4:05 am and the clock goes tick-tick-tick Musings

Having, sort of, got my head around the speed of light thing, but perhaps not, the next part is the travelling to a new planet or star, somehow.

These are the current questions I muse on as I meditate myself to sleep.

How many of you are there on this journey?

If speed of light travel, or near to s-o-l travel is  possible that would still mean that something 2 light years away would take 2 years to get to? Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf about 4.24 light-years from the Sun, that's a 9 year round trip?

Could be nothing there when you got there.

The one with the 'award'

Award, pronounced awkward. - Welcome to the the "Very inspiring Blogger Award"

I'm pleased people visit my musings and ramblings, and I enjoy the feedback and interactions I have on here of course.

So I was surprised and at the same time miffed when I got a comment that I'd been listed, as part of the rules, for the VIB to pass on the baton, as it were.

The Less of Me, December 2012 edition

13 runs for exactly 69 kilometres, I have no idea how it got the be an exact number but the OCD in me thinks this is a great success.

Weight did dip below 89kg, but sadly in celebration I had chips. Then of course we had christmas, then of course I have no will power.

I did run on the 24th, 25th took a day off for the 26th then ran 4 days straight, with another day off for NYE.

[caption id="attachment_5913" align="aligncenter" width="474"] The less of me - December 2013[/caption]

Beach Life – Summer 2013 – #9

I write this the day after the day before.

Yesterday, the weather was average, cold and a bit showery.  But I was made to go for some exercise with MrsPdubyah, as you can see it wasn't as flash as it could have been in the morning

We got to the beach, Matarangi, didn't have it to ourselves in the distance you can see another romantic couple braving the elements

Some of the locals are more hardy, these oyster catchers for instance

To be fair there were far more people on the beach than I'm making out, they're done the more built up area where all the beach houses are. Brave souls.

As reward I brought me two beers, one which was good the other was ok. They are local beers, so I am in a way supporting local artisans. I am not however convinced they are brewed locally, but brewed to a recipe, which isn't unusual. I'll need to do more 'research'.

And then to bring it all back down we opened a bottle (gifted) of Sauv Noir, a horrific mixture of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from Chile.  It's as bad as it sounds. It's not like that don't have a decent wine trade in New Zealand. As it was a bit mardy we had a Thai Red Curry for dinner which was outstanding, and the remains of the Focaccia bread. Which now reminds me that I was supposed to make some bread for lunch. 

Today, Which I think is Thursday the day has dawned much brighter. There are many more boats on the seas going fishing and gathering, and MrsPdubyah is talking about a walk around the point at Matarangi to the Harbour, and I can buy more beer :-)

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• Beach Life - Summer 2013 - #8 (pdubyah.com)

 

Beach Life – Summer 2013 – #8

The New Years Eve edition, that was.

The new thing is fireworks we discovered at variously 11:58, 11:59, midnight, 12:01 and all the way through to 12:20. Extremely loud fireworks. I'm not even sure when that became a thing.

Obviously too that whoever held the matches told the time, and that no-one had thought to synchronise watches, or phones, or anything. Bit of a laugh. Someone has to go first.

I think the frugal in me is against setting fire to money like that, this of course does not extend to my beer drinking and the associated costs for that. Also I enjoy the fact that other people have spent the money, I'm good like that.

It was a nice evening, although it was getting slightly cooler as it got later,



The view was improved a bit, as did my mood.



So the communal party was great, although it was cold last night, cold enough to have regretted wearing shorts. The iTorch thing ran the battery out on the phone half way there, made getting back a bit of fun.

I should bring a proper camera next time as the abundance of stars is to behold.

Back at the party though, with Shaking hands I took these pictures of the man-cave, shaking because of the cold not the sense of awe, or Cor!

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="5885,5884,5883,5881,5880,5878,5879,5876" orderby="rand"]

Fast forward, and the morning of the first still sees the Gentleman Fishing Club on the sidelines waiting a break in the weather and for the rafts of weed in the sea to move along. Might be later today I hope

And for the next activity, after brunch, it's a walk around the Matarangi point. Pictures later, or not, depends.

