balls. if you seem too drunk to pick up the cue ball, cheers matey dear, and don't hurl on my shoes.

Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba

i stood in line for what seemed like eons. but... there was no one else there!?

ahhh, gadzooks! the place was still closed (i hate those chandeliers). priceless.

Minotaur

as usual, i was browsing through walls of graphic novels within the sub-basement domain of minotaur yesterday. a friendly chat about the hobby is always welcome from the equally friendly shop assistant, and before i knew it, i found out that that big fella from elektra the movie was in the store last weekend! bob sapp you mean? yeah, as in the beast! apparently he's training somewhere in melbourne and frequents the area as he has an aussie girlfriend, too. words that came out to describe him: huge, gentle, and huge! just like in the k1 ring. i wonder where glass jaw's going to have his next match?

Teen admits kicking puppy to death

Wtf is wrong with these people?

And another one - >Officer's cat cut in half

and >Judge gives cat killers nine months for cruelty...

Did I make a mistake?

I recently accepted this internal job for another department. In a
nutshell, it is to setup a small web site. The problem is the work is
not from my department.

I expressed to the IT manager (who is not my direct manager) that I am
interested in doing more work to expand my abilities. My direct report
also knows this. Before accepting this job, I asked for my manager's
permission. He accepted and that is why I'm doing it now.
But now, he is bitching about it (classic 2-faced attitude as
described in previous entries).

I wonder, did I make a mistake accepting this? Is it wrong that I want
to take on more, or better, challenges?

He does bitch a lot.

A couple of months ago, I made another 'mistake'. My manager put me in
charge of an internal move and some thigns didn't go quite as planned.
So I made a complaint about the person in charge of the move, in this
case the office manager, and somehow I decided to include the
Operations manager in the email. I only included the COO because I
feel I know him and we communicate freely in the office. Of course
being COO, he proceeded in investigating the matter which was then
brought back to my manager. The office manager got a formal letter in
her record because of this and I did apologise to her. Certainly not
my intension and it was a mistake. I just wanted for the move to be
done correctly as my manager put me in charge and their satisfaction
is my satisfaction. There is another story to this - my manager
doesn't like the office manager either. In fact, I was closer to the
office manager than my manager ever was and he calls her names and
makes fun of her behind her back. After this incident, he spoke with
the COO and the office manager and made me into the bad guy. He now
pretends to be best friends with her.

Going back to the current situation. If my manager didn't really want
to approve my work with this other department, then why approve it?
I've asked him. I said ..."as my manager, it is up to you whether you
approve it or not" I may want to do it but it is not up to me to
decide.

It is situations like this that makes it difficult to ignore...

Hole #2

i may have need to practice at the driving range, but i have found a new pasttime! FORE!!!

i did a beautiful swing (if i may) on this tee, and managed to do par (never mind the rest of the course). it was a great 2.5 hours of going through the 9 holes, with only a sore left palm to think about. and i'm proud to have all my balls by the end of the day, both of them. the only thing missing is that huge prizemoney.

next time, watch out! i shall be the "gloved one"...!

All Blacks win!!!

Now that was a bloody brilliant game! A classic test match of nearly epic proportions :-)




AND! the new haka "Kapa o Pango" just went off!!! If you didn't watch the game, then you missed out on seeing the start of a new tradition. My workmate (who didn't watch the game) asked me a rather valid question - is Kapa o Pango a better haka than Ka Mate? and i had to pause on that one... currently, i'd have to say that i'd rather see the ABs perform Kapa o Pango as i can't get enough of it, but whether or not it's actually "better" as such? i'd have to say that one is as great as the other...

