Random thoughts and observations
The past year was superficially a stable one for me in terms of employment. I use the word superficially because my job title didn’t change and neither did the work I perform. There were a number of internal “shuffles” throughout the year though, to keep things fluid and interesting.
Today I received an email from LinkedIn saying that 17 of my 121 connections changed jobs during 2011. That’s 14 percent of people.
Maybe it’s because I turn 45 in a couple of weeks, but I thought now is the right time in life to pursue my childhood ambition to become an astronaut, before it’s too late. I was two years old when the first manned space mission landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. In November 1967, when I was still wearing nappies, the first successful rocket capable of sending a mission to land on the Moon (Saturn V) was launched.
Lucky for me there hasn’t been much progress in the past 44 years in terms of extending man’s extraterrestrial travel capability.
I rode to work twice this week on the new electric bicycle. It takes about half an hour, which is quicker than the bus by five to 20 minutes, not counting the time it takes to walk to a stop and wait. I felt the exercise was equivalent to walking half an hour, as you have to pump the pedals to activate the motor, except when using the throttle. The throttle was useful for getting started at traffic lights and riding uphill. My workplace has a small caged area for storing bicycles, which I found far superior to leaving the bike tied up at a public post.
I was interested to read that Carlsberg brewery workers in Denmark have gone on strike after management cut their daily free beer ration. The poor petals are also supposed to only imbibe now at lunch time. If you said that someone “couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery” you’d be disparaging them, but it’s not [...]
There may be some interest in the fact I have left The Border Watch. This will be my only public statement. When you hold a senior position in an organisation you learn to ride the bumps and take the rough with the smooth. If you’re unhappy in a job you either put up with it, [...]
