Category Archives: Pondering

The Olympics selection business case

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The “ruling” is in, Pippa Savage won’t compete at the London Olympics. A couple of weeks ago, Emma Snowsill also lost her “appeal”.
Olympic selection is no longer a sacred unassailable privilege. It’s a discriminatory process – potentially costing athlete’s opportunities, which is right for legal challenge.
Perhaps the athletes’ intentions are to make sure the selection criteria were followed in the interests of fairness. Perhaps their complaints are based on honorable ideals for a Nation to be represented by its best competitors.
I think such cases clearly demonstrate though, the event is obviously no longer a competition of amateurs. Commercially, it makes sense for the unselected to gamble the expense of legal teams, rather than miss the windfall of competing.
I think this trend is sad. Will people look back on our results and always wonder about selection choices and “what if..?”. Hopefully I won’t.
And hopefully the chosen athletes in the throws of training and competition are unburdened by their own concerns whether they are the right people to represent their country.
They’ve proven through healthy (often fierce) qualification events they were our country’s best.
This used to be more than enough.

More than a Facebook status

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I was at a meeting recently where someone asked the dozen attendees how many used Twitter. Only my friend and I raised our hands. The lady shared she was at a loss why people tweet. In her words, it’s no different to Facebook status updates, only less.

It made me think back a little over a year ago. Because at that time, I had similar thoughts. I’ve overcome that though, and would now consider myself an avid Tweeter.

The query though was a good prompt for me to think and clarify what I think it is that makes Twitter more than a Facebook status:

  • I love the potential of exchange beyond my primary network of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances. Twitter is for the most part a completely open dialogue. This is a dialogue worth having, when there are so many interesting people from all over the world, and all walks of life. Some say Facebook is where you lie to your friends, Twitter is where you’re honest to strangers.
  • News is updated on Twitter before any other source (news of an earthquake allegedly spreads faster than the seismic event itself). By following Trending Topics, you can catch the latest buzz about events before traditional sources even pick them up. The pace of updates might be due to the initial 140 character limit. Fewer words give fewer opportunities to deliberate.
  • Due to its free form, amazingly simple interface, and 140 character limit, Twitter encourages a special amount of creativity to keep the communication going, and the craftiness of language to keep the message succinct.
  • Twitter has become a powerful direct channel for individuals and organisations to spread their message. If there are celebrities, experts, or companies interesting enough for you to follow them, Twitter allows you to follow them – so to speak. Celebrities especially are finding it a useful way to share info directly with their fans – without filter.
  • And I like the real-time feedback and collaboration that Twitter can enable during events through publishing a #(hash) tag. These tags when included in a tweet act as an anchor for anybody to add to the conversation.
  • Your Twitter feed is also like a water tap that you can switch on whenever you want to quench your thirst. There is no cup overfilling that you need to get through before it gets stagnant – like an unmanned email inbox.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all positive. I think for the most part, Twitter is filled with rubbish. Duue to this, I rarely recommend people to get online with it.

It can be an amazing resource if you do have the right temperament, and thirst for knowledge, and ability to find things that entertain you.

Movie: Van Dieman’s Land

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I just finished watching Van Dieman’s Land. It was terrible.

Elle and I caught a trailer for the film some time ago, which gave the false impression it would be interesting.

And Van Dieman’s Land – AKA Tasmania – being Elle’s home state in Australia, we also thought it’d be nice to see some familiar beautiful scenery and hear some historical accounts.  We were mistaken.

The story tracks the hardships of hardened escapee convicts through the hard Tasmanian wilderness. Then it tracked the hardships of hardened escapee convicts through the hard Tasmanian wilderness.

It was monotonous. Until things got even harder and food become more scarce. So, as you do when in this situation while bush walking through Tasmania, you start knocking off your mates one by one and eating them.  The only piece of suspence was who was next to become stew.

In fact, as there was an absence of any other storyline, perhaps they should have named the flick, “Guys walking through bush, eating each other”.

  • Rating: 0.5/5
  • Tags: Australia, Tasmania, cannibalism

Midnight in Paris – movie

Once again I made the most of the best entrainment in the skies, and watched a movie in my Emirates flight – this time on my way to Birmingham.

Before the movie, I listened to a few hours of Don Giovanni – in preparation of watching it in the flesh tomorrow by the Welsh National Opera. My boss recommended this latest Woody Allen film, as I had asked him for a good Woody Allen film. I’ve seen that Allen is quite witty, and knew his creativity, but never seen any of his films.

To begin with I had trouble finding the film. I went through the whole list twice, all the while never expecting Owen Wilson to be the star. I’m used to his exploits in kids, action, or cheesy romantic comedy flicks – which is listed in my order of preference. I never expected Wilson to have the tools to cover such subtle comedy.

I was thoroughly impressed with the movie. It was brilliant. Such a unique story, such an awkward scenario, such entertaining characters spanning three eras.

A writer, riddled with self-doubt, is nostalgic for Paris in the 1920s. He magically escapes his unhappiness with the present day to rub shoulders with his idols from yesteryear.

