Investment Course

Well, today went to another investment course. All four lectures (seminars ... whatever you call them) cost $150 each. I've paid for them in advance, and received a discount, so all four will only cost me $400. My brother wanted to use my car, so I got him to drop me off at the bus stop on his way to the supermarket. Got into the City with plenty of time to get to Exchange Plaza. I was a bit advanced for todays seminar. It was pretty basic. I am hoping to get something out of the next three though ... well, maybe the next one won't teach me much either. Still, good to go along and meet my fellow class mates / investors. Feeling very tired, as my brother was up most of the night. He was forever turning lights on and off and stuff. My mother got up at midnight to find him watching TV or something. Then the dogs were barking at something. Then the lights were being switched on and off again ... till at least 2 AM. By the time I got up at 7 AM I was still pretty tired. I actually started falling asleep during the lecture. On the bus on the way home, I started to get a headache (which I assume is from lack of sleep!) Oh well. Plenty of tiem to sleep tonight (I hope). When I got home, I offered to get Chips from up the road. My brother (who is usually a junk-food-aholic)claimed he wasn't hungry. He also complined that he was having trouble sleeping (like .. yeah, we hadn't noticed!!!!) So I bought six dollars worth (which I normally buy for the three of us), just in case my brother got hungry (which has happened before). I got home, and he insisted he wasn't hungry still ... then he ate a bowl of cereal, a tuna fish sandwich and a lot of other stuff. So much for not being hungry. Still, he wouldn't touch the chips (as he wasn't hungry! Um ... yeah!) So my mother and I ate them all. I must have been pretty hungry myself. My mother is watching the West Coast Eagles and Sydney Swans play. I think the Eagles are killing the Swans. That's good. That'll keep my mother in a good mood. I'm really not that much into watching sports. I prefer to play them. Well, just reading stuff on the internet and updating my own blog. Not much else happening. Aren't I boring! :-)

Busy Day

Today was another busy day. Started off by visiting the Doctor regarding my right arm issue. My CT scan showed nothing (Negative result) which was good, as it means I at least didn't have an aneurysm or anything. Still, a negative result means they still don't know what the issue is. I'm booked in to see a Neurologist on Thursday, who will run some ECG Scan or something to make sure my nerves are still sending signals to my fingers and stuff. My fourth and fifth fingers are still numb. At least the swelling in the hands has gone away, and the numbness is not all over my arms anymore. Other big thing today, was a trip to see my tax accountant again. Second time this week. We got a bit more sorted out, but were unable to finish it again. I was a bit p**ed off as I was asked to get certain documents, when we were going through it, the tax guy went to ask his supervisor about one of the documents, and the supervisor claimed that he'd asked that we get my Policy Number. It wasn't true. At no time had the supervisor asked my advisor for that previously, nor had he asked me. (In fact I had everything they'd asked for in writing, so I have the proof I hadn't been asked). Fortuitously, I did have that policy number with my anyway. Still, it's annoying having supervisors like that, who don't ask for something, and then pretend like it was their underlings fault that it wasn't provided. Well, the other document I didn't have in my possession, so we've had to contact my Financial Institution for a copy. I think if the document was sent to me, it was probably sent to my old address and not forwarded on. I would have remembered something like that, if I had of received it. Another interview set up for next Tuesday. I received an e-mail claiming that he couldn't get through to my phone. It was strange, as the phone hasn't rung all day. So I e-mailed back to tell the guy to phone ... and he did without a problem. I'm not sure why it didn't work before. We'll see how the interview goes on Tuesday now. I wonder if the problem was at his end, as I tried to access their website, and it was down. Very strange. Tomorrow off to another trading seminar. Have to remember to go. :-)

Philosophy Quizzzzzzz

Following Suanie's lead once again on Quizzes.

You scored as Utilitarianism. Your life is guided by the principles of Utilitarianism: You seek the greatest good for the greatest number. "The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." --Jeremy Bentham "Whenever the general disposition of the people is such, that each individual regards those only of his interests which are selfish, and does not dwell on, or concern himself for, his share of the general interest, in such a state of things, good government is impossible." --John Stuart Mill More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Utilitarianism 85% Existentialism 85% Kantianism 75% Hedonism 70% Divine Command 70% Justice (Fairness) 65% Strong Egoism 40% Apathy 5% Nihilism 5% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