Restaurant Critic #4 – Flavours of India - Browns Bay

Well what an eye opener this was when we first came here. We'd been used to having Indian food take-away and Dine-in from Chand in Mairangi Bay , where the service was always prompt, the price was always cheap and the food was passable.

Then we, on whim, went to Flavours of India in Browns Bay .

It's not swanky, flash, or opulent and in no way is it a fine dining experience. It's small, stark and functional modern. It's more cafe than restaurant. They claim to be able to seat 50. That'd be a busy night.

Then there is the food.

The kitchen is in eye and ear shot of everyone, with the obligatory glass window over the Tandoor oven so that you can see chef in action.

And what he produces is top quality.  It's not an extensive menu by comparison with other establishments, the standard items are there, and a couple of specials and unique dishes.

To be fair they don't need to have an extensive menu as the quality and taste you get from your choice should make it your favourite.

5 of us. We had a vegetarian and a meat version of the entrée platter.

There was the obligatory butter chicken. and the Saag Goshst (Lamb in Spinach), and a Shajahani chicken (Chicken in Cashew, saffron and coriander) and two of the special items,  a Lamb Stir fry, and a real Goat Curry, which was an off-menu item.

The Lamb and the Goat were amazing, succulent, juicy, tender, but somewhat spicy.

Oh and Garlic and Plain Naan.

It was too much, way too much food, and a doggy bag accompanies us home.

This isn't a chain or franchise menu, it's a small operation, and they're happy if you're a first time or return customer, and they remind you that word of mouth is their best advertising. 

I'd suggest - Get in!

 

Bit of a mistake - Shopping at Farro

I don't know what came over me, but I went to Farro Fresh, for no reason other than that they do have the  Over the Moon – Triple Cream Brie that I'm a bit of a fan of. Why would you not be!

So MrsPdubyah and MissPdubyah were watching X-Factor on the Mysky and I decided that it would be better if I didn't.

Road Trip to  to Farro Fresh on Constellation Drive as my safe place.

Bit. Of. A. Mistake. Lot. Of.

I found the cheese, but I didn't buy it, because their Cheese-o-rorium has some Whitestone Lindis Pass Brie that took my eye instead. And of course having brought the Primo Sopresso Hot Salami I felt that I was on a bit of a roll.

But what put me off my stride straight away was the sign advertising "New Zealand Pineapples 2-for-$5" except they weren't' they were from the Philippines. I can let that slide, no one is really going to think that we've grown Pineapples in Winter right?

But having got my small stash of cheese and salami I decided a mooch about the aisles was a thing.

This is where is really started to go wrong.

My "twatdar" starts boinging like a grandfather clock stuck on 12. Mothers who indulge their little Deborah with a bottle of $14.50 rhubarb and lime cordial for instance, which was pretention enough. Then came Mr. and Mrs Mexico. With their shop assistant.

"We're from Mexico, and in Mexico..." ... "In Mexico shops like this"... "Mexican people like us, in Mexico".. and the poor store boy hadn't said a word yet. They brought some flour. I don't think you can get flour in Mexico. Don't really know, but "in Mexico I love to cook" people were happy.

The queue for the pretzel tasting. "Charlotte it's cheese and herbs" he said, having tasted a sugar cube chunk. Charlotte sets a low bar for enjoyment clearly.

There is much to admire about the produce at Farro, I'm not knocking the store, but the people that shop there are the sort that would rather shop online and have delivered rather than go to Foodtown let alone Pak n' Save.

It's the kind of toy shop for adults enthusiasm that annoys me " Darling it's organic butter!" I think missing the point about what "organic" means in it's real sense. I get that in a food sense it means "without chemicals". And it's like shooting fish in a barrel, $7.49 for 100grams of dried fruit in a foil packaging from a company that "loves food", for instance.

There is a plethora of things that you can't get in a supermarket and that's why I enjoy shopping at Farro. But I got to figure out the quite time when raised whispers to an enthralled partner are not de rigueur.

Oh and yes I brought some Quinoa, just like a child in a lolly shop with a gold coin, hook line and sinker...

In the court of public opinion - #1

In the case of a 16yo in Turangi A particularly tasteless sex crime against a girl 5.

Thankfully public opinion and sentiment isn't the deciding factor in what if any punishments are due. There isn't much doubt about guilt, the teen, by all accounts, turned himself in, and is in custody, bail declined, for the duration.  The story will be one of why, and how. And we will all have an opinion on that.