He works out what’s right for him in the end. But not before falling to a new low with his already disapproving pending parents-in-law.

The film had some classic moments which made me laugh so loud I may have bothered my fellow passengers.

Ernest Hemmingway was exactly as I pictured him. His focus on courage was hilarious. After a few drinks and speaking freely, I loved his challenge “who wants to fight”.

Many of the other characters also had their own charm. I loved Salvador Dali wanting to draw Owen Wilson’s portrait infatuated with adding the rhinoceros within a tear – proving just a bit too peculiar for the others.

A very unexpected result of this movie was the strong desire to visit Paris. Many romanticize the French capital, which I’ve never subscribed to. Until now.

The artistic flair, the flowing of warm emotions, the desire to follow dreams. It all sounds and looks amazing.

I thought I’d probably enjoy this film, but mostly for some rich dialogue. It was a surprise to find such a sweet flick. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone.

Weathering Dubai

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The end of Summer is impending, and we’re already starting to get a sense of the beautiful weather in store. I could translate this for someone not living in Dubai as, the heat is no longer so much that you’ll die quickly outside of air conditioning.

I think it’s interesting how everyone’s expectations are such a lowest common denominator. Conditions don’t need to be very special to seem “beautiful” after surviving a seasonal onslaught of >40 degrees centigrade combined with >60% humidity. (I won’t mention the temperature exceeding 50, cause it never happens. Some believe this is due to people being allowed to take days off whenever it officially hits this mark, so it’s just never published.)

We must take clues from other areas to confirm that the weather really is beautiful. From my running club’s perspective weather is turning beautiful because most of us can now run more than 16kms without our socks becoming too wet with sweat to proceed – the dreaded “squelch” as our running patriarch Murph describes it. I suppose it’s unsurprising I’ve yet to hear a single weather forecast on TV use such descriptions.

Another positive sign of better days ahead is the number of people beginning to go to the beaches again. Or go camping. Or even to sit outside at restaurants or pubs again. It’s amazing that some of our regular spots can survive the hiatus. These venues are doing almost the equivalent of a bear’s hibernation from July to September. Not only is the heat the concern then, it’s also Ramadan and school holiday time – so it’s very bare in the country anyway, with everybody returning to their homelands. In an Australian’s case, returning to THEIR country’s worst weather.

Anyway, let’s enjoy the beautiful weather (“let’s enjoy doing what is considered normal in every other country again”).

Movies aboard

I enjoy flying home to Australia. It’s a 15 hour stretch in front of the industry’s best in-flight entertainment. I usually make the most of it and watch as many movies as possible – which i must say is a bit of a luxury for me.

The first movie I watched was The Trotsky, a unique Canadian comedy directed by Jacob Tierney.

In it, the lead character Leon – played superbly by Jay Baruchel – believes he’s the reincarnation of Soviet Union architect, Leo Trotsky. And in a trying transition period between schools Leon uses the knowledge gained from Trotsky’s bio and seeks out the allies that Trotsky had. He endures some failures, but his ideas and resolve are unswerving.

Does he find success, does he emulate his role model? I can’t spoil it. However, one thing is for sure, he knows what be wants and gains the right counsel to navigate through the tough times.

I imagine it’s quite a unique concept to craft a movie about a student choosing to force Communism into the Canadian public school system. And the movie achieved a wonderful result and built the story exceedingly well. I enjoyed it a lot.

4 proletariat uprisings out of 5.

The second film I watched was The Kings Speech – after a reasonable interlude taking Lewis for a walk up and down the aisles a few times.

I had heard a lot about this film, perhaps as it stars Australian Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush. Incidentally young Geoffrey used to find himself around my grandmother’s table at lunch time, being from the once small town of Toowoomba – west of Brisbane. He’s obviously cone a long way since those days.

Everything I heard about the film was glowing. After seeing the film I must agree.

The film is about England’s King George VI, and his attempts to I’ve overcome a stammering problem. Rush’s character was the unlikely Australian speech therapist, who had some quirks which didn’t bide well with Royalty.

The scene was set in the 1930s, in a country on the brink of war with Germany. With the passing of his father, and his country under such harsh adversity, the King needed results now, more than ever.

The climax builds into will he triumph or stutter the country into an embarrassing position unmotivated for the challenge at hand.

Thoroughly recommend this film to colonials who enjoy a good story with a dash of historical references to the Monarchy.

3.5 sea shells she sells by the sea shore out of 5.

My Yourtopia

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I was quite surprised by an online survey I completed.  Well, I was surprised twice.

The first surprise was that I actually completed the thing.  I find online surveys overly saturated, monotonous, and I’m very suspicous about a great majority of them providing any real value or insights.

The survey is from yourtopia.net (an Open Knowledge Foundation Project):

The idea: Construct a measure of social progress world-wide based on your preferences for development. Participate in a global effort to improve tracing of humanity’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. 

