Well here I am "celebrating" the US holiday of Thanksgiving in Australia again. And again it's a non-Thanksgiving for me. An anti-turkey day. A turkey-bar, to misuse a math phrase for the negative.
You would never even know it except for an occasional mention of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the news and guys coming in saying that sports on FoxTel, the Comcast of Australia, is showing back-to-back football on an off day.
Yeah, the financial world may get pneumonia when the US sneezes. But when it comes to holidays and such? Eh. Not so much.
"I have no idea why I get messages from this guy telling he's going to be out of the office", a co-worker, Mobby, complained. "I mean, I have never sent this guy a message and he never sends me anything - except when he's going to be out of the office!"
Yes, we've all had something like this happen to us before. I tend to get them when people change e-mail addresses; then up pops an e-mail from someone who you last heard from when you still had all your hair exhorting you to "make sure you update your contact list with my new information!"
I don't know how to respond politely telling them they were never IN my contact list.
Wonder why people do this? Is it just to make it seem to the rest of the people on the distribution list that they are popular? That all these people you're seeing in the "To:" field care about their whereabouts or how to stay in contact with them?
Guess it's sorta like an e-mail version of the "Friends" feature on MySpace.
For all you out there that like to do this? Be a maverick: put your distribution in the BCC so no one would know about the others.
This Saturday marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. While that day was one of those so-called defining moments where people say they remember what they were doing, I was far FAR too young then.
What I do remember vividly is visiting my grandmother's house in the southern US as a child. Her living room was unremarkable as far most of that era, with one wall given over to photos and images she found important. I remember there were pictures of her many children, my aunties and uncles - most in military uniforms - smiling out at me through younger eyes; she and her by-then deceased husband in their best, if old-fashioned, clothes. But there were three pictures placed above them all: a photo of John F Kennedy, one of Martin Luther King Jr, and an image of Jesus.
Yes, I may have been too young, but I do remember.
A mate, Sam, and I went to see Quantum of Solace, the latest offering in the James Bond movies. Now I love James Bond movies and Daniel Craig in James Bond movies, however I must admit to being a bit disappointed. Not because it wasn't a great ride - it WAS a James Bond movie after all - but when director Marc Forster said he wanted to have an art house feel, I think he achieved that only if the art house was located in an earthquake zone. There was so much of that trendy shaky camera shots that in some sequences I kept wondering, "I'm still in my seat, right?" And sure it had twice as much action, but that's because there were 2 chase scenes and 2 heart-to-heart holdings by our hero. Let me put it this way, at one point Bond returns to the hotel and is handed a message on a piece of paper with one word on it, "RUN!" Let's hope that's what Barbara Broccoli does if the writing team that penned this movie heads her way again.
And while we're on the topic, Australia had it's premiere this week in Sydney and other selected venues to much fanfare as the great celluloid hope of the Australian film industry. Starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, this film has garnered such a loud jingoistic chorus by the critics you'd think it was "Waltzing Matilda" after the 10th shout at the corner pub. The thought of the movie by your average Aussie I've spoken too? Eh, not so much. The one good thing about it is that it's spawned a whole new Australian Tourism campaign "Come Walkabout", shepherded by doe-eyed aboriginal youngster Brandon Walter who played "Nullah" in the movie. Gone forever is the painful "So where the bloody hell are ya!" bleated by the vapid Lara Bingle. Gone is the screech of Bindy Irwin. Now the ads are sleek, cool, and stress how Australia is the antidote for the soul. All it needs is young Brandon to whisper, "Zoom! Zoom!" to be complete.
Your Farmer Ted sucks at social networking on the internet. To me, it's one of those "big things" that will go the way of others like Internet Relay Chat (anyone remember using IRC?). But not only has it been identified as one of the top 10 IT disruptive technologies but it seems like everyone I know says incredulously "YOU don't have a Facebook page?" with that look on their faces as if they smelled a faintly unsavory odor.
Well godammit I don't have any of 'em. Never will. Your Farmer is very leery about flapping his bonafides in the internet breeze for all to see. And that definitely goes for LinkedIn and the same for My Space.
I was speaking to a female acquaintance the other day about my reticence prompting her to comment, "Don't worry about it, go on and join one!" Sensing my confusion, she continued, "That way, when your old classmates link as friends you can have a look to see how bad they look as they've grow older." Finishing with,"Then, you can have a good laugh and just cut them off," and snapped her fingers.
Ya know, there is something that's always interested me about photographs. As a matter of fact, when it comes to artistic mediums it's probably my favorite. I especially like historical photography. While strictly speaking all photography by it's very nature is historic; but I mean professional slice of life pictures. What fascinates me is looking at the people subjects in these photographs - not the main point of the photo but rather the nameless people that are as integral a part of the shot as the main subject would be.
When I look at it I think "Who was that guy standing there in the snow handing up the messages to the engineer of that train? What was his name? He looks happy. What was his life like? Was he married? Did he have kids? What made him laugh? What were his dreams?"
I guess I can't answer that anymore than people reading this blog can realistically say about me. Perhaps, when it comes to the playing out of our lives, we're all just trying to not end up being remembered as Man in Crowd #3.
While in the US it's easy (and correct) to lay much at the feet of the ex-Fed Chairman, when you get right down to it, the whole subject of economic forecasting just seems to be akin to be a he-said/she-said/he-said of guessing. Especially since economies around the world are now globally tied together inextricably with so many variables in play no one can really tell anything.
As result, you'll always have one set of so-called experts that will predict things go up, another that says it stays the same, and another that it goes down. Of course, one of the three will be right each time; trumpeting their sageness over the others, conveniently forgetting that on the next issue (and likely the previous one) they're the ones grumbling at the fallacy of their bogus prognostications.