But is you've been unfortunate enough to read some blogs then you'll find things like this, all anonymous all ignorant and all rabid;

• "Hopefully this scumbag will be jailed. He will last about 5 seconds in prison."


• "He should be fucking shot"


• "he big pity is ... the cunt is only 16 and  will create a feeding frenzy for lawyers, psychiatrist and the like all at our expence, besides that in jail nowadays most of the crims are in for similar shit, they will just fuck him."


• "16. Disgusting. And of course will likely not be convicted due to his age. Appalling."


• "I REALLY hope that the judge refuses name suppression in this case."


• "It's well past time minors got automatic name suppression. Hang em high"


• ime for a little social justice me thinks....Should get a lynch mob together outside Taupo youth court for a public castration and flogging. What a piece of trash cant wait till his lawyer (probably tax payer provided) blames his tragic upbringing."

And that's just from just one blog!

Twitter had is share of agony aunts and uncles, with one long and ill-informed back and forth about nature over nurture that I was (As was the whole of connected twitter) watching (or participating in).

Bottom line is not a one of us knows, and not a one of us will get to decide on this. The worst thing about this whole episode, in my opinion, is the level of faux outrage that  people have. The crime was sick and distasteful, all crimes against children are, but with a little nudge from the media and we have a circus born. And to the circus come the freaks, freaks with opinions, bloated, self-important or ill-informed, all there at one outlet or another.

This is the price we pay for democracy on the internet of course, we're all allowed our say and we're all at liberty to share it with who ever we like, where we like, and how we like.

Casting aside even our own sense of moral right and climbing on the high horse of public outrage doesn't end well. We're increasingly like a school of  sharks who encircle the next victim with a savage onslaught, only to move away quietly to the next victim, out faux outrage dissipated.

We've had this Faux Outrage at events such as, Pike river, Michael Laws, Garth George, The Tea Cup fiasco,  the Rena accident, and just about any time there is a child abuse case spread across the media.

It's ok to be disgusted, and to be confused by events that you don't have any control over, really it is, however it's not ok to assume that you are the arbiter of outcomes. It just doesn't work that way.

just saying.

A Commercial venture and the public purse. #4 Bridge sentries cost $80,000

Sentries guarding the Auckland Harbour Bridge on match days of the Rugby World Cup have cost taxpayers more than $80,000.

On watch on the bridge. Photo / Jason Dorday

They are there to foil any attempts at pranks, protests or even terrorism.

Transport Authority spokesman Tommy Parker described the bridge as an iconic structure and said the security was a precautionary measure to ensure no one tried to gain access.

Six security guards have complemented the closed-circuit television on the motorway network and have cost $81,000 for more than 300 hours on duty.

So that's $45 per hour per person for 300 hours to sit and do nothing "just in case". and it's cost the taxpayer $81,000 for the privilege.

This is just a vile use of mitigate and safety planning in a grand  cover-your-arse gesture for some jobsworth in an office. We didn't have this when we had the America's cup in town for instance, and that really was a global event.

And it's already illegal to climb the bridge without authorisation, no corporate in their right mind is going to buy into a guerilla marketing act unless they really do want two reactions (1) legal and (2) loss of market - who's going to think that Corporate X changing the flag for theirs is nothing but a cheap publicity stunt, and the fallout would be horrible for them, and expensive.

The farce that is our bending over and taking one for the #IRB and the #RWC will unfold over the next months, when some of the out-of-pocket expenses that we the country have had to find, without recompense and without any fear of breaking even become apparent. We all know we're in the hole for millions, but it's a lot more millions than they said it would be - wasn't it something like $32millions, give or take.

There is no way that there have been millions of tourista dollars into the economy, most of the attendance is local people using local money that they now won't spend on local things for local people, we've given it all the to the IRB in our wisdom.

At least we're left with not the white elephant Eden Park stadium that will be partially dismantled and under used for the next couple of decades.

via Bridge sentries cost $80,000 - National - NZ Herald News.

Build it and they will come.

Or Not.