In case you're interested, here's the words and the translation... something new to try and learn ^_^

Kapa o pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau!
Let me become one with the land
Hi aue, hi!
Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei!
This is our land that rumbles
Au, au, aue ha!
And it's my time! It's my moment!
Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei!
This defines us as the All Blacks
Au, au, aue ha!
It's my time! It's my moment!
I ahaha!
Ka tu te ihiihi
Our dominance
Ka tu te wanawana
Our supremacy will triumph
Ki runga ki te rangi e tu iho nei,
tu iho nei, hi!
And will be placed on high
Ponga ra!
Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hi!
All Blacks!
Ponga ra!
Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hi, ha!
All Blacks!

End of a holiday

Today, our relatives visiting from M'Sia are going home. It is the end
of their holiday and I feel like it is kind of the end of my holiday,
too. No doubt it was tiring travelling all those Kms up and down the
North Island but it was fun. As usual, there were several dinners as
well. I felt I've gained a few kilos.

I hope they enjoyed NZ. Sure there are not a lot of man-made
attractions but I guess that is not the reason you come to NZ. You
come here for the clean air, the clean green environment with a unique
flora and fauna, and of course the culture as well. Of course it is
not quite dissimilar from M'Sia but with all the asian food stalls and
shops here, the culture is almost evolving into Asian.

It was great fun catching up with rellies. They took a lot of photos
here (4.95 GB worth of 6MP photos to be exact). These two will be
getting married later this year and we wish them good luck and our
congratulations.

Now get back to work!

Prime minister asks cabinet to pay for fine

What the heck is this crap?

First of all I think the Helen Clark herself should be paying the fine. Surely even someone riding in the back seat of the car will notice the car is going over 120 km/h. In this case 170km/h! As a passenger and prime minister, she should have overruled her staff's requests for the driver to speed. That is what any of us will do.

Or perhaps she is an adrenaline junkie....hmm..it makes me think now..

The incident with the plane last april - could it be a setup? Maybe she asked her staff to make the plane door lock fail.

Anyway, the worst thing about the first article above, they were asking for donations "Do you want to contribute? Send donations to the Timaru Police Station, 20 North St."! Hell no!

Sick

Been sick for several days now. Headaches...throat croaking...stuffy nose...

It doesn't help especially that I have visitors from Malaysia. Been taking them around. They seem to be enjoying NZ most of the time. Problem with NZ is - it can be boring. If you are not an adventure person, you cannot enjoy the outdoors in NZ. We did take a ride on a Jet boat though. Gees...it doubled in price.. But I guess it was a good ride and $89 pp is almost worth it.

I'm gonna take a rest....

Sony Showcase last nite

It was a show case normally reserved for Sony's retail partners, one in which they could get a preview of what Sony would be unvieling in the next 2-6 months. To be able to attend, you had to be registered with MySony, and you had to send back your RSVP.

It was a good presentation, they had this little play of sorts (around 15 minutes), which had a hacker sort of feel to it (by hacker I mean, in this instance, illegally obtaining data and transferring it) in which they showed some of the showpieces of the evening ie. The Grand Wega 3LCD-DLP 60" TV *drooool* :-) the quality and depth of detail that the new TVs were capable of displaying were jaw-droppingly good... but to take advantage of the full capabilities of the TVs, you'd need to be playing off of a Blu-ray player *sigh*

And the new cameras!!! Bloody hell!!! Less than a centimetre thick, and about the size of a credit card at 5MP!!! Sunovab1tch!!!

Had all these fancy tidbits to munch on, and the grog flowed freely :-) not a bad night at all :-)

Oh, and the topic of conversation for henson and myself while we waited for the draw to win the 23" LCD TV? :-) Eurocentric - I brought this topic up 'cos in a rather amazing coincidence (or maybe it was the buzz word of the week for when they taped the shows - that's if they were filmed at the same time of course, but I digress)...

The topic came up 'cos 2 shows ("Dharma & Greg" and "2 guys, a girl and a pizza shop") use it... True I'm sure they use the same common words, but this word is fairly uncommon, hence why it caught my attention...

Stress Management

It's been a busy week.

