alius locus, alius mihi

Beating The Drum

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:33:57 +1000

To my mind, allocating an excise on candied alcoholic drinks is a logical progression. Sure, it's yet another tax boon to the federal government, ought to be something encompassed by the GST, as should all taxes on consumables. However, this article is nothing more than a baseless opportunistic beat-up.

As anyone who enjoys a glass of wine knows, a bottle of wine is almost always enjoyed in company, which means a supposed 8 standard drinks is halved or divided even further. In company, over dinner or on a sunny afternoon over nibbles, in my experience lasts maybe thirty minutes between three people. That's 2.66 (recurring if you count sniffing the empty) drinks each. During an interview I heard on Radio National last weekend, it's apparent that young female drinkers especially, drink these ready-to-drink 'alcopops', which rate at 5% alcohol by volume in Australia, with the expressed purpose of getting inebriated as quickly as possible for the least cost. That's binge drinking. I'm yet to encounter anyone who drinks wine for pleasure to do so for the same purpose.

That's not to say that bumping up the cost of these lollie drinks is going to deter those who really like them and drink them to excess for the buzz. Of course, there's the other option, as yet to encounter an excise increase to forestall teenage lushes (let's be honest and admit that it's the generation Y types that Nanny is ostensibly out to get), and that's to buy a bottle of the spirit of choice and a few cans of suitable soft drink or fruit juice. There's home brewed beer, which can pack a real punch I can tell you, and home distilleries (that apparently are illegal, but still freely available) which will provide the ardent hobbyist with pure alcohol to be flavoured as they wish. Neither method is taxed in the same manner as the binge drinker's supposedly favoured tipple, and neither they ought to be.

As a 'boomer', I've done my fair share of over-indulging in younger days, and frankly I don't think I've been unduly harmed by doing so. Some of the memories are vague, but I'm still here and quite rational, thanks very much. Drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, driving fast cars and even eating junk food are all accepted, legal social mores. Parts of life in the modern world, even to the extent of being rights of passage in some cases. Being the grumpy old man that I am today, I have no time for Gen Y'ers who deliberately go out in public to make fools of themselves, however, in earlier life, I've probably done similar. If that's their thing, then I say 'enjoy'. Just don't impinge on my space. There's an old saw which says, "you drink, you get drunk, you fall down". There's another which says, "shit happens".

Raising revenue from a perceived social problem won't resolve that problem. Is binge drinking a problem? Personally, I don't think so. Is taxing a legally available and socially acceptable consumable really going to resolve a social problem? Maybe, but as I've already outlined, there are other avenues for the truly determined. In fact, there are always other avenues. I'm a smoker. Not a heavy smoker, maybe three or four a day, but I continue to smoke because I enjoy the experience, and besides, I'm an adult. If I choose to to smoke, I will and no legislative impost will stop me. I dare say the very same mentality will apply on behalf of those who enjoy 'alcopops'. Problem solved, Nanny?

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QotD: I'm So Excited

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:34:21 +1000

What most excites you about the way you're living your life right now?

Fuck all, really. If you call work-home-work-home five days a week, flight simming on weekends because I can't afford to do anything else, then I s'pose that's exciting. Frankly, I'd always hoped there'd be more to it.

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Does Brisbane Need A "Darling Harbour"?

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:31:46 +1000

I'm a Brisbanite, but can't actually say I've paid a whole lot of attention to this seemingly benighted development. Until now.

I haven't had to work in the CBD for quite a while, but that all changed in January this year. Once again exposed to the rigours of making the daily commute into the city, I'm limited to travelling either by train, or car. Bus is definitely out, given where I currently work in the city, and the hours the job requires. Personally, I despise public transport in any event. It's uncomfortable, inconvenient and expensive. In fact, from a cost/convenience perspective, travelling into town by six cylinder Camry (yes, Timmy......I have another Camry!) five days a week costs me as much in fuel as a weekly train ticket. The plus for me being the convenience of being able to come & go as I please, in comfort, without having to endure the press of my fellow human beings. There's also the additional benefit of enjoying Radio National as I go. Something which is impossible on Brisbane's electric train system.