My view from the porch these days? I just look at the effects where I live and hold on tight.
I see that catchphrase posted on the restroom walls everyday here at work.
It's the Desert Eco Systempurporting to eliminate (pardon the pun) the use of water in urinals: the much touted waterless system. How it works is rather than flushing, use a blue microbial-packed cube in each unit and turn off the water. Easy-peesy! Water saved! Odors eliminated!
Well, something must be going wrong somewhere cause every place I've been to where it's used I have been left with a far less relieving experience. Despite the glowing testimonials spouted by the manufacturer, restroom with the system invariably smell like the ones I remember at Veterans Stadium after they've been visited by a few thousand male fans during the course of a hot summer baseball game.
I'll leave you with that mind picture for a while.
So despite all the splashy testimonials posted on its website and catchy slogans sprayed on restroom walls all over Australia, I'm not a believer. Personally? I think it's because we're guys and guys are used to a lot that no one is complaining at these patently yellow journalism tactics to keep us quiescent.
Hopefully this whole thing will pass and we're not just circling the drain until a better product comes along.
Sqwaat [skwaet] (noun) - The amount of product that splats out of a bottle when you squeeze vigorously after having left it upside down for a while to get that last bit out.
I need to get more lotion because I had only a sqwaat left.
I'm such great a credit risk these days. Recently I've begun getting inundated by mortgage and credit card companies asking why haven't I considered getting a credit card or financing a mortgage with them? Especially since I'm a preferred customer.
Eh, how's that again?
Oh, I get it. Now I see why all the red roses. Just because I pay my bills on time that makes me - even me - preferred.
As you might imagine, the reason it's been memorialized is because it was hot, humid, wet, under miserable conditions, and very rugged terrain over a set of mountains and losing many diggers (as Australian soldiers are called for some rather vague reason) along the way.
And you can book a professional to guide you and any group over the same track.
So what does a modern-day trek of the Kokoda Trail have to do with clocks? Well, like caring why clocks run the direction they do, I find the thought of doing something like the Kokoda Trail sparks mild curiosity, but not anything you'd really care to take any further than that.
Have fun, Pigeon (whenever you get my message at a base station with an operational whip antenna...WTF)!
...after last night, I reckon, would have to be Levi Johnston. You remember him: The 18-yo ice-hockey-playing fiance' of Bristol Palin, the (now) 18-yo daughter of ex-veep candidate Sarah Palin, and father of Bristol's unborn child.
So why should Levi be happy? Well, just think about it.
Had the Republican candidates won the White House his life would be a living nightmare. To be married under the baleful stare of a moose-hunting Sarah; watched like a hawk by the media waiting for him to mess up; the Republican Party daring him to mess up; and the Palin clan tapping their freshly cleaned hunting rifles hoping he'd mess up I don't think ANY new husband, let alone one getting married to his very pregnant high-school classmate after professing to all the world "I don't want kids." on his My Space page, could possibly cope.
Yep, I'll bet ol'Levi is breathing just a little bit easier today.
There is a haunting song by the late Sam Cooke called "A Change is Gonna Come". In the lyrics, Sam Cooke laments on the state of race relations, the difficulties of life in America as a black man, and the burdens life throws at you. That threaten to take your spirit. And after each verse comes the line heralding hope:
It's been a long time coming, but I know A change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
I think of that song each time I see Barack Obama. Can this event be what Sam Cooke was singing about? Are we closer to answering the earnest call of that song?
But ya know, everytime I see Senator Obama and read his slogan with the word CHANGE in huge letters? How can I think anything else.
Your Farmer Ted LOVES Bollywood movies. To me they are corny, predictable, cliched, over-the-top, gaudy and probably the greatest entertainment you can experience. Bollywood have their own stars, starlets, and major studios. And with an audience of 1.1 BILLION that's a heck of fan base.
But when it comes to the movies, most importantly the dance numbers keep me riveted and my feet just'a tapping on the ol'porch.
And did you know they make videos out of the dance numbers? Just tune into Asian Variety Show (AVS) TV almost any time of the day on cable and you'll catch music videos made of the dance scenes from the latest movies."Desi Girl" from the movie Dostana is getting much airplay right now. And thanks to YouTube I can stream the dance version into my living room anytime I want.
Ah! Remember when Hollywood used to make movies like these? Like Bye Bye Birdie starring Paul Lynde, Ann-Margaret, and Dick Van Dyke? Yes, we do have to go back that far to find them in the US.
Ok, I may be showing my age, but I still got the moves!
By "IT" I mean the information technology departments in the world. And we all have names for IT, none complimentary, for what we see as their policy implementations being an impediment to our doing what we feel we need to do with our company computing resources.
This has been borne out by a study published at Forbes.com that has found that almost 3/4 of us think that IT unnecessarily limits the use of technology it delivers without any explanation of why. But the question I found most illuminating was this one: When IT limits the use of technology, does it provide alternative ways to accomplish tasks? Yes: 19%; No: 81%. From discussions with Butters (an ex-IT manager) about this and how people complain and complain, I noted that engineers are an exception to that behavior.
From your puzzled expression I see I need to continue.
Engineers love a challenge and are trained to solve problems, so restricting the use of technology with a commandment-like start of "THOU SHALT NOT..." with no plausible explanation means one thing: Engineers are, sure as shootin', gonna immediately try to find a way to circumvent it.
And they will. Oh yeah, they will.
So all you IT folks out there, if your user population includes engineers who complain and then go silent? Look to your systems! Like a 5-yo that suddenly gets quiet in their play, it means they're doing something you probably don't want them to.
Well here I am "celebrating" the US holiday of Thanksgiving in Australia again. And again it's a non-Thanksgiving for me. An anti-turkey day. A turkey-bar, to misuse a math phrase for the negative.