Last week, someone from my work got fired (to put it simply). Officially, they merged 2 roles into 1 or another way of putting it, they've out sourced one role then made 2 employees apply for the one remaining role. Anyway you put it, I still think one person got fired. I say that because there are three people in my team who has been trying to get him fired for ages (months) but this person's team has been trying to support him. However his sales figures still did not meet expectations so the weight had finally shifted over. I feel sorry for this dude. True he is a hyperactive person but I think this is due to his religious beliefs. Being a Christian made him very energetic for life, etc. Since the three who are against him didn't believe in God, they always made fun of him, called him names, etc...find ways to put him down. He never gave up though. Some people called him clueless...I really don't have much opinion on this as it is the company's choice to fire him and it is none of my business to comment on his religion and his individuality. I just hope that the three people who campaigned so much for firing him do not split into 2:1. The 1 being the other person who got the sales role. Because if she doesn't meet expectations, the other 2 will betray and turn their backs against her. It is how they work. Fair enough you say...true..if you don't meet expectations then I guess you will be judged. But the previous person got judged not only for his job performance but for his personality and religion. Good luck to him. And I am going to say to him, God Speed.

Enough about that. Monday was also busy. The usual new issue business. Yesterday I had my stress management course all morning. A colleague took the same course and came out stressed. I can understand. While in the course all the intructor asked of us was to think of stressful situations...thinking about them made some of us stressed. One thing I cannot quite believe though...the instructor mentioned that one of the ways to relieve stress is to have a drink. It does work but I think if you encourage it, it can become a problem. Weird...Writing stressful situations out on paper (or electronically) is another way to deal with it..I guess this blog is useful after all. We'll see how it goes. I hope I learnt something.

I like rugby :-)

If you've ever had the great (mis)fortune to sit with me at a rugby game (whether live or televised), the first thing that you'll notice is that i get rather loud, and as the game goes on, more foul-mouthed as well...

the air was definitely green at my place over the weekend, as the NPC (national provincial championship) kicked of with the first and second divisions, as well as the 3rd test of the Tri-nations (All Blacks vs Australia, in Sydney)... so i had several games to work myself up to fever-pitch before the ABs game (which we won 30-13, but more on that some other time)...

Ever wonder how good you are at picking the score for rugby games? then wonder no more by joining http://www.virtualnpc.co.nz/home.asp and pit your skills against 95,000+ other rugby heads...

So all in all, starting on friday evening, thru to sundary arvo, there was 10 rugby games, and since i've (smartly) subscribed to "The Rugby Channel" on SkyTV, i'm just spoilt for choice, and it often takes a while for me to get around to chores and everything else that the significant other asks me to do...

next weekend there'll be another 5 games, with the NPC Third division starting up, but it's doubtful that they'll show those games live (or at all), but i'll be looking forward to the high-lights :-)

It is not an emergency until someone gets hurt

Another example of how the police system do not work to protect the tax-paying citizens of this country. Five 111 calls?! Two calls is understandable. Perhaps the caller is a prankster. Three...maybe. Four - no way. But Five!

Thsi is not the first time the Police failed to respond to emergencies as we all know. We have the famous Irena Asher who disappeared at Piha because she was sent a taxi instead of a police car. We have that old fella who got beaten up outside a bar. Police did come to this one but never followed up on his investigation. Now this.

A note to all potential 111 callers: Read the new 111 call procedure and you will surely get a response.

111: New Call Procedures

As we all know NZ Police are useless not only in their investigation skills, but also in handling emergencies.

Here we have a new procedure when calling the cops for emergencies...eg. When there is actual crime.

111: 111 Operator. Fire, Ambulance or Police?

Caller: Police Please

[Operator switchers to Police]

Police: Auckland Co-op....ahem...NZ Police Sation, How may I help you?

Caller: Quick! Quick! The petrol station is being robbed. The offender is SPEEDING! and he is wearing a CONTACT LENS!


Source.