I'm talking about "Party Central" on the wharves in  Auckland.  A structure designed to hold 12,000 people with an invited audience of the whole city. And what happens when you get it right, a confluence of good weather, fireworks, media hysteria, and the opening of a global tournament? Well you get chaos.

And when the opening hype is passed and the finger-pointing is dying down what happens next, Well in my opinion untill the closing games, the Semi-finals and finals it's going to remain pretty much under used, under visited and an embarrassment.

It so is.

Daily programme for Party Central

Sat 10 Sept -FAMILY WEEKEND – Carnival
Queens Wharf will come alive   for the first family-friendly weekend with a  programme of Carnival fun throughout the day. Expect colourful characters, great  live music and dance performances to entertain the entire family. (emphasis added)
LATE NIGHT AT THE CLOUD – P Money

Sun 11 Sept - FAMILY WEEKEND – Carnival
Mon 12 Sept - THE CLOUD & SHED 10 – Going Global Music Summit

Gosh, must leave work early for some of that.

The posturing of the Minister for RWC, the Auckland Mayor and the transport company are all for nix. They've overextended themselves but won't have to pay with anything other than a public dressing down. The transport system will still be borked, they've even said "don't take trains take buses" which is how confident they are after years of planning. seriously years.

So whilst we have a micro-focus on health and safety that prevents any more than 12,000 people in party central, we have no overall concept of what's going on outside the gates, and it's not like Auckland doesn't have large gatherings, yearly, such as Concert in the park, and the Santa Parade.

I'm ashamed that they'll put Auckland's name against the debacle, when it comes down to a handful of inept bungling self-serving form a circle and give ourselves a pat on the back cronies who will end up with civic awards and accolades because we're too stupid and lazy to bring up the unsightly mess again.

Bible-bangers aren't the brightest, study shows

The more religious you are, the less likely you are to be intelligent, a new scientific study has found.

via Bible-bangers aren't the brightest, study shows - Education - NZ Herald News.

According to researchers, Christians - particularly fundamentalists who believe the Bible is God's word - have a lower IQ than those who are less religious.

A possible reason behind the finding was a tendency for more intelligent people to challenge religious claims, said one of the researchers, New Zealand psychologist Professor Tim Bates.

"If you believe in religion, you haven't really questioned things," he said. "Brighter people were less likely to feel that religion plays a dominant role in their life."

The findings of the University of Edinburgh study were "a bit hilarious", said Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn. "The suggestion that the less intelligent you are the more religious you would be seems to be degrading and insulting," he said.

However, he did agree that less intelligent people of all faiths tended to be more fundamental in their thinking, "whether they claim to be Christians or atheists or Muslims or whatever".

Funding and Self-Sustaining organizations - the 2011 Edition

I've already written on this:

http://pdubyah.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/funding-and-self-sustaining-organizations/

 

From the NZ Herald today : Fashion Week's opening night was swimming along in champagne until managing director Pieter Stewart burst the bubble with a stark warning that the event could not continue without more support.

Minutes after Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully lauded its contribution to branding Auckland and New Zealand as a creative country, Stewart stepped up to the podium to say that a 12th year showcasing the industry could not be guaranteed.

Sponsorship had been tough this year, she said.

"Rugby World Cup has taken a huge amount out of the economy."

More sponsors were needed and local and central government also needed to look at backing the event.

ITs a commercial event, you are charging a door price to enter. So I say again, as I have about Early Child Education centers, Sports events, Music Concerts, Plays, Opera, Ballet it's a user pays thing. If you have something worth seeing then the people will come. The Rugby Sevens, The Big Day Out, U2, none of them made a loss.

If you have a business idea that is sound then it should also be profitable or break-even if you're feeling altruistic.

Are we to pour a bottomless cup of money into "nice to have" events to assuage the ego of some minor person in a minor industry to make them feel good. New Zealand Fashion Week - what for? who for? why? You're not even going to begin to tell me that it's important because world buyers are totally won over and will hand over cash at such events. If the fashion industry felt it was that important, or they were that good, they would fund it themselves.

In an instant...

Way back when, before the internet and mobile phones we'd agree to meet somewhere and we did. The newspapers arrived with the news from far-flung places, with the best bits held for the Sunday papers. Junk mail didn't exist. There were weekly local newspapers. We all watched either the news at 5:45, 9pm or 10pm or all three. There was no 24 hour TV.

