Tactical Ninja
Jul. 10th, 2009
01:40 pm - *blinkblink* O HAI real world, can I hide now?
...so why is it that I always assume I'm the least smart, least educated person in any gathering?
Probably because of the people I surround myself with.
(and my knowledge of just how easy a step it would be to be back wiping sheep's bums again*)
Speaking of dying industries, the nice lady who gave me a ride to work today and yesterday is in the clothing manufacturing industry, and she expects to be unemployed by Christmas. Not due to lack of demand for clothing, but to outsourcing of manufacturing to India and China. She's been in the industry 27 years and is terrified of having to reskill at a point when she should be cruising into retirement. I don't blame her. Meanwhile, one of my top industry advisors got made redundant yesterday. That guy is amazingly switched on, and him being out of work is a very graphic reminder of how things are going out in the real (read: reliant on selling stuff) world of employment.
Even though I know my skillset will be in demand whatever the government does, and that in my org mine will be one of the last jobs to go, I am still glad I have a trade.
* You'd be surprised how many university-educated shearers and woolhandlers are out there.
Jul. 9th, 2009
02:40 pm - OMG!
MY tutor posted all of the class marks on Blackboard and at 91% I got the top mark!
OMGOMGOMGthathasn'thappenedsinceiwaslike
etc
I will be over here in the corner gibbering quietly to myself for a while..
08:25 am - In which I celebrate the universe going my way (and make a suggestion)
Exam results finally appeared yesterday, after a day in which I hadn't thought about it at all, The Kid reminded me to have a look and there they were! And hard on the heels of that, it seems the lecturer for this trimester's CRIM course is a bit more onto it than the last one - the course notes are available, the course outline is up, and signup for tutorials starts tomorrow. This is a huge difference from the mad disorganised scramble that was my last CRIM course. So yay.
And, tutorial attendance isn't part of the mandatory course requirements, so my three weeks of Africaness in the middle won't be an issue. The fact that the due date for the essay is 2 days after I get back might be. I'm going to attempt to get the essay into final draft form before I leave. Luckily, my topic leaped out at me within a millisecond of looking at the options* - "Illicit drug use causes crime" - critically evaluate this statement.
*glee* And the best bit is I have reference material for this out the wazoo, so while I will go to the library, I'm not reliant on it for info. *squee*
* Who am I kidding, I didn't even look at the other options...
( More proof that I think too much )
This morning I got picked up by a nice lady named Maureen who sees me walking every day and thought she'd offer me a lift. She picks up people who work at a clothing factory in her van, and she was talking about how many redundancies there have been in her industry lately. It's sad. Clothing workers never really make decent money anyway, and to be made redundant when already behind is just the kind of thing to make that rich/poor gap nice and wide. The Business Roundtable must be cackling with glee. Anyway, she took me to the central railway station. Consequently I got to work at 7:15am, and I think I should go home early to make up for it. *nod*
And and AND! Only two days to go! (Mr Wheel, I am working on The List)
Jul. 8th, 2009
08:30 am - Contagion!
Today I'm doing that thing that everyone says you shouldn't do, by being at work with a sniffly nose. It's all very well saying 'stay home' but I don't have swine flu as evidenced by the fact that I'm capable of getting out of bed. I've been battling this thing for two weeks and it's got as far as a runny nose and a weird tight feeling around my eyes, which isn't exactly in-danger-of-keeling-over symptoms.
And I have a meeting, which I can't afford to miss. So I'm here, and I'll sit away from everyone else and keep my bugs to myself, and take time off when I actually need it.
Feel free to tell me I suck for risking the health of others. Frankly, if this is as bad as it gets then I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing to get your immune system working.
Jul. 7th, 2009
06:26 pm - I am
Slowly coming to terms with the fact that I just ate a whole chicken. I blame the architects.
08:39 am - Dissing human nature - it's the new black!
Today's reminder: I will not poke the architects with my specially sharpened stick. I will not swear at them or throw things. I will be polite and charming, oh yes I will, see if I don't...
( Other people's business )
Last night I dreamed I was walking along the side of the motorway, picking up the coins people had dropped and putting them in my pockets. Eventually my pockets got so full that my pants fell down. Go figure...
Jul. 4th, 2009
06:32 pm - Like a jetboat with no rudder!
This morning a nice man (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
beagl)came and poked my computer and made it find its own bellybutton sound card. Now I can listen to all the mixes people have sent me since The Big OS Update! And do proper video chats. *is excited*
And then I went and checked the sheep, and harrassed them a little with my dog. Unfortunately I forgot my whistle, and while First works ok on voice commands, it doesn't have the same sharp clarity. Whistles are a language of which the note is only a part - the tone, sharpness and volume also matter - and my mouth whistles are, to her, a bit like someone speaking really bad English with a mouthful of marshmallows while trying to give precise instructions about how to do brain surgery. Anyway, I took a short vid and a picture, which are under the cut.