Travelling by car into town has awakened me to the current state of gridlock on Brisbane's suburban roads during morning and evening peak hours. To put it bluntly, it's fucking terrible. A journey of 24 kilometers, which normally takes thirty minutes, takes one hour fifteen minutes. Unless some fool fails to pay attention, then it's much longer. There are five paths one can follow into the CBD, which cross the river. The Gateway Motorway, Storey Bridge, Captain Cook Bridge/South-East Freeway, Victoria Bridge and the Grey Street Bridge. The latter two options aren't mainstream access points as one is restricted to basically one lane each way, and the other accesses the western end of the CBD, making the overall journey much too long. The Gateway Motorway crossing leaves one with an ardous journey across the north-eastern suburbs, which leaves only the Storey Bridge and Captain Cook/South-East Freeway. All avenues are chock-a-block during peak times, with traffic movement never quicker than 40kph.

Why am I telling you all this local trivia, reader? Because the Northbank Development will literally straddle the existing South-East Freeway which runs along the northern bank of the Brisbane River. It seems to be a wonderfully well thought out project, if you believe the Multiplex blurb, but I notice there's absolutely no mention of the enormous potential this development must hold for disruption of traffic flows along the freeway. I've cobbled together a couple of photos from the wife's flickr collection which fairly accurately show that stretch of the north bank of the river which the development will change. As can clearly be seen, the South-East Freeway is right smack-dab in the middle of the project and is supposed to continue to run under the development. Full plans of the Multiplex proposal are no longer available from the Qld Government website, undoubtedly given the public outcry over the potential for damage to the heritage district of of the CBD, and encroachment into the river itself, with all the attendant disruption to animal and plant life.

Brisbane's Northbank. Victoria Bridge to the immediate left. Capt Cook Bridge to the right.

Whilst I'm not a raging greenie or an avid user of the Brisbane River, I am a daily commuter. One of 4,000 every hour over the Captain Cook bridge during peak times. I don't need what has every appearance of being a politically acceptable, developer inspired construction project which has every possibility of running two years plus, creating absolute chaos amid an already stagnant daily commute. I'm a'gin it! I've just decided that I need to start paying a lot more attention to this project, and which way our Anna will wave as the winds of public opinion change.

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Vox Hunt: A Cut Above the Rest

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:17:53 +1000

Show us a photo of you with a funny haircut.

TX5100z242

It doesn't get much funnier than that. The things ya do when you're unemployed and out of your scone with boredom....

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And In The Morning

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:05:49 +1000

Watching the ANZAC Day services from Gallipoli and Viller-Bretonneux, I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities, and differences between the two.

Gallipoli was, as has been the case ever since real-time telecasts began several years ago, reverent and solemn. Viller-Bretonneux, at least to me, was different in that it gave the impression of being a ceremony for the also-rans of Australian politics to attend. Joe Hockey for the Leader of the Opposition (what would have kept Nelson away?) and the myriad of stand-in's for this federal minister and that state member. I noticed that Ted Ballieau actually made it, but have to question why it had to be as Leader of the Victorian Opposition. Why not just as Ted Ballieau, individual Australian? Parts of the Viller-Bretonneux ceremony were, indeed, reverent however, I question the need for the ceremony to include members of the public laying wreaths on international television. I also question the need to have a choir singing and some of the most awful bagpipe playing I've ever heard.

I enjoyed Gallipoli's service and always have ever since it was possible to take part, albeit thousands of kilometres removed. The reading of the ode, the last post, revelly and even the speeches given by Joel Fitzgibbon and especially so this year, by Winston Peters. I found his speech to be particularly moving, and will be tracking down a text copy for posterity.

Viller-Bretonneux was far too drawn out for what was essentially a brief ceremony. The site is sacred and undoubtedly highly emotive to be associated with close up & personal. A half rectangle with it's enormous tower incorporating the Australian Imperial Forces 'Rising Sun' emblem at the base, and three walls with literally thousands of names of those who died in the battle for the French village, and immediate surrounds. I felt the ceremony was ruined by the appeal to everyone present to retire to the tents in back of the memorial for refreshments, and 'take your rubbish with you, thanks'

As a personal aside, I remain fascinated that on days such as ANZAC Day, we continue to evoke the Christian deity to save, protect, etcetera, etcetera. If such an all-powerful deity really existed, we'd not be holding days like ANZAC Day. What an incongruous irony. Above it all, I remember my Dad. Gone now these three years, I never asked the questions about his time in New Guinea I wanted to ask, and now am so terribly sorry I didn't. Whatever memories - good bad or otherwise - he may have had of those times, are gone forever. To those of you who still have family who served in places they'd rather forget, make the effort to ask them to recall, for your sake, and for the sake of those who come along after you. The efforts and sacrifices of our fallen, both in battle and in life's great culling, must be remembered for the sake of the national identity, and foremost, for the futility of war at the behest of spineless politicians. Else, we're doomed to repeat and repeat that which those who fought & died hoped would never have to be fought for again.