Fast forward a bit. Now we have everything in an instant."Social Media". For instance  we have Twitter, which is about as real-time as it gets without being there, sometimes it's accurate, sometimes not. If you've ever witnessed the rise and decline of a twitter meme you'll understand how fickle it is.

And we have deal-a-day websites, by the hundreds, imploring us to buy now, immediately, things we don't need at prices we can't ignore. We have deal a day advertising on twitter of course, and Facebook.

We can't just agree to meet somewhere, we have to text and call numerous times 'just in case' It's scary how frail we've become, how unsure it all is, how needy.

Facebook has given everyone access to our lives, out thoughts and deeds. And we accept it. FourSquare has given you the ability to let people know what cafe, shop, street, bar you are in all the time. It's "me" central!

But it can't carry on. This explosion of socializing on the internet is doomed at some point, where it becomes intrusive. And I mean intrusive to me - I don't really care that you're the mayor of the donut shop, I don't really want to see your party pictures on Facebook. There are bits of your life that I am interested in, just not some bits.

Twitter, Text, Facebook, et al, is where the wild west is. "Everyone" is trying to get a piece of the action, to make a buck, and to get you to spend a buck. At some point you just have to switch off and tune out.

Now I can't actually think of a service that I've used that has fallen into obscurity, other than the web hosting Geocities, other than that Bebo, and MySpace perhaps. So I can't see a tailspin for any of the services we use right now, or are familiar with, which are, to repeat them, Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, and Youtube. Even an aggregation of all these things into one super app isn't what is going to happen, because why? It'll be too cumbersome, too awkward, too heavy.

The thing that we overlook  with Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Youtube. Google+, Flikr, Wordpress, LinkedIn et al is that they are all "free" That's right we don't need to part with any cash of any kind to use them. Sure we have to have a device that can access them interactively, but they are free to use. And we accept that without question that we're giving up something for something. We just don't seem to care about what it is we're giving up, which in two words is privacy and ownership. Of our identity and our intellectual property.

Anything that rises will have to have some basics, speed, reach, ease and appeal. Anything that falls will have become bloated, tedious or have some cataclysm around it like bankruptcy, where users fall away like hair falling out never to return.

Inconceivable! Why I should avoid the newspapers.

I shouldn't read the newspaper, it annoys me.

Prisons. "Auckland's Mt Eden prison operator Serco has been accused of bribing inmates with bigger helpings of food and televisions in their cells to encourage them to behave" ..... And? Well the comments page is enlightening. People have issues that being in prison equals additional punishment. That being in prison isn't punishment enough, being segregated from the general population isn't a punishment, they should of course be fed gruel and water, and only if they complete their 20 hours of manual labour. It's a wonder. Sure there are bad people in prisons, they are in he maximum security ones, the ones that allow you a couple of hours outside your cell a day, every day for the next however many years. Sure there are career crims in prison, wherein it becomes some kind of badge of honour, I'm sure they're not happy. No I don't have an alternate, a method to rehab people or think they should be loose and running around. By popular thinking they're in the right place, away from the population to plot and scheme and get no further ahead in life.

Captain Obvious comes to visit with this headline comment "Macsyna King is laying blame for her twin babies' deaths with their father" No shit Sherlock, this is her book, her story, it's hardly going to be a confession is it. What were you expecting? I'm sure the book is a wonderful collection of colourful anecdotes, half truths, omission and fabrication, ably conducted by the Mr. Ian Wishart, who is doing it for altruistic reasons only, hardly covering his costs of course.

 It annoys me that today, for instance, the NZHerald didn't print the #gotakeashit hashtag that NIcola Grigg, the bint who is shagging Ritchie McCaw used in her tweet. So half a story. The other annoying thing is that they gave her column inches. What's with that? Seems though that she disappeared herself from twitter quick smart, too much adulation I should think.

that is all.

Foursquare, now there's a thing, I became the Mayor!

I was Foursquare Mayor of my house, the street I live in, the street I drive down to get into my street, the bit of the motorway I get stuck on in the morning, a few local businesses and one or two places I shopped at, and quite a few that I didn't. I was mayor of a couple of shopping malls.