Oh well, at least I was given one which believed in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Political Thought, Emancipation of Women and Equality before the Law. Still, I think it misses the fact that Motive always needs to be questioned, where as Utilitarianism ignores this and just looks at the ends. I personally don't think the "Ends Justifies the Means", where as Utilitarianism just ignores this altogether. Still, there is a lot of good which I think can come from a Utilitarianism view of the world ... it just needs some bumps ironed out. That's probably why I didn't score 100% on it. Still, my Utilitarianism was equal to my Existentialism. Not sure I like being either of those ... what would Jesus do? :-)

Yesterday - Today

YESTERDAY

Well, yesterday was an interesting day. Started by going to get my tax done. Discovered something pretty bad, I didn't have all my tax documents and stuff. It's not that I knew I had to have it. So it's pretty weird. Actually, one of the problems was one of the documents concerning my shares was completely wrong (or something). It claims I've sold shares ... yet couldn't list them. In the end the Accountant has had to send off a request to get the information needed regarding them. I was left with two things to find as well. A statement which proves that my Income Protection is tax deductable, and another one which has to do with my SuperAnnuation. The Super one I can't find at present. I'm going to have to spend a lot of time digging around. The tax was such a problem that I missed my trading seminar in the city. I got into the city and found I was half an hour late for the seminar ... which is half of the seminar. I then had an hour to wait for my first job interview. It was a pretty hot day, and I was sweating like the provebial pig. (Which as some might point out, don't actually sweat at all!) I eventually found the best spot to be, which was actually outside the building I had the interview in. So I sat there for fifteen minutes or so and went to the interview fifteen minutes early. The interview went really well. I'd made it into the final four, and the interviewer told me I was a really strong candidate. (Actually, he let slip that I was the strongest, but then changed it to "strong"). I was going to get a call or e-mail to set up an interview on Friday. Sounded good. I then had to waste another two hours before the next interview. I decided to eat some subway and spent some time looking for a free toilet to use. I found most in Perth you need to pay for. Eventually, I went into Myers and decided I'd use their fascilities. Big mistake. I walked into the only available cubicle, and thought it was muddy water on the floor. Nope! The stench was pretty bad. So I had to back out of that cubicle trying not to step in the water. Ewwwwwwww! Off to the next interview. Easy to find. This was paying pretty low, but is better than working in a factory (I guess). Seemed like they were trying to sell the job for me. By this time of day, I wasn't too enthused, as it'd been a long day, and was late. I exited that interview with the feeling they thought I wasn't interested in the job. Oh well, if they offered it to me, I'd take it. I am probably a the bottom of their list of people to hire. Had to catch a late bus home, and found that it didn't go via my street, so had a ten minute walk from the bus stop to home. Was exhausted. Told my brother and mother about the day, and watched some TV, then went to bed.

TODAY

Woke up at 5 AM. Was sort of intending to go to work, but the swollen hands, numbness of my arms and general all round pain of the weekend made me decide to visit the Doctor instead. I phoned to book myself into see my Dr, who was Shanti [last name withheld]. Apparently, there are a few of them working there with the same last name now. They assumed I had meant another Dr, with same last name. When they told me it was a 'HE' Dr, I was a bit confused. I was booked in for 5 PM. Long wait. My mother's car wouldn't start, so I got to drive her to my sisters place this morning. After thinking about it, I phoned back and asked to see another Dr. They said, Sure, we'll let you see the Dr's sister. I then thought, "Oh! That must be Shanti." They then told me, "No, it's Hamar." I turned up on time, and sure enough, there were lot of Dr's with the same surname. I got to see Dr Hamar, who definitely wasn't Dr Shanti. So, not sure if Shanti was Hamar's sister or sister in law. So confusing. Anyway. Dr Hamar is pretty nice, so was happy to have her as my Doctor. Spoke to Dr Hamar about my numbness/pain/swollen hands problem. SHe did some checks and then phoned a Neurologist to see best cause of action (as the numbness might have been caused by an aneurysm or something! Ai Carumba!) She checked to make sure most other things were working properly, and sent me off to get a CT Scan. I'm booked in to see her about the results on Friday. I phoned my mother in case something urgent came up. (Like I really did have an aneurysm). Tom from the Labour Hire company called me. He didn't have any more work for me at present, so not much for me to do for a while. He asked if I wanted him to look around some more for me. I explained about the CT Scan and swelling and stuff, and asked for him to wait till after I'd seen the Doctor on Friday. So have a big day Friday with the Tax and with the Doctor. Went to the CT Scan, and fell asleep a few times during it. I don't think there was much of a problem, as they didn't seem too concerned. They sent me on my way. My mother phoned back. I told her about the CT Scan and what Tom and I had spoken about. I received an e-mail regarding the interview I thought I'd done really well in. They had an internal applicant apply for the role, and as per their company policy, they gave the job to that person! Darn! Missed out again! 4 PM came, and I went and got my mother from my sisters. Had a bit of a yarn with my sister about things. At home. Am planning on getting stuck into study and looking at the trading of the exchange today. My shares are still dropping. Darn it! Maybe I need to sell something short or something. It'll make more money quicker than trying to wait for them to go up! :-)

Worried about my right arm.