In it you are asked to rate the importance you place on various factors of human well-being.  It was interesting to contemplate if I place higher importance on things like household consumption over say poverty headcount. And to be honest, some of the items I don’t know in any depth – so had to take an educated-uneducated guess.

The ratings are calculated, and the output is your preferred country – based on your ideals and preferences.

The result for me was surprising.  Out of the 186 countries featured, my ratings indicate my preferred country in the world is Australia – my home nation.

My Yourtopia - my home country, Australia

Screen shot of my results

Some could assume that Australia has a great standard of living, so it’s a likely result for many.  Based on the site’s results though, Australia only features 8th.  Norway is the list leader, followed by a couple of other European nations. 

It’s nice to know that the pace and progress that Australia achieves with various human factors aligns to my priorities. 

Although I left Australia temporarily for employment, fresh experience, and opportunities for my children, we obviously have a deep affection for Australia and will forever live and breath her ideals.

New media is more of the same

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I found the following article from The Economist interesting.

The End of Mass Media: Coming Full Circle, http://www.economist.com/node/18904158

It describes the current emphasis on social media as not being new. We tend to think the connected have evolved for the better on account of the advances and innovative paradigms of web 2.0 technologies. If we stretch the time scale though, we’re actually not dragging society to a fresh citizen centric model. This “new” power to the people is actually returning us to a formerly prominent model.

Power to the people, just as we were hundreds of years ago.

The formal media establishments were the misnomer – perhaps we were just in the eye of the cyclone.

DXB Terminal 1 pickup

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Early this morning I picked up a friend flying from Australia.  He’s staying with us while holidaying for 10 days or so.  I personally picked him up from the airport, despite the risk of his arrival being a very elaborate April Fool’s Day joke – his emailed booking details suggested he was arriving at 00:15 on April 1st.

In a massive inconsideration on his side, he flew on Royal Brunei airlines. He booked prior to reading my condition of entry clause that our guests must fly with my employer Emirates.  It was good though to finally experience Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1 for the first time.  Flying Emirates has given us the advantage of only ever using the massive, new and shiny T3 – devoted to Emirates Airline (largest single carrier terminal in the world).

The public area of terminal 1 is very basic, to say the least. It reminds me of my childhood flights to Cairns domestic terminal in Northern Queensland, Australia. Both facilities clearly have no pizazz or gloss.  To a visitor, T1 is just a lot of people waiting outside the automatic arrivals doors – emblazoned with large unwelcoming NO ENTRY signs.

Like all arrival meeting areas, it was filled with emotions.  One benefit of the primitiveness of this facility is it gave the various set of interactions a more raw set of mood. 

Part of me goes all mushy in this kind of environment.  You can’t help but love seeing the genuineness on display as various people greet their incoming guests.

Some of the folks arriving, or those waiting had very tiny babies. From the warm feelings transparent in their embrace it had to be their first introduction to the family.

There were also grown children offering more traditional welcomes to their arriving parents through pausing in front of their family member’s feet, then with their hands sweeping away perhaps any evil sprits before they had gave more standard kisses and cuddles.

Of concern was a very different reunion between perhaps a daughter maybe in her 20s, and her waiting sister and mother. The girl’s face showed that she spotted them, and then she began to walk with more purpose toward her waiting kin. However when I followed her trajectory the responding reactions had no appreciation, welcome, or even anything positive. It was a bit of a downer. I stopped myself from creating theories on the cause and context for close family members coming together with such a negative display.  It didn’t take long for more positive exchanges to fill the time .

There were many scenes all producing different energies of excitement, laughter, curiosity, or adventure.  Sometimes it was a combination of all of the above, and then some.

I waited there for an hour or so, just long enough for my cheap chewing gum to begin to taste like poison and my jaw to ache.  In the time I was waiting, my fondest memory though was reminiscing when I had seen my own family come through the doors of Terminal 3 for the first time after we were split from for four weeks after I moved to Dubai. I can still clearly recall my surprising tears as soon as Myles and I spotted each other through the glass and the quick wiping of them away as we both sprinted to where we could hug.  In just four weeks away he looked like he had aged a whole year. I felt so fortunate now to think that the sheer joy I had at that time came after a month. I’m certain many of the families on display had a much longer wait, it’s lovely to see they finally met again.

You’ve gotta love airports.

Shaolin Soccer #Movie

While waiting for Elle to exit the local grocery store, my kids and I did something I wasn’t sure I’d ever have to do again – enter a DVD hire shop.  It almost seems like a redundant business, with the amount of file sharing and DVD swapping that goes on.  But we did it, and I’m glad we did.  Otherwise we may have missed seeing Shaolin Soccer – a fun and interesting movie which seemed to miss the mainstream audiences which we’ve practically become with some help from the kids.

 The storyline was close to being an unfortunate cliché.  The scene was set with a dominant sporting team, and an unfortunate hero or two vying to do the unthinkable and beat them at their own game. The way it was depicted was unexpected, with well translated comedy. And as you can imagine, it does conclude leaving the viewers feeling good – although the way in which it finishes certainly is not part of the cliché I was expecting.