I was at one point Mayor of the place I worked and of three of our competitor companies. I became mayor of a car park, and a playground. I was mayor of the 3 different versions of the hockey stadium.

I think I had 17 mayoralties all going for me at one point. Clearly I'd missed the point.

And you know what the useless thing about foursquare was? That someone could take my mayoralty from me, and being ever so slightly OCD that's not going to work out for me. Or them, because then it became a staking game where all I would do it redouble my efforts to become mayor again, and rob them of "Mayor of playground" title that I so covet!

Never mind that it has a business application, I'm sure that some companies have fantastic offers and incentives to check-in to their establishment, a loyalty card scheme, I was mayor of 17 places, all for my own ego.

And you can only be mayor or wannabe mayor. You can't be a councillor or assistant to the mayor, it's all or nothing. You can earn "badges" for various things, these are but trivia compared to be being Mayor.

They had a mayor only party at skycity one time. You could only get in if you were mayor of somewhere, how whacked is that? Do they still have that every month? Don't know never went, never was going to, and couldn't understand why I would.

So I stopped using it, since it appears to be a solution that has no problem, a pissing competition for the OCD, and a terribly gauche way of showing off your coffee habit.

Suicide and punishing the dead by punishing the living.

This from the National Newspaper today Maori MP: 'Condemn' suicide victims

Q.How far up your own arse does your head have to be to not think like Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell?

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell suggested a "very hard stand" should be made on suicide. "If a child commits suicide, let us consider not celebrating their lives on our marae; perhaps bury them at the entrance of the cemetery so their deaths will be condemned by the people," he wrote. "In doing these things, it demonstrates the depth of disgust the people have with this. Yes it is a hard stance, but what else can we do?"

What the heck has remembrance of a dead person have to do with punishing the relatives and friends by making them suffer indignities?

How does making an example of a dead body by castigation and lack of respect improve things?

How does condemnation and shunning someone aid, assist or promote suicide or suicide prevention?

What cockery is it that denying someone dignity is the cure for suicide?

Any free-thinking, forward thinking society should be able to come to terms that we fail people. We fail young people. As parents we are failing children who commit suicide, as peers we are failing children who commit suicide, as a community we are failing children who commit suicide. Feel free to substitute the world children for people.

Taking your own life, by design or by accident, is horrific and confusing to us. It tortures our own beliefs and boundaries, and causes us to question many things about ourselves, whilst at the same time questioning the motives, mindset and reasons that someone has chosen to end their life.

If you're of a religious bent then you're more than horrified, you're mortified by the sin of it. A ridiculous place to find yourself in, and leaving you to punish the relatives, friends, peers and memory of the deceased.

The continued stupidity of 'leaders' who stick blindly to dogma and 'protocol' are doing themselves and the people they represent no favours. It's not the 17th century where we can make a blood sacrifice to your own deity, it isn't.

For you,Te Ururoa Flavell, it's about punishing the dead by punishing the living, and in the end it makes not one blind bit of difference if you bury a person outside the gates, whether you mourn only for 1 day not 2 or 3, and if you deny the dead person the dignity of remembrance, in the end it's about how you've let that person down by not caring enough to prevent their death.

And that Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell is the bottom line.

Faux outrage, Faux compassion and chipping in!

or slamming and damning, counselling and group grieving and how I learned to react in a group.

Led mostly by media snippets and reporting (often poorly repeated, and incomplete, inaccurate and angled for spin) the collective 'we' is often to quick to anger. Twitter is the new benchmark, Facebook pages would be next. You never hear of a TXT based outrage campaign though.

The hive mind is quick to pounce on indiscretion and verbalise their thoughts. Woe to anyone who swims against the tide. Someone often leads the charge and will whip a horse to death, but then we all have a 'thing' that does that to us (that's a whole new subject).

We're morally indignant about infidelity, as if we're all whiter than white, we're dumbfounded by misogyny, as if men have never leered at a woman of used a stick mag, and we can't belive that a school would add a computing device to the compulsory list for stationery.

We definitely cannot belive  that the Israeli's in Christchurch are tourists, although this seems to be a media hobby-horse and not a hive mind collective.

Anything the Government of the day announces can be negative, mostly negative. The twitterverse will be abuzz with the newly disenfranchised in minutes, spreading like a wildfire, it is to behold!