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QotD: More, More, More

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:50:01 +1000

What would you like to do more of?

Just about anything which doesn't require that I work at a job that I don't enjoy, simply for the money.

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Running Away

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:07:15 +1000

In a bid to escape from the everyday dramas which are currently plaguing me, I decided to return to the fantasy world of flightsimming. You know....Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (I'm both dubious about and too cheap to buy FSX). There's an abundance of freeware flight models available on the 'net and some damn good one's too. With custom made panels, virtual cockpits, sound files and liveries. Some of the payware stuff is also well worth the money to buy if you're at all like me, and just fall in love with a virtual representation of a wonderful, artistic and graceful aircraft.

Of course, I'm talking about civilian aircraft here. I'm not an overt fan of militaristic warbirds, although I do have a couple of ex-WW2 converted bombers and at least one circa 1950's jet in my 'hangar'. Neither am I a huge fan of modern jet powered civilian cattle-crates. With all the technology available today, even in the real world it's a matter of flaps set-throttles forward-gear up- autopilot set-coffee please. Long haul bus driving doesn't do it for me either. I'm more into the small twin props, especially the piston-engined jobs. Beech D18S, Howard 500 and Rockwell Aero Commander series.

I'm currently flying a cross-global route from Brisbane (YBBN) to Carriacou (TGPZ) in the Grenadines. The route takes me to Cairns, Port Moresby, Honiara, Marshall Islands, Hawaii, San Francisco, south western USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic and on to Grenada. The trip will take weeks, as it would in the real world, flying a Rockwell Shrike Commander, which I've altered to accommodate ferry tanks for the longer legs. This is pure escapism on my behalf, and Gods know I would happily escape if I could. It's a venture into a lifestyle I can only dream about with an ending which is really 'out there' by any stretch of the imagination. There's an island, known as White Island, less than 2 klicks off the coast of Carriacou. It measures half a klick by 200 metres with it's highest point about twelve metres above sea level. There's a considerable rocky tor on one end of the island and it's there I'd build a small shack. After paying US$3m for the island, what's the cost to ferry a builder to this remote spot? Chicken feed, I dare say!

I've included a link to the Google Earth file for White Island for those interested enough to take a gander. I'm considering mapping out the journey on GE, just for shits & giggles you understand. I'm currently in Port Moresby, having flown there from Cairns this arvo. No pics, I'm afraid. I was too busy getting used to this new bird to hang out the virtual window & take snap shots. I do promise there will be pics as the flight progresses though. Can you understand why I've titled this post "Running Away"? If I were any younger, I'd be seriously worried about me, but I'm not, so I can't be bothered. Beer or wine, anyone?

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Dollar Games

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:50:22 +1000

The mob I wrote about yesterday sent me their contract today. The quoted dollar amount includes superannuation, which strips away just over $5k/annum, making the disposable income after tax untenable. I rang them, stated a case and was promised an answer later today. In the meantime, I had a call from another lead on the Sunshine Coast, answering an application I'd made yesterday. The man wants someone to fill a role which I'm well and truly suited for. In fact, it would most likely be a better job, per se, than the one I thought I already had. I've lived and worked on the Sunshine Coast and it's pure heaven. The business environment is lively and energetic as well. Albeit, that was some 16 years ago.

Thing is, such a move would mean the wife would be living here, in Brisbane, while I live & work on the coast. During the week anyway. Effectively, her DSP would increase markedly because we'd be 'separated' in terms of the current welfare regime. Naturally, I'd be paying rent and food while away, which would practically zero out the increased pension benefit based on the salary I'm assuming is on offer. Perhaps I'm wrong. I hope so. I'll find out more detail on Thursday.

