Almost Christmas and I'm Good

Do you remember as a kid how excited you got for Christmas? All these presents and you didn't have to do anything (in theory) to get them? Yes, I remember being so excited you couldn't sleep I mean this was the highlight of the year.

Then we grow up and realize what our parents do to make it such a great day and although we appreciate it, it never has the same magic as it once did.

Then we become parents and we start to get excited about it again. We look forward to being able to give our little ones something they'll really enjoy and we look forward to seeing the enjoyment on their faces. It feels good to come full circle and enjoy it from the other side.

Yet something is gnawing at me making me feel like I'm doing something wrong. You see, due to scheduling constraints we are unable to get to Church this year having two places to be on the day. Growing up I always got annoyed when we had to stop playing with all our new toys and go to church but now that I am older I realise that its a bit shallow to celebrate Christmas without actually going to church but I guess that's normal these days.

Sure there will be thousands of people who only go to church on this day and the churches understand this and give the people what they want. I mean the service you get on Christmas day is not really a normal service, its a service for the people who feel guitly about celebrating Christmas without any thought for the true meaning.

So back to my problem. I won't be going to church on Christmas day but I have managed to get my head around this by realizing that unlike all those people who go just that one day, I have been going to church throughout the year and trying to learn and get something out of it. So I feel that I won't really be missing out and that my heart and head will be in the right place as I try to remember why we do this in the first place.

Hope you all have a happy day and think of each other as we go to our various events.

A New Life

There is nothing quite like the news of hearing that friends have just had their first child. It comes so out of the blue sometimes that its quite a surprise when it happens. As it did happen to me this morning, I found out that friends of mine had had their first child at 6am this morning and all was well. I couldn't help be feel so happy for them. It can be a time of extreme stress so it's good to know everyone has made it through ok. It makes me look forward to the birth of my second child next year. I can remember how I felt waiting for my son to be born, not knowing when things were going to happen, waiting and more waiting.

So I know where my friends are at right now, in this weird place, tired, exhausted but over the moon. It's surreal, shortly followed by an endless stream of visitors. Enjoy.

Somehow I don't think the second time around for me will be the same. I know too much going in so there won't be quite the same heightened anxiety as there was the first time. I'm sure it will still be an amazing experience, birth will always be that way but I still think there's nothing like being first time parents, completely stonkered at what has taken place.

Well, I should send some congratulations to my friends and their speedy arrival. Well done.

A bit too close to home

This is what I was confronted with when leaving for work this morning:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-car-blast-mystery/2008/07/15/1215887577802.html

Didn't hear a thing but that 4WD has a habit of parking on the curb right at the corner and I've almost taken him out several times. Perhaps someone got pissed at him?

The Decline of Company Loyalty

I originally created this blog as a place to vent my frustrations. Then there was a period where I just wasn't frustrated. Getting married, buying a house, having a baby, whilst stressful are not frustrating.

But now, I have something to post about. Perhaps this is indicative on me than on IT in general but I have come to the conclusion that not only is it the done thing to change jobs every 2 years in IT but IT companies now also expect it. Company loyalty no longer exists. It is expected that if you don't like your job you change. Simple as that. Companies now know that they no longer have to try to retain staff as staff will leave regardless. IT workers also know this and know there is no point trying to move up the ranks as people will be moved in sideways and they will not go anywhere.

So both sides of the employment coin understand the situation and have agreed on terms yet for some reason I haven't bought into this scheme. Here I am after eight years of service still waiting to move somewhere. Each year I hope for something and each year I get told how tough the market is and how the company is struggling. Obviously this is just management talk to manage my expectations. They expect that if I'm not happy I will move on. They don't need to do anything as I am just the same as the rest of the cattle here. Even if your performance review rate you as execptional that just means you are allowed to stay.

I remember years ago when employement was supposed to be a win win situation. You put your time in doing work for your employer and they made it worth your while. Now they don't care what you do, just that you do it quietly and move on if you're not happy. Your direct manager no longer has any control over your career, nor does his manager and so on. Everyone is treated the same and promotion is only through knowing the right people and being at the right place and has nothing to do with merit or loyalty.

Yet here I am, still here still enduring. What gives?

Official Google Blog: Looking towards IPv6

Looks like IPv6 is getting the big name support it needs. Now we just need Google to IPv6 enable the rest of their services and we'll be set.


Official Google Blog: Looking towards IPv6

Riding Away

I've started riding to work and something strange has happened. Instead of my inherent
lazy streak overriding me and telling me to take the car when the weather is nasty I have found that I'm now feeling bad for taking the car. I actually find myself feeling like a wimp of some sort for not riding in the rain or for thinking a little bit of wet is an excuse not to ride.

I don't understand this myself as it's not what I would have expected of myself. I know I'm lazy and it's a constant battle to get past that. Yet here I am wanting to ride in the rain, wanting to not skip days. I think some of the motivation has to be that I've lost 4kg. Not that that sounds like a lot (it isn't) but it's more the fact that people have noticed and finally I have felt like I'm getting somewhere.

I know how hard it is to diet which is why I'm not being to careful on that side of things. Yes I'm trying to eat less but I'm not that fussy of what it is. Instead I feel like I'm changing my lifestyle for the good here. I've wanted to ride for so many years yet haven't managed to get there until recently. Now I feel liberated. I look forward to riding, and once I'm at work I feel happy that I have to ride home because now I am enjoying the whole deal.

Ok, enough ranting about riding.

Find me by the Shorefront

Well it's about time. I finally have a shady front to hide behind. Yes, I've registered a business name and gotten myself an ABN.

http://shorefront.googlepages.com

Now just to find some consulting work.

My masochistic reading

Of late I've been doing my head in with the heaviness of my reading choices. Currently I'm reading War and Peace the mother of all epitomes and decided on the weekend that I needed more punishment and thus bought The Brothers Karamazov and the Idiot both by Dostoevsky.

All this intellectual masochism started on a whim one day whilst browsing a book store at Birken Head I noticed both War and Peace and Crime and Punishment. Who couldn't resist books which such simple titles? I couldn't considering I had actually heard of these two books and usually they were considered very serious undertakings when it came to the book world.

So I bought them and waded through Crime and Punishment whilst staying at my in-laws (in between houses). Such was the weight of this book it caused me to start writing one of my own.
This mood soon left me until I started on War and Peace. That journey is still going and I can't see an end in sight yet as I'm only 750 pages in, barely half way.

So all this intellectual discovery has lead me to pile on the pages with two more Dostoevsky's which look to be good, one of which was his last book so I can hopefully (if my brain survives) compare the two.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Bye Bye SuperWall

I have just removed my SuperWall from facebook. It seems the only purpose of this application is to propagate chain mail hoaxes around as fast as possible. Ending up with multiple copies of the same stupid hoax with some (presumable) innocent persons face attached to it just irked me no end.

So now I've deleted my Superwall and am only going to use Facebook for it's original intend, keeping in touch with friends.