One of my offices looks over Victoria Square toward Gulf St Vincent. In fact, the sea is visible on most days, 10km away.

Another office looks in the opposite direction toward the Adelaide Hills. You know the weather is bad when you can’t see the hills.

The Parliament House office is like a dungeon, buried in the basement of the historic building.

My other office is close to Parliament on the ninth floor and I don’t have any view at all. Well, that’s not strictly correct. My direct vision is toward the hallway door to the toilets and I get to see a constant flow of traffic.

That’s handy when I want to see someone, but couldn’t be bothered looking for them. As most of my colleagues are women, I only have to wait 30 minutes or so and the person I’m looking for will materialise in front of me.

I know to wait until their return visit, however, unless I only want the conversation to be short, in which case I interrupt them before they head out the door.

This particular building offers some nice views, though. The above picture was taken from a colleague’s office, using my Samsung Galaxy SII phone through a tinted double-glazed window.

Government House, Adelaide

The photo is looking over Government House, down King William Road toward Adelaide Oval and North Adelaide; quite splendid on a fine summer’s day.

According to His Excellency’s website, Government House, Adelaide, is the oldest vice-regal residence in Australia.

The earliest part of the House to be built was the east wing (right side) of the present building. It was completed and occupied in May 1840.

Various additions and renovations have occurred over the years, the latest major one being in 1973 when some rooms on the first floor of the original East Wing were rearranged and modernised to form a separate suite for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Governors, their families and house guests make use of all the upstairs rooms.

According to the About page: Picture Australia is an internet-based service that allows you to search many significant online pictorial collections at the same time. When you search on Picture Australia, thumbnail images are retrieved from participating institutions on the fly and inserted into the search results.

Participating institutions include libraries, universities, museums and the Australian War Memorial.

Clicking on an image takes you to the institution’s website for details about the picture.

This is a fantastic use of technology, providing broad public access to cultural and historical treasures. It’s a wonderful tool for researchers, saving countless hours and cost.

It’s all under the umbrella of the National Library of Australia as part of the Trove, which is an online collection of digitised archives including newspapers, journals, photographs, diaries and audio.

I’ve done image searches in Trove before, but the Picture Australia page is cleaner and more visually appealing.

Something I hadn’t seen before was the ability for individuals to contribute photographs.

It’s as simple as joining the Picture Australia Flickr group for People, Places and Events.

I added a few photos and will be interested to see if they become part of the collection.

All of this makes it much easier for historians and genealogists to share and find information.

The 67-year-old Greek Cypriot, who is normally very quiet, today opened a conversation by asking if I had seen the news last week that France had condemned Turkey’s genocide against the Greeks.

A massacre of Armenians by the Turks.

Turkey denies the allegations, claiming deaths occurred in the course of war.

My limited understanding of this subject is the Armenians were literally slaughtered and many Greeks were also persecuted.

My barber was far more explicit. He recounted stories told to him by his father and grandfather about Greeks being thrown overboard at sea and left to drown, babies having their throats cut, bodies being washed ashore and so on.

Charming conversation.

Wikipedia states there was a violent campaign by the Ottoman Empire against the Greek population of the Empire during World War I and its aftermath (1914–1923).

“The campaign, also known as the Pontic genocide, included massacres, forced deportations involving death marches, summary expulsions, arbitrary executions, and destruction of Christian Orthodox cultural, historical and religious monuments.”

This appears to be fact. I can’t see any academic disagreement about this having occurred.

It may have been in the context of a crumbling empire defending its territory, but that’s no excuse for genocide.

The Greeks and Armenians may have retaliated and instigated attacks, but that is no excuse for arbitrary state-sanctioned murder.

I just think Turkey should acknowledge that atrocities occurred (before the modern country was created) and move on.

• Here is an interesting article, which explains more.

Activists of the Ukrainian women's movement FEMEN stage a performance in front of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, on December 9, 2011, to protest against alleged mass fraud in the Russian December 4 parliamentary polls.