( 4th July celebrations, Tats style )
I'm currently reading The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt. While it's primarily about non-traditional relationships (open relationships, polyamory and the like), so far it seems to have a lot of stuff that's useful for people in any kind of relationship, even if that relationship is only with themselves. You probably have to read a bit between the lines to find it, but yeah. Interesting reading. I like it when I read something that makes my eyes open a bit wider.
Jul. 3rd, 2009
09:37 am - And from the Bizarro-World file...
Last night in my dreams, Sophie and I had a threesome with Dave-my-ex-from-many-years-ago. For some reason this involved quite a lot of me telling him not to pee in my pot plants!
Prize for the most accurate depiction of what Freud would say about THAT.
( The Burning Times - now with cookies! )
I will be at Fidels tonight for a little while. It's been a bit quieter the last couple of weeks and I kind of like it. I love seeing the people but lots of people all at once makes me want to run away. This could be fixed by removing the tables, adding some shiny lights and a dj, and playing psytrance, but that seems unlikely to happen any time soon, so meanwhile I'm enjoying the smaller group. ;-)
Jul. 2nd, 2009
10:30 am - In which I ramble a lot about sheepdogs
One of my LJ friends posted a video yesterday of her sheltie herding sheep. Luna is a promising young plain-eyed dog that's got the idea and the inclination, and is also quite calm about it. Plain eyed dogs tend to lack the intensity that strong-eyed dogs have, and thus also lack that thing that gives it the potential to turn to custard in a split second. And watching Luna work sheep made me go all misty-eyed..
It also brought to my attention some of the differences between the US and here with regard to the whole sheepdog thing.
( Warning - dog geekery! Also, some beautiful vids )
Hehe, watch me wax verbose about something that's close to my heart...
In other news, I like video chat. Oh yes. ;-)
Jul. 1st, 2009
10:36 am - Using money as leverage - UR DOIN IT RONG!
Yesterday I posted about this site. I actually had a visit from one of the members last night *waves*, encouraging us to go and post our opinions over there to improve learning for everyone. I'd just like to say, given the views of many people who read this - if you do go over there to comment, play nice! You may not agree with the perspectives expressed there, but nobody will listen to you if you piss them off.
Ok, having said that, the reason I was there was related to Child Support. I first found the site a few years ago, when as a non-custodial parent I felt I was getting a raw deal, and I was looking for support. Unfortunately at the time, the strong anti-women sentiments expressed by some people on the site caused me to feel that I'd be unwelcome, and I didn't stay. I found my way back there yesterday, now being on the other side of that fence as a custodial parent and once again looking for support. I didn't find the support I was looking for, but re-reading the despair expressed by so many non-custodial parents (and the bitterness, anger and IMO misplaced vitriol towards women), got me thinking - maybe it's time to have a look at my situation as its been from both sides, and address this question of 'fairness'.
( IRD - it's our job to be fair - LONG )
Finally, a semi-geek question. I seem to be unable to run video chat in Skype. I have the latest Skype, the latest drivers and the latest DirectX. What I don't have is a machine that can find its own sound card. The new OS is a work in progress, and the sound card recognition is one of the things that's in progress. ;-) Is the lack of audio likely to be anything to do with why I can't make or receive video calls? And if that's the case, can anyone recommend an app that allows video and text chat without needing sound?
Jun. 30th, 2009
01:49 pm - I don't understand..
I found this site in my search for information/support relating to today's post. It purports to be a site that 'promotes a clearer understanding of men's experience'. Not being a man, I can't really say if it accurately depicts men's experience, but reading the articles on the home page (and the comments to them) I get these messages:
Article 1: Smacking is part of good parenting.
Article 2: "she must have been wicked bad and the dad a bloody saint. even Australia does the blind eye to sheila crims."
Article 3 : The law is unjust, the police are biased and women are out to get men.
Article 4: The gender pay gap is a myth and pay equity isn't about equality but about gold digging.
Article 5: The case against corporal punishment is fraudulent.
Article 6: Women get away with murder, men don't.
Article 7: Sex education in schools is bad.
Article 8: There's a support group for the wellbeing of fathers (that has no comments, which to me speaks volumes).
etc.
I was less shocked at the vitriol aimed at women (after all, I've not only read a few feminist sites but I've also read a lot of fathers' sites - since being a non-custodial parent is assumed to be the father's role - so I'm kind of used to that), than I was at what seems like such a conservative agenda being touted as the most important things relevant to men.
Guys, am I wrong? Is this really what men's experience is like? Or, as it seems to me, does this kind of thing really do men no favours in the generalisations and stereotypes it associates with them by making it seem like men assume the right to be violent to children, call women sheilas and have more money?
I am confused.
Jun. 29th, 2009
12:19 pm - Ye gods, the girl has feelings!
This weekend was about dancing. There was stilt dancing, at which I suck less than I thought I would due to all that balance training in other sports. There was dancing to hard trance, which is unusual for me since I'm more into psy or electro/house/breaks styles, but for some reason Saturday I wanted high-energy on a not-too-crowded dancefloor and I got it. I also finally understand what the deal is with Quamay. He was head and shoulders above the others with a track selection that kept it interesting without all those endless breakdowns.
