20091120 - An (NZ) rant

Alright. I'll take a sec to make a comment on a subject that I don't often comment on, and that is New Zealand politics. The reasons I don't often do this are:

1) Kiwis are relatively private when it comes to discussing politics and religion (And these two subjects are things that have little influence or impact Kiwis in their daily decisions)

2) New Zealand politics are fairly banal, and generally low impact, particularly when it comes to foreign policy.

3) I've largely given up making any comments on any political subject because it feels like I'm pissing in the wind.

4) I generally don't have time.

...So my comment is this, and I'll start with a question. How many Kiwis are aware that the NZDF has decided to deploy LAVs in support of our SAS personnel serving in Afghanistan? This of course in addition to Army personnel deployed in reconstruction efforts.

I suspect the answer to this question is "Not many". I put this down to a failure on the part of the New Zealand media to give the matter any real coverage. Unfortunately the news in New Zealand is heading down hill. Detail in stories is getting smaller, we're getting more quick coverage across a spectrum of subjects (Good if you want your information to be broad. Not good if you want your information to be deep) and more puff pieces are flowing in. I refer primarily to the TV news here. New Zealand doesn't actually have a source for hard news really. You can watch stuff from overseas, but this fails to cover New Zealand issues like the ones above.

I actually (Politely) asked three Kiwi work mates their thoughts on this subject recently, and one of them stutteringly tried to answer the question, with a look of shock on his face that I asked the question, and the other two quietly shuffled their feet while looking at the ground, not even bothering to answer the question. Kiwis are good at burying their heads in the sand some times. Not when it comes to hard work, but certainly when it comes to hard questions.

So on the matter of the LAVs. Sure. The reason behind deploying them has some merit in that they will make our SAS personnel there more safe (grammar check suggests “safer”. I’d have received a wrap on the knuckles for that while I was at school) than they currently are. This doesn't belie the fact that our SAS should not be in Afghanistan in the first place. For arguments of "Helping the people of Afghanistan", "Spreading [sic] freedom and democracy" and "Rebuilding a failed state"*, the SAS are actually there to curry favour with the United States relative to a free trade agreement. So what this means is, New Zealand military personnel have potential to die in a country with which New Zealand is NOT at war, all to sell more butter in the United States. Keep enjoying your National lead government. I told you so. How's that tax cut your were lied^H^H^H^Hpromised?

So if you don't have a problem with the LAV deployment, do you have a problem with Hercs being sent as well? How about artillery? How about more support personnel? Where does it end? And what will you say when someone turns their attention on New Zealand and says "This is for your support of the imperial aggression on the part of the United States"? The US doesn't even know what it's doing there. What are we going to do when the conflict in Afghanistan spreads even further than the worst kept secret of (Illegal) CIA drone attacks in Pakistan? So why are we assisting in a conflict; the basic purpose of which those who are carrying it out is in question. But that is another thing I've ranted over before. The US is over. Seriously. I've given up, and I'm just watching the country spiral down the drain. I have no faith that a real positively transformative figure can be elected to president in the United States. The country will collapse through its own debt, which is a result of ignorance and greed. The parallels with the end of the Rome cannot be ignored. All empires end. It's China's turn now. The only question is, do we destroy our environment while we’re at it.

* For anyone who wants to use this argument in support of what's being done in Afghanistan, I hope you're not a hypocrite and have plans to invade other failed states to carry out the same efforts.

20091117 - FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU

OMFG! I don't miss doing end user support. FYI, I'm the IT Security Manager (With a shortage of Security Engineers, thus the DIY in this case). So one of our mail servers gets blocked as a spam relay. I found this is due to an end user who has had their username/password compromised. So I call them as say "It would seem someone has figured out your password. Can you change it please?" (So a real rocket scientist to begin with), then I get:

"Ah. While you're here, can you tell me how to stop mail from going in to my junk folder?" - User

"Sure. Are you using Outlook?" - Me

"Yes" - User

"When you have a message in [...snip...I won’t explain the whole thing here] right-click and select ‘Add to safe senders’ or ‘Add sender’s domain’ if you want anyone from that domain/organisation to be able to send to you". - Me

*silence*

*more silence*

"Do you understand?" - Me

"No" - User

*My blood pressure rises. I take a calm breath, explaining it again and walking the user through each mouse click*.