According to Wikipedia, in Kiev there are about 300 active participants in the movement, which comprises some 20 topless activists and 300 fully clothed members.

Most of their early protests were in Ukraine, but they have since appeared in Russia, The Vatican, Paris and now in Switzerland.

Ukrainian feminists protest against sexism in the media.

FEMEN justifies its provocative methods, stating: “This is the only way to be heard in this country. If we staged simple protests with banners, then our claims would not have been noticed”.

The organisation plans to become the biggest and the most influential feminist movement in Europe, a goal I suspect they will rapidly achieve.

This web page features a selection of powerful images (warning, may offend).

Issues that have prompted protest include:

• French former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s attitude towards women;
• Sex tourism and the trafficking of women in Ukraine;
• The death penalty given to Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a mother of two children who was sentenced to death by stoning in Iran on charges of adultery;
• Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving cars;
• Animal welfare conditions at the Kiev zoo;
• Prostitution during a European soccer tournament.

I’m not one to support protest for the sake of it. In fact, I find the Occupy campaign somewhat strange and pointless, but FEMEN seems to have a point.

A scene from the FEMEN protest at Davos.

They have also brought to my attention the fact Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that shamefully doesn’t allow women to drive.

FEMEN clearly now has a more global agenda and it will be interesting to see if the movement attracts members and support outside Ukraine.

The potential downsides include that copycats will be less ideologically pure; the media and public will become indifferent about “shocking” demonstrations that are no longer shocking; and someone could get hurt if things turn ugly.

The issue that brought this group to my attention was media coverage of their current protest at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Mail Online reports: “With temperatures around freezing in the snow-filled town, they took off their tops and tried to climb a fence before being detained”.

While I don’t condone public nudity, I concede some admiration for what these young women are trying to achieve.

The issues paper seeks evidence and views about whether consumer detriment is caused by the purchase and use of gift cards by Australian shoppers.

In releasing the paper, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury, said the gift card market is estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion.

“Gift cards are often subject to terms and conditions which consumers need to ensure they read and understand,” Mr Bradbury said.

“As gift cards have grown in popularity, fair trading regulators have received complaints from consumers about a range of issues related to the cards, including the application of expiry dates, restrictions on using gift cards for low-value purchases, and the rights of gift card holders in the event of a company becoming insolvent.

“This issues paper invites members of the community to come forward with their experiences of purchasing and using gift cards to help inform CCAAC’s inquiry.”

University of Southern Queensland law lecturer Nicky Jones argues it is unjust for retailers to accept consideration for gift vouchers and then refuse to deliver promised goods or services when the vouchers expire.

In her paper “Gift Vouchers and Expiry Dates: When the Gift Stops Giving” (Queensland University of Technology Law & Justice Journal 213), Dr Jones recommends amendments to Australian consumer laws to protect shoppers from losing the benefit of unused and expired gift vouchers.

“Currently, the retailer can rely on the gift voucher’s expiry date to avoid providing goods or services under the voucher. Indeed, retailers have a commercial interest in their gift vouchers expiring unused,” she writes.

The CCAAC issues paper says gift cards are a popular choice with consumers for a number of reasons.

“Gift cards offer ease and convenience in choosing a suitable gift, are easily posted or delivered and allow the recipient the freedom to choose a gift they want,” the paper says.

“Retailers are also attracted to gift cards because they increase sales, reduce the return of unwanted gifts, build store loyalty and result in incremental sales as consumers may spend more than the face value on the gift card.”

In discussing expiry dates, the paper points out that card issuers have accounting considerations, such as financial reporting and the treatment of lost cards.

In North America, most US states and Canadian provinces regulate gift cards in some fashion. That’s not the case in Australia.

Group-buying schemes

I welcome the review and hope there is more discussion than there has been so far before public consultation ends on March 2, 2012.

Perhaps the inquiry should have been extended to cover group-buying schemes like Living Social and Groupon. The difference, I suppose, is that people generally buy group discounts for themselves, whereas gift cards are for others.