A half hour ago I had a call from the first employer, the one I wrote about yesterday, to say that they're agreeable to the base PLUS super, which gives me the disposable income after tax I need to make all the sums work. Not luxuriously mind you, but minimally. The mortgage gets paid, which is the prime concern. Now here's the quandary, and we're not taking megabucks here either. Do I opt for a position on the Sunshine Coast, providing it pays a minimum $5k more than the one in Brisbane, or settle for the one in Brisbane, which is still less than what I was being paid in my last role. There's fuel involved, rent, food, all of which would easily decimate any benefit from an increased Disability Support Pension because we're 'separated'. Yes, I know there will be those who'll say we're ripping off the system, but I'd refute that. I'd be working to support two people, living away from home and hearth to do so and at the end of the day, certainly not profiting to any degree.

I'll know more on Thursday evening. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode from Casa Confusion.

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Shot Duck

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:20:51 +1000

Well, I have a job. It's not the job I wanted, and it pays less than I wanted, but at least the house will be safe. For a while. The budgeting will have to be tightly handled as I'll be getting paid monthly, which frankly I find obscene & obsolete in the current age.

I'm seriously shattered, especially given that I still have three irons in the fire which look like taking time to come off. If they come off. Any of the three would be great roles and easily what I'm after. Each would pay slightly more as well, which is always good. Thing is, how long does one hang out on the off-chance that best wishes and desires will actually come to fruition? Bird-in-the-hand stuff, I guess.

I'm seriously tired of this constant battle. I feel the weight tremendously. I hope this position actually becomes something that I fear it's not right now. No challenge, but at least it's an income.

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A Mouse Click Too Far

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:42:37 +1000

Went for another job interview this arvo. Wasn't actually any kind of interview I've ever had though. Firstly, there was the inevitable call on the recruitment agency to sign their legal disclaimers, under the guise of asking "...and just what sort of position do you really get satisfaction out of?" As if the guy actually cares a fig. I know damn well they don't, but when you're looking for work, these leeches have the marketplace in their palms to an enormous degree. Like everything else in business today, it's all about money. Not about the individual who wants a satisfying position which pays well enough and brings about that warm inner glow from a job well done.

Anyway, after twenty minutes there and a few vacuous questions later, I headed off across the CBD to what I presumed would be a meeting with a person or persons at the employer in question. Didn't take long, as it was less than three blocks away. First floor, asked for the lady I was referred to and was shown into a small room with a computer on a desk. "Just complete you name, date of birth and address details and click through to the test after it. Let me know when you're finished and I'll get *insert referred name here* to see you" Hmmm.....okay then. I 'd been advised that a psyche test was the order of the day, but this was the receptionist I was dealing with.

The psyche test consisted of a set of twelve screens which presented a 'which shape comes next' attention-to-detail quiz. Walk in the park, to be frank. Then a set of some thirty odd questions about life, the Universe and everything, apparently designed to categorically pidgeon-hole the contestant in the blink of an eye. I've done these things before, and found that if you answer them based on your initial reaction to the question, you're showing the real you. Supposedly. No point in trying to second-guess this stuff, as it's formulated by brain-boxes you and I would never manage to relate to on any level, who believe they know the human psyche intimately and habitually analyse their spouses, cats, dogs and pet birds. Few of them manage to remain married because of this habit, cats are always a challenge, dogs don't really care who you think you are as long as they get a pat and birds are caged anyway, so that makes them easy meat.

I completed the whole shooting match in less than 15 minutes, advised the receptionist, who, true to her word, called *insert referred name here* to come collect me. So I thought. Out from the nether regions of this office comes a brilliantly smiling, diminutive young woman who proffers her hand, surprisingly firmly for a woman, and proceeds to tell me how 'nice' (how I HATE that word) it is to meet me and that the test results would be available to her and the agency in about two hours. Thanks so much for coming in, and bye-bye! I was slightly caught off guard, but quickly regathered my senses, thanked her for her time and pressed the elevator call button as I watched her receding back disappear back into the office's nether regions.

Suffice to say, by the time I walked back to Central Station, caught the next train and made it back to my car, - a journey all of 50 minutes from go to whoa - the test results were in. I called the guy at the agency, and "they won't be proceeding at this time, but head up! We'll be putting a greater focus on your position over the next few days." Yeh, I'll just bet you will. How impersonal is it when a computer-based quiz decides your suitability for a job you've been doing all your life? Anyway, I'm reasonably immune to such things lately, and have another face-to-face interview with an employer directly tomorrow morning. I much prefer that style of analysis. People know people. Machines can't read eyes, facial expressions and body language.

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