Similarly with a death. the hive mind seems to get it into its head to want to grieve. Mostly for people they never met, didn't know and didn't much care for before their death. particularly but not limited to children, young pretty females and young males. This is more a Facebook thing. But we're all hectored and badgered into having to be part of a group that mourns, without really understanding why. Hey it's a young person they died in some way or other and we should all feel some collective guilt.

Sure death is tragic, children dying is tragic, young people getting into situations where they kill themselves and others is tragic. It happens daily, worldwide, a lot. Old people die too, but then they had a life already get over it. I don't need to join a Facebook group or have some faux emotion based on an out of context picture in the press or on Facebook. Ge over yourselves.

As for counselling. What an industry that is, we have to take into personal consideration the thoughts and actions of everyone. This will and does and can lead to sheeplike behaviours and group feelings. Individually no, group yes. Naturally I'm not a psychiatrist or behaviours expert but I'm happy to bet cash on this being true.

So Faux Outrage and Grief, the latest big thing, or just the big thing.

Makes it sound like I'm not on any bandwagon, trust me I get on them, and then I get off most of the, some I just sit on for the ride.

Keeping it a secret - part 2

The 'corporate' me is involved with a Social Media initiative at work, which I've variously described as either being "leading edge" or "mad", because we seem to be the only organisation of our type attempting to forge a new path, making us visionary or delusional.

It is a fantastic journey, and there are lots of affirmations along they way, but mostly it's a circle of "experts" all citing each other, all citing the same success story, with little concrete "how to" advice. There are some exceptions and I would suggest you read the "Tweet this book" http://tweetthisbook.posterous.com/

So we have Twitter, we have a Squarespace 'blog' page to land to, and a LinkedIn group. We're not so keen on FB.

Two or Three  things

 The direction is somewhat herky jerky and random
The resource is limited and what we have pointed at it isn't savvy about the content need, and
To be honest I'm not sure the 'real' me wants to be associated with some of the content.

By the last remark I mean I don't want to have to paint myself into a corner where you can define me. I don't want to be known as the guy who linked to a lot of fluff pieces about products. And if I change my job I don't want to have to undo all that I have done if I have to.

And all of  that makes me a little uneasy about the 'corporate me' and the results we can get, and for the business we are in (which is distribution).

I'm sure we're not delusional and eventually the others will follow us, what I should be doing is making capital about the effort I've put in and getting myself some more money for it. That's the big secret.

The importance of self-importance

" Hey I know my rights!" which is what someone who generally doesn't says when they are clearly wrong. Just an observation and generalization.

But we're shuffling desks at work, and there are some people who will gather around them a new shiny job title. Different in some way to their old one. Newer.

Scary.

But some people find this type of change challenging. They don't want to change desks, and they don't want a new job title. They prefer "Assistant to the Manager" to "Team Leader". Some of them anyway. Some are looking forward to a new title. It'll empower them with enthusiasm and a new outlook.

But that's what some people are like, those that missed the meaning of the communication or the reason for the shuffle and re-focus. The "I know my rights" people who now need a "new contract" since this is a different job. Not Quite right.

But as a beneficiary of the reshuffle I have a bigger quandary, that of what promises were made to the new team members - those changing from the window seat to the hub. I guess we'll find out on the 1st

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• Job Titles are Important, Just not that Important (inspiredm.com)

The importance of self-importance

" Hey I know my rights!" which is what someone who generally doesn't says when they are clearly wrong. Just an observation and generalization.

But we're shuffling desks at work, and there are some people who will gather around them a new shiny job title. Different in some way to their old one. Newer.

Scary.

But some people find this type of change challenging. They don't want to change desks, and they don't want a new job title. They prefer "Assistant to the Manager" to "Team Leader". Some of them anyway. Some are looking forward to a new title. It'll empower them with enthusiasm and a new outlook.

But that's what some people are like, those that missed the meaning of the communication or the reason for the shuffle and re-focus. The "I know my rights" people who now need a "new contract" since this is a different job. Not Quite right.

But as a beneficiary of the reshuffle I have a bigger quandary, that of what promises were made to the new team members - those changing from the window seat to the hub. I guess we'll find out on the 1st