The issue of redemption is common though. I have been caught several times with restaurant vouchers having expired.

In relation to gift cards, I believe they should be valid for at least five years. They are effectively cash and if I choose to give my son a $100 voucher he should be able to redeem it at any reasonable time in the future.

It isn’t reasonable if a card expires in less than 12 months. As Nicky Jones observed, the retailer then has a vested interest in cards going unused.

• Visit here for details about how to make a submission.
• Here is the issues paper.

This website publishes press photographs of angry people.

As the author says: “I feel sorry for local news photographers. They are hugely skilled and poorly paid, and sent out to photograph miserable people pointing at dog turds. Here, we celebrate their work.”

Until discovering this site I wasn’t fully aware how many angry people there are.

I verified the anger by searching Google News for “angry residents”. Here are some recent examples:

Residents fear trees chopped ‘willy-nilly’

East Auckland residents (from left) Alison Dyson, Gary Muller, Bill Dalziel and Andrea Robinson are angry trees on Marine Parade in Howick have been felled. Photo: Natalie Slade.

The sight of a pile of tree limbs chopped to improve sea views has angered users of a popular coastal walkway in one of east Auckland’s premium streets.

“A lot of people are sick to the guts about what is happening,” said Alison Dyson, who lives near the scene of the clearing work on a subdivision overlooking Mellons Bay, Howick.

• Full story in the New Zealand Herald.

Hearing draws angry crowd of citizens, officials

Hundreds of concerned citizens turned out at Salem City Hall Annex on Jan. 25 to weigh in on the cuts to bus, train and ferry services and fare hikes proposed by the MBTA.

Inside two overcrowded rooms that spilled out into the hallway, outraged residents, officials and politicians asserted their opinions, insisting that the changes would be detrimental to the quality of life on the North Shore.

• Full story in the Cape Ann Beacon.

Fury over noisy road upgrades

Angry North Sapphire residents have left Roads and Maritime Services in no doubt about their feelings over the amount of noise road works on the Sapphire to Woolgoolga upgrade are creating.

Residents are fed up with the noise from compression brakes and heavy machinery and have asked for noise barriers to be installed.

• Full story in the Coffs Coast Advocate.

Bad case of gas riles Darebin residents

Raleigh Street residents say Darebin Council wasted ratepayers’ money landscaping their nature strips only a few weeks before a gas company ripped them up.

“Very annoyed” resident Enver Sakiri said he had had to put up with council machinery breaking concrete and digging holes in his nature strip late last year only to have to endure it again a few weeks later when gas company APA Group replaced mains.

• Full story in the Preston Leader.

Angry Mombasa clerics demand repair of roads

The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya yesterday stormed the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and Kenya Urban Roads Authority offices in Mombasa to demand answers about the pathetic condition of roads.

Council officials led by nominated MP Sheikh Mohamed Dhor caught managers of the two authorities by surprise.

• Full story in The Star.

Angry parents demand action over dangerous crossing

Angry parents say they are still waiting for action two months after calling on the council to introduce parking restrictions on a busy road.

More than 600 people signed a petition demanding action be taken on a section of Inmans Row at the junction with Monkhams Lane in Woodford Green, where children are encouraged to cross by painted footprints on the pavement.

• Full story in The Guardian.

Residents join bid to save lollipop patrols

Angry residents and ward councillors have backed calls to save city school crossing patrols.

The patrols are under threat as part of Peterborough City Council budget proposals.

• Full story in Peterborough Today.

Comment

All these stories are from the past few days and I could have easily picked another 20 or more.

It shows that anger is universal, although the Brits seem to get more angry more quickly than the rest of us.

In some parts of the world anger is saved for life-and-death issues, whereas in England outrage is sparked if the local council removes a parking space.

All good fodder for local newspapers and now the internet.

Envirosoft, or Encore Tissue, has a Twitter handle @SafeTissue.