Then there was the cow and sheep dance after three hours' sleep. Luckily they were all cooperative (or just frozen to the spot). It's consistently 2 degrees colder up at the sheep than it is in town, but the dancing kept us warmish. Also, RIP Toffee the Cow, who had a caesarian last year and can't have any more babies and was thus off to the works yesterday.
And then there was the 'need to nap but can't sleep in the daytime' dance, that mostly involved reading and finally dozing off on the couch in front of the fire after dark.
( What is this weird feeling? )
I actually kind of like this idea - bulldozing abandoned sections of shrinking cities, allowing 'nature' to regenerate, and concentrating the built up bits into more sustainable areas.
And from the OMGWTF file - I would like to know how you spend 2 hours a day meditating, for 35 years, yet can still be this egotistical? (thanks wwhm).
Jun. 27th, 2009
11:14 am
I'll be over here, having a think.
PS last night I dreamed I was a tall black man who sprinkled luminous paint on the back of go-karts illegally, to identify which ones should be run off the road by our team. I had to run away to the country to avoid arrest, where instead there was a suspected axe murderer in the singlemans's quarters and I bought a horse.
Jun. 26th, 2009
08:46 am - *pointless whinging*
Owieowieowieowie! Stupid owie! Go away, owie!
This post brought to you by mysterious brain-eating back-pain-for-no-reason and the prospect of an all day meeting with concrete cutters.
PS I want new dresses and for it to be summer and a million dollars and a pony. And maybe some cake.
PS Turns out concrete cutters use a device called a retention ring for control of slurry. This may have caused an unseemly outburst of giggling from me.
Jun. 25th, 2009
09:44 am - Sleepy-eyed boy distracts me deliciously
A week after exams, my mind turns to 'so what do I need to do next?' thoughts. I spent some time yesterday digging around on the Vic website course catalogue. Next year's courses aren't up yet, but it did give me some indication of what's available regularly, and can I just say, I hope there are lots of special topics next year?
Id toyed with the idea of doing a summer semester course this year as well, since I seem to have some momentum, but when I looked at my options I can either do The Sociology of Death and Dying (irrelevant to my focus and not really of that much interest to me) or Popular Psychology if I want to stay with Humanities.
( Where is my fun stuff? )
Had an interesting conversation yesterday relating to the deviance/privacy post I made a while ago. The result of that was more thinking, and a realisation that it's less about 'them' and more about 'me' in terms of reasons one might have for keeping such things to oneself. And that those 'me' reasons are going to vary from person to person based on a whole lot of different variables relating to life experience, personality and social group. "Well duh" I hear you say. I'm still not sure where I stand along that continuum.. I have more thinking to do.
I seem to have mislaid my cellphone. I have one more place to look before giving it up as lost and getting a new one - given that I've had that number since 2001, new cellphone is.. suboptimal but possibly necessary. If you've been trying to get hold of me, I'm not ignoring you, mmk? Email is the best way to get in touch if you need to.
I'm listening to a mixtape that makes me smile because it takes my head back to summer..
Jun. 23rd, 2009
Jun. 22nd, 2009
09:30 am - Longer days coming up now
Fourteen years ago at winter solstice, I started a tradition of spending the day being productive. It's not a deliberate thing, it just kind of happens (much like The Kid's unexpectedly early arrival into the world all those years ago). I have no idea if that's how you're supposed to celebrate winter solstice, but doing things you're supposed to has never been my strong suit anyway, so I just kind of go with it.
( Of sheep, cakes, biodynamics, and big smiling faces )
Today, I've been looking at maps of China. I've discovered that Xiamen is not that far from Taiwan, and that right now it's about 5:30 in the morning there. I love that it's on the Nine Dragon River. Why don't we have rivers named like that? I also found this picture of Xiamen University. I has Teh Envy:
Gosh, I haven't done this before - this learning about a place so I can picture someone there. It must be lurve...
Jun. 20th, 2009
10:22 am - I just
Said goodbye to ferrouswheel, who is off to China for three weeks to be all boffiny about AI and work on inventing SkyNet.
I'll miss him. It'll be hard being physically separated by oceans. But..
He's having an adventure in China!! How cool is that? Can I be the first to say We Want Pictures?
Jun. 19th, 2009
12:38 pm - Things I should have learned by now..
Read the instructions!
Apparently my exam was open book. Who knew? Well, everyone else apparently - I, on the other hand, turned up with a brain full of The Great Beards Of Sociology, quite a lot of multisyllable words, and and a fleeting comprehension of Foucault - and no notes.
I still think I passed though. In fact, I figured it out and I only have to get 57% in the exam to keep my A, and I know I did better than that. So Yay!
Also, geekery:
Them: Best wishes for exam. You will kick epistemological arse.
Me: Provably!
Them: Hurrah for positivist exam marking.
PS I love my life.
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