I'm very worried about my right arm at present. I've been having a problem where the thing keeps going numb, and my right hand keeps swelling up. There is also a throbing involved. I'll have to book myself in to see the Doctor on Wednesday or something. Not sure why, but it's like the blood doesn't want to travel through it or something. I'm wondering if working in the factory has anything to do with it. When I told my mother and brother, the first thing my brother said was it was heavy metal poisoning. Ai Carumba! I hope it isn't. Either way though, it needs to be looked at. When the right hand swells up, I can't even make a fist from it. Not only can I not close it, as it's too swollen, but it hurts. Anyway, it seems liek some sort of circulation issue to me. In the meantime, the factory work has been playing havoc on my wrists. I wake up in the morning with pains in my wrists. Doing things like writing or typing cause them to hurt a lot. I was also getting very sharp pains in my feet from standing up too much. It's hard standing up for eight hours straight (well, there is a twenty minute break for lunch ... but it's not much help). Anyway, I have two interviews tomorrow, so I am hoping I get an IT job again, where I can sit on my fat arse and do more mental work. In the meantime, a trip to the Doctors might be in order just to see what the possible cause might be. Not sure what else to type tonight ... wrists and hands are still in a lot of pain. Guess I'll spend some of tonight getting ready for tomorrow.

Poems - Colder Than the Moon - Insecure - Darker Places

Printed below are three of my poems. I haven't included any of the epics (like "Orange Crush Sun" goes on for about six pages or something!) I didn't include any of my love poetry here ... it's probably too mushy and stuff for the internet. I'll just write some brief notes concerning the poems below, mainly what they're about. On a general note, I usually write when I am depressed, so if it comes across that way, it's probably reflecting the mood I was in. Sometimes I can write when I am happy. I like to re-read my poetry afterwards as it cheers me up. I know that sounds a bit weird, but it works. I divide my poetry into a few different categories; Depressed, Love Poetry, Artistic, Manic, Songs (because some of them start as poems and turn into songs ... or the other way round. So they include versus and choruses), and miscellaneous. (With possible over lapping of some poems). Colder Than the Moon - This piece is both a poem and a song. The song lyrics are similar, but not the same as the poem below. Basically, I wrote this while going through my divorce, so it's really just about that. Don't read anything else into it. This one I probably classify as depressed, love and song. Insecure - Also about my divorce. Probably because I was feeling very insecure in every aspect of my life at that time. Well, it was written a long time after my divorce, but I was still feeling the negative effects from it. Fits in the depressed category. Darker Places - Just about my depression. A lot of my Depressed Poetry explores dark themes and sometimes depression (the state of being depressed) in general. No prizes for the category this one fits into.

Colder Than the Moon Colder than the moon That drifts across the endlessness. Your unloving touch, That lacks the needed tenderness.

Across the great expanse, It drifts and dimly glows. You the only one, Who chose to change friends to foes.

Clouds drift across the face, Concealing Lunar's mirth. Hidden within your breast. The most distant place on Earth.

Too distant to touch, The surface cold and dark. Colder than the moon, The feelings in your heart.

Insecure

Sometimes When lying here alone I wonder Insecure Will you come home? Will you still like me?

When everyone else Has left and forsaken me Lonely Abandoned Wondering anxiously Awaiting some word.

For words we had Too many and not the ones That I wanted to hear That I needed Needed to reassure Talk Talk to me I need to hear I am still wanted It's Okay to be near.

I pour out my feelings. What do you care?

Darker Places

The darker places That I find Myself inhabit In my mind.

Twisted depression Takes me low Nobody cares Nobodies close.

I'd like to run And find a place Where no one can see My heartfelt aches.

I'd like to hide From all my woes The darker places That I chose.

Darkly unified To strike and scorch My fragile soul Scathed and torched.

Wrecked and weakened Ever onward Seeking substance In darker solice.