"Ah. Ok. Thanks for that. Hey, it’s good I have you here, as I need to ask you another question. I need help opening an .ISP file" - User

"Did someone send it do you?" - Me

"Yes" - User

"I'm not familiar with an .ISP file so you'll probably need to ask the person who sent it to you what you need to open it with" - Me

"I think it's Outlook or something" - User

"Do you mean a .PST file?" - Me

"Ummm...Yeah. That’s it" - User

"Ok. In Outlook, select the 'File' menu"...*waiting*. "Have you done that?" - Me

"The what?" - User

"The ‘File’ menu option" – Me

"Where’s that?" - User

*My teeth are gnashing and my heart is thumping. Deep breaths. Deeeeeeeeep breaths*.

"Top left hand side of Outlook. Can you see it?" - Me

"Yes" – User

"Select that, then down to select ‘Open’, then down and across to select ’Outlook Data File’. *waiting*. Have you got that?"- Me

"Yes".

...To cut a long story short, when then spend *minutes* trying to select his CD-ROM drive in the ‘Open’ window, to find that because it’s read-only on a disc that we have to copy it off the disc (This takes more minutes), have to tell him how to open the file again, when we get there he says:

"It says ‘Open with’" – User

*Me struggling to remain calm*

"Just select the file, and press the ‘Open’ button.

"Where’s the ‘Open’ button?" – User

*Me screwing up my face in frustration*

"Bottom right hand side of the window, next to the ‘Cancel’ button" – Me

"Ok" - User

*silence*

*more silence*

"It’s all gone" – User

"What’s all gone? Is Outlook still open?" – Me

"I’m not sure" - User



"Alright, well we seem to be having some difficulty with this, so if you can contact the Help Desk, they will get some support staff to come and give you a hand with this" - Me

"Alright" – User

*click*

The next technical hurdle

Question: Google Reader solved the problem of a centralised service to view RSS feeds on whatever machine I might be on. Now the next similar problem. [Video] Podcasts I download. Previously I'd watch on either my laptop or my iPod which sync'd with my PC. Now that I have my work laptop, I'm not taking my home laptop to work, so I'm not sync'ing by iPod as frequently. Additionally, I might not always be at either of my laptops. I may not have the ability to access my iPod (Though this isn't common), but the fact that it is probably out of sync with my downloaded podcasts is.

So. What is a centralised method of viewing podcasts (That have probably already been downloaded)? One that keeps track of ones I've watched and deletes them, i.e. one that works like Google Reader.

LIFE - And death...

So many times over the past few weeks, I've thought to blog something, but I couldn't until I got this one out of the way. Most who read this blog will already be aware, so this is more about me just getting it out there.

My father passed away on Sunday the 31st of May after suffering from a massive stroke. I flew over to the US at short notice and he was still on life support in the ICU when I arrived. But in reality, my father was already gone. I think this single detail has made it hard to believe that he's actually died.

When my grandfather (My mum's father) passed, I was there before hand. I got to talk to him, and I was there for the few days while he slipped away. I saw it happen, so I could accept it. With Dad, as I say, since he'd had the stroke, he wasn't really there. It's not about saying goodbye. Getting to say goodbye doesn't make it easier. It's just that it wasn't Dad lying in the bed at the hospital. He was already gone. With him being the prankster that he was, I keep expecting him to walk around a corner and say "Gotcha!".

And because of this, it just doesn't feel real. And that's making it hard to accept it. Not like denial as in not able to accept it. I feel lost. Like I'm waiting. I think I'm waiting for him to call or something. But he won't be. I'm not sure where this goes...

LIFE - A quicky

Things are kinda busy for a number of reasons. One of them is I am trying to cut down on the want-to-do's and make sure I'm not sacrificing the need-to-do's (One example being sleep). At the end of the day there just isn't enough time to squeeze everything in. Sleep. Wake. Work. Eat. Time with the wife. Time with the kids. Time with the dog. Work on the property. Time for me? Hah! It does come in dribs and drabs. I can't complain as, for example, I saw the new Star Trek movie twice during opening week. But it always seems like I'm trying to cram an hours relaxation in to half an hour, and thus it is not relaxing. I caught up with my bosses' boss (And with any luck, my soon to be boss) for a beer after work to talk dad to dad with someone who's about five years further down the track than me. And when I said, "About the only time I'm guaranteed to get to myself is after 10 p.m.", and he said "Me too". The problem there is, you don't get enough sleep, you're late for work, and then everything is a downhill slide.

So this week I've started going to the gym at work during lunch (Lunch being an hour which was me time, i.e. I could fill it with what I wanted instead of what I need, i.e. going to the gym). And I'm now tracking my food intake and exercise online. Never really thought about it, but it's kinda fascinating when you examine what you're eating, how much, and what it's all made of (Protein, carbs, fats - good and bad, etc, i.e. the type of things the telly has dribbled on about but I generally roll my eyes at, predominantly because it's targeted at neurotic females who worry about their weight so they can keep up with the Janes. The science side of it is interesting though). Bottom line is, it appears my diet it ok (Though in tracking what I eat I'm more conscious of the crap), and if I up the exercise, that should counter the slight belly developing since I'm not getting any younger.