The bio proclaims: “Australia’s only Toilet Paper endorsed by Planet Ark. Made from 100% Recycled Waste Paper. A Better Choice for Our Planet!”

I’m vaguely aware, of course, that companies and organisations have Twitter and Facebook accounts. Although I’m no expert in social media, I would have thought these accounts should inform and engage readers.

@SafeTissue teases with snippets of information, but fails to deliver with any consistency. For instance, I was intrigued to learn: “December has been a huge month for SAFE; so much so that we ran out of our Double Length 6pk for a short period (ranged in IGA & other independent supermarkets). Stock is being shipped now and will be avaliable again soon”.

That’s a relief, especially if you’re holding out for the truck to arrive.

That was the most recent tweet (and Facebook update) on January 8.

I’d really like to know why toilet paper stocks were flying off the shelves. Is there a link between Christmas festivities and demand? Do extra indulgences have a downside, or an upside in the case of toilet paper manufacturers?

The previous tweet and Facebook update was on November 20: “Best wishes to the Sea Sheppard (sic) crews on the “Bob Barker” and “Steve Irwin” as they prepare to head back to sea. There (sic) a hardy crew and lifes (sic) tough out in (sic) the ocean, but Safe Toilet tissue is bringing a little softness to thier (sic) day.”


I can only assume that @SafeTissue sponsors Sea Shepherd, but again this was an isolated, tantalising post with no supporting information.

I’m sure the crew appreciates the comfort, but how did Safe Toilet come to be a sponsor? Are they flush with funds?

A flurry of tweets in October revealed special prices, National Recycling Week and the fact “SAFE Toilet Tissue is 100 percent Australian owned and made”. That’s important to stress when your competitors are plundering Sumatran rainforests and killing tigers (my words, not theirs).

I started writing this post with no idea of where I was heading. It just seemed an interesting prompt.

Now I’m feeling a little deflated and less likely than I was earlier today to purchase Safe toilet tissue.

Apart from the Twitter account being random and erratic, the spelling is atrocious!

There may not be a manual yet on how companies should promote themselves in social media, but I’m sure there’s a common-sense rule to spell correctly.

While the marketing department at Envirosoft hasn’t quite pulled this one off, they might be onto something if they can get their shit together.

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.

I wonder how that compares with the total workforce?

It’s probably on the low side, because according to this web site, nearly 25 percent of Australian employees will change jobs this year.

According to Life Work Solutions:

• More than 50 percent of the people recruited in to an organisation will leave within two years.
• One in four people recruited will leave within six months.
• Nearly 70 percent of organisations report that staff turnover has a negative impact.
• Nearly 70 percent of organisations report having difficulties in replacing staff.
• Approximately 50 percent of organisations experience regular problems with employee retention.

I’m lucky to be happy doing what I’m doing, and in fairness to my 17 LinkedIn connections who changed jobs, I know some of them at least simply had their titles varied and they continue to perform the same work.

As for LinkedIn, it’s an interesting form of social media. I don’t use it as often as Twitter or Google+, but it fills a niche for employment-related activity.

My LinkedIn profile is here.

It mentions The Independent in England, the Daily Mirror and regional UK publisher Archant.

“Newspaper photographers are in retreat. Staff jobs are vanishing as publishers look for new ways to cut costs. National papers have gradually been reducing numbers in recent years. Many titles have only a handful.”

The same applies in regional Australia, although I’m not sure about metropolitan newspapers. In fact, The Advertiser in Adelaide seems to have a healthy complement of staff photographers, but I wonder how long that will be the case.

When I started with country newspapers in 1986, most had staff photographers.

I worked with the talented Eric Yeates at the Bairnsdale Advertiser. He taught me how to use a camera and even let me into the dark room to learn the mystery of how pictures were developed. The unique smell remains a clear memory.

Eric had a great eye for detail. He taught this to me, along with the eternal message: “fill the frame”. He also advised some parameters for manual photography using flash, which I never forgot.

The first significant threat to the photographic craft was one-hour processing. It became possible to get film developed offsite, and easier to use contributed pictures.

Then came digital photography and finally the insatiable internet.

When I worked at the Gippsland Times in 1988 there were two staff photographers. As far as I know, there are none today.

The daily Kalgoorlie Miner had two full-time staff photographers and a couple of casuals when I was there. I hope that’s still the case.

In regional South Australia however, the only regional newspaper with a staff photographer that I’m aware of, is the Mount Barker Courier. And that knowledge is several years old.

I can understand that publishers want to save money. Most journalists can take adequate pictures, some better than others. Readers can and do contribute pictures, especially of junior sport and social events.

But a good photographer is priceless. They know how to compose a front page picture, how to engage subjects and how to create. Excellent photos sell newspapers.

I always valued good photographers and I think the newspaper industry is poorer without them.

The photographers themselves are now taking wedding pictures.

As one commenter on The Guardian post remarked:

“Anyone can snap a photo of a burning bus. Not everyone can consistently make something boring look visually compelling. That’s the job of a professional photojournalist. They have the ability to make storytelling images all the time no matter the situation, especially when the image isn’t staring you in the face.”

While the loss in quality may not be immediately noticeable, it will be over time and readers will feel that newspapers offer them less value.

• For some light relief, visit this site for Angry people in local newspapers.

“Your account is consuming about 10.66% of CPU resources on a shared server, which is not a fair share,” the message said.

“We had no choice but to block the web access of following script to stabilize the server. Because resources are shared, I’m sure you can understand that we need to take action if one site is causing downtime for dozens of other sites.”

I actually don’t fully understand why the site was suspended without warning, but that’s another issue. Being at the cricket I had no way of taking immediate remedial action anyhow.

According to Google Analytics, this site receives about 300 visitors per day, which by itself should not consume excessive server resources.

However, it’s always good to keep the house tidy so I was happy to review and implement several measures.

1) Once at home I installed WP Super Cache. This plugin generates static html files from a dynamic WordPress blog. After a html file is generated, the web server will serve that file instead of processing the comparatively heavier and more expensive WordPress PHP scripts.

As it currently stands, about 24 hours after my site was restored, the cache holds 9.89MB with 13 pages and 124 expired pages.

2) I also installed the WP Smush.it plugin and smushed all my images.

Smush.it uses optimization techniques specific to image format to remove unnecessary bytes from image files. It is a “lossless” tool, which means it optimizes the images without changing their look or visual quality.

It took about an hour to bulk process all my pictures, and I noticed that most were being reduced in size by around 30 percent.

3) I deleted post revisions from the database and optimized the database.

4) I removed the Daily Stats plugin, which may or may not have been adding to server load. It certainly had a hefty database table of 2MB, which I deleted.

5) I removed several inactive plugins.

Bad Behavior plugin

6) Late yesterday I installed the Bad Behavior plugin. I had used this plugin previously, but encountered some problems with it. So far, it’s working okay this time.

Bad Behavior works by screening all requests to block email harvesters and malicious robots.

Bad Behavior analyses the HTTP headers, IP address and other metadata regarding the request to determine if it is spammy or malicious.

In just under 24 hours, Bad Behavior has blocked 839 attempted visits. That seems an extraordinary number and is probably why the system resources are being strained. An example of the log is pictured below.

According to the FAQ: “By preventing spambots and other malicious bots from ever accessing any of your pages, your bandwidth usage and server load will drop significantly. How much depends on how many malicious bots visit your site regularly. It can also help prevent a denial of service where your Web host shuts off your account because spambots were using up all the available resources.”

That’s what I want to achieve, of course, a reduction in use of system resources.

Site5 emailed me again this morning to say there has been an improvement in that regard, down to 6.81 percent, but more needs to be done.

I’m hoping that if Bad Behavior does its job, there will be a more significant reduction in the next couple of days.

If anyone has encountered any difficulty using this site, please let me know.