Adding to the Last Three Posts

Just to add to the last three posts. To get a clearer idea, click the pictures and they should zoom out more. Especially the last one. As regular readers will know, this damage has been caused by me working in a factory. A lot fo the damage couldn't be shown as I can't scan the other side of my hands nor the other side of my arms. My left arm looks like a suicide attempt by someone with no co-ordination ... cuts running every which way!!! :-) The finger tips have so many cuts, that I can't play guitar at present. One of the great joys in life removed! Blah! Oh well, hopefully it will not be for much longer. I'm still pissed off by the treatment I've received. I was going to write some more .. but I need to sleep. Ciao!

Closer look!

In the close up you can see the skin peeling better. Remember, thats all over my fingers. only now, you're seeing everything in reverse order to what I have uploaded and stuff. So you'll see it getting smaller and smaller. lol

Give Them The Finger!

Give them the FINGER! The photo loses a lot when I import it. At least now you can see some of the damage done to my poor little guitarist fingers. Remember, before this week, those fingers, and the rest of my hands were only used to typing, playing guitar, painting and a few other minor things. That lighter colour down the left hand side is all peeling flesh. It is easily identifiable on the good scan ... damn the photo restrictions on blogger! I might see if I can get a close up of it and send that next.

Arm Damage

Arm Damage from my current job. Looked good when I got home, because by that time it had bled a bit and was dribbling down the arm. Was trying to load the pictures of my hands, but hard to see all the cuts and stuff from the size allowed. Needless to say, it looks quite horrific close up on zoom. My mother was impressed by the amount of cuts, bruises, flaking skin and pieces of little metal in the hands. That includes two days rest as they moved me from where I was in the factory to somewhere that allowed me to wear gloves. Funny that I complained about it on Tuesday, and it took until Friday till they moved me. Mind you, I was following the instructions from my Labour Hire company. They informed me that if I have a problem, I should never talk to the company directly, but should talk to them first. Well, I did, and it didn't get me anywhere for a few days. I bet if I did it the other way around, I'd be in trouble for violating [the labour hire] company policy. Still, I am not planning on staying with the company very long. Getting ready to open up my options depending on what happens this Tuesday. Have two IT interviews, and if neither of them are successful, then I will start preparing to head to the UK. Have no idea what I will do when I get there, but will start looking into moving ASAP just in case. Will start planning a preliminary itinerary in case I do leave. Basically it will include visits to these countries on the way to the UK (Provided I can get the visa's etc): Singapore Malaysia (Penang in particular) Japan Canada (or Canadia as I like to call it!) :-) England (finally) Might visit the USA if it takes my fancy, but not sure if I will. Would be nice if I could arrange a tour so that I could perform along the way. I think there is a distinct possibility that I might end up stopping in Japan if I can get a job teaching English there. Actually, today was a little easier on my fingers. Actually able to type with only a little pain from three of them. Hopefully, after a while some of the numbness will go. Though my right hand was really swollen this morning. It also ached/throbbed. I was awoken this morning when a sharp stabbing pain shot up my wrist through my hand. Not sure what the reason for that was ... but didn't feel good. I definitely think it has a lot to do with the damage inflicted via the working conditions though. Now that they've moved me to another area, I'll stay till next Friday. Then, if I have an IT job to go to, I'll leave, and if I don't I'll send in my Passport application. Either way, I'm out of there very soon.

Song for the Weight Conscious.

Please note ... this is a highly personal song and only resembles me in every way! Big Fat Tummy, Big fat Tummy, Pizza smells good, And is really yummy, I wonder why I have such a big fat tummy? Straight from the oven Into my mouth, Why is my waist band Heading south? Big Fat Tummy, Big fat Tummy, Pizza burned my mouth, Now it's feeling numbie, Where did I get this big fat tummy? I need a pizza, I need extra large, People see my butt And think it is a barge. Big fat tummy, big fat tummy, Chocolate cake makes the day, Seem really sunny, How the hell I get such a big fat tummy? I want a girl friend But I'm out of luck They think I might squish 'em Like a big mac Truck Big fat Tummy, Big fat Tummy Those bears taste good, And they're really gummy Wonder how I got such a big fat tummy? Grab a pack of M & M's And suck them through a hose One time I slipped And sucked them up my nose. Big fat Tummy, Big fat Tummy I chase the girls around, But they're really runny, How'm I gonna catch 'em with a big fat tummy? Thank you, thank you very much. Dabido has now left the building ... and is in the pizza shop!

Pissed Off Beyond Belief!