LIFE - Truth

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Am I looking in the wrong direction?

Am I asking the wrong questions?

Even if all the the answers to the questions above are "No", am I '...doing it wrong'
?

This is a jumbled post. I've thought of a number of things this evening that I've wanted to say. Some of it because I've had a few drinks, and obviously in this state, thoughts flow like water. I've had disussions with friends this evening, and some of them can be sumarised as 'You're right. But your wrong.'. So which am I? I guess the answer is, I'm right for me. But what I seek is what's right for us all. A universal truth which applies to us all. Some people are kind. Some are not. Some people are happy. Some are not.

Some of the discussions this evening has centred around things that some people have done to others that have made them unhappy. Things that others have done which have impacted the relationships of those people so that they do not like each other. I don't understand this. And this lack of understanding makes me think that I don't have an understanding of the world that surrounds me, so that any conclusions that I come to are incomplete because I have led a sheltered life, and have an incomplete (Innacurate) picture of the world. And an incomplete picture that makes finding the universal truth impossible.

Across all of thing, regardless of what I do and do not know, there are people in this world for whom I owe much. Obviously my mother and father for whom if it was not for, A) I would not be here and B) for whom I would not be the person that I am. I love both my parents very much. They honestly can't know how strong my fealings for both of them are. Words fail. Only feelings can convey, and I hope they know this.

Following this closely is my wife. My beautiful kitten that I have been with for more of my life than I have been withough. When times are tough. When times are not easy, and the kids are crying, and the dog has peed on the floor again, and when dinner is late, and the laundry hasn't been done, and I'm late home from work, and I haven't done the things I was supposed to, I feel awful because I have failed you. I have failed to be there for you to do the things I need to do to make things easier for you. I love you more than I can say. If it wasn't for you my dear Margaret, my life wouldn't be in the wonderful place that is it. I honestly thank you more than I can say for giving me the wonderful things that I have in my life.

To my brothers and sisters. One of my largest regrets is that the best opportunity in my live, moving to New Zealand, has removed me from partaking in our lives as I would hope to have. What ever happens in our lives, I love you all and if there is anything you need, I am here for you, no questions asked.

To my beautiful daughters. You are both the most wonderful things in this world and the hardests things to deal with. You are such a contradiction. How is such a thing possible? My biggest concern in my life is, regardless of all else, is that I do not fail you. That I give you the platform in your lives that launches you on your ways to happiness and to make those around to happy.

To my friends who are also my family. Most of you I have known through paintball over the past decade. I look at you as brothers and sisters. We've shared many good times over the years, many of which have formed key moments which have had a dramatic impact on the person I have become. Not a day goes by in which I don't think "I remember when...".

So the point of this post? I'm lucky. I'm so lucky and suck muck more lucky than many. In my life I have nothing to complain about, as hard as things might be from time to time. To all those for whom I owe thanks, I thank you. these words fail me, but I feel a genuine thanks which radiates from my heart and which truely make me happy, which is the most important thing in the world.

POLITICS - It's about time...

I started watching MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann some time back after viewing one of Keith's Special Comments calling out the Bush administration on one of the billions of BS moves they carried out. Olbermann was one of the few people in the MSN calling it like it was, and trying to call out the Bush administration on their lies and hypocrisy, unlike most other members of the Forth Estate who sold us on the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, and don't ask the hard questions to ensure they got access and to sell advertising space.

Unfortunately since Obama has been elected, Keith has spent far too much time in the honeymoon period going "Yay! Isn't Obama great?!?!? He's not Bush!". If this is your sole unit of measurement, as to whether or not someone is or is not a 'George W. Bush', then you're asking the wrong fucking question.

So finally...FINALLY! Keith makes a Special Comment on the bullshit that Obama is carrying on with. At least he's not Bush is not enough! I'm not talking economic stimulus. I'm not talking about rearranging the deckchairs of US foreign policy. I'm talking about the rule of law. "I'm wanting to look forward not backward" is political bullshit from Obama and is exactly what people believed "Change" was meant to change. Change doesn't just mean there used to be a white guy and now there is a black guy. It is a shame that it seems much like FDR and LBJ, that the president needs people to push him to do the right thing as opposed to an ability and willingness to do the right thing of his own accord. Obama is trying to make everyone happy all of the time. So sitting back and saying "Hey! He's not Bush!" will change NOTHING. If I did not have two dependants and a wonderful wife who is a home maker and mother, I would have flown back to the US and I would be doing something about it!!!