WOW! Am I pissed off beyond belief or what!!! (don't believe me! Read the TITLE OF THIS ENTRY!) Yes, I am so pissed off, I am actually swearing! Why am I pissed off? Well, basically I've worked in this factory for the week to get some cash. On Tuesday, because I was shredding my hands (from the elbows down), I phoned the Labour Hire Company to get moved. I was asked to stay till the end of the week ... but was promised other work elsewhere (mind you, I've been told they can get me IT work ... which I doubt is going to appear). Anyway. Today, I phoned the labour hire company again ... and they haven't been looking for me. They thought I would change my mind by now. NO FUCKING WAY! (Yes, I actually said the 'F' word! FUCK!) On top of that, I was contacted by someone else today (name withheld) who told me I wasn't allowed to quit. Basically it came with a bit of a threat concerning the Government doing nasty things to me if I did! Like FUCK! When did they re-introduce SLAVERY to this FUCKING country! So I've basically been told, "YOU CAN'T QUIT OR ELSE!" What a load of FUCKING BULLSHIT! When did this stop being a free FUCKING COUNTRY! I have some IT interviews lined up for Tuesday next week (as Monday is a public holiday). But basically, if the threats made towards me are actually carried out, I am planning on packing my bags, selling everything and moving to the UK where I have Right of Abode! This bullshit of Economic Rationalism brought in by Paul Keating (ex-Labour PM) and perpetuated by John (Coward) Howard (current PM) can only be harming the country. As far as I am concerned, they can take their policies and shove them up their arses! I am sick of hearing stories of people being made to work in jobs that are below their IQ's and well below their credentials. This must be the only country where the guy with the Bachelors Degree is made to sweep the floor, while the FUCKING HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT is ordering them around. Don't get me wrong, not all High School Drop Outs are idiots or unintelligent. Some are very intelligent ... but a the end of the day the guy with the degree should be in payed employment in the field they have studied for. Shoving square pegs into round holes in order to fill empty jobs created by poor Government policy is just pure BULL FUCKING SHIT! Now, I haven't gone into great detail concerning the happenings of this week (other than my last post), but I am tired of being lied to, pushed around and generally walked all over in order for other people to make themselves look good. Also, getting told I can't QUIT a job which is tearing my hands apart and not even in the same field as anything I've worked in, is just pure BULL. Add to this the threat I received and I am FUCKING LIVID! Don't get me wrong, I'm as willing to work in almost any field in order to keep myself off the dole line, but this is just not working. It's damaging one of my greatest assests ... my hands, which are required for music, art and basically anything concerning writing or studying or web surfing. There seems to be a problem with getting me employment in any field which isn't factory work in this state. I'm getting FUCKING PISSED OFF WITH THE SYSTEM! It's not designed to get people employed and keep them employed; it's designed to treat people like objects and shove them into any vacancy which comes about. Of course, complaining about the system will only get you into trouble (like what I am in now!) In fact, I am waiting for the reprisal. Someone forgot to tell this FUCKING GOVERNMENT that I am not afraid of them! Call me Spartacus! Let the games begin!

OUCH! My Fingers!

Any guitarists visiting this site, might want to ignore this one post. WARNING: Includes mention of hands in PAIN! I've been working in a factory this week to earn some money and keep the wolf from the door. The main trouble I'm having is the bloody work is slicing my fingers to shreds (and hands ... well everything from the elbows down). So I am bloody pissed off. Almost all my hobbies and real vocations use my hands and fingers. Let's check them out: Guitarist (Can't do that now! Just touching anything hurts, let alone trying a slide down a thin high e or b string!) Artist (Painting etc) Writer (Yes, I am in agony writing this post ... but felt I needed to update!) Computer Games /surfing the web etc (yes, just clicking the mouse buttons or using the mouse wheel hurts). IT work - use of computer ... see Writer and Computer Games above! At present I am manufacturing water heaters. I look around the factory, where they are apparently always short of workers, and I can't help but think, "Why haven't they bothered to get robots in?" There isn't anything in the factory which couldn't be done by a robot equivalent. (In fact, robots would be quicker and more accurate. They'd get more product and better quality). In the long run, they wouldn't be complaining about being short staffed. People like myself wouldn't be slicing our fingers to shreds. Most of the workers are like me, they're from an Agency, so they can get work elsewhere ... in fact, the agency is screaming for people, as there isn't enough of them. (For those who are Overseas, Australia has a skill shortage - we need more blue collar slobs .. like I am at present!) Maybe some people are not far sited enough to see a good thing. The human race is getting smarter and smarter. I can't remember whose law it is, but basically, all our children are going to have higher IQ's than us - surely people can see the benefit in getting these jobs that no one wants or likes computerised and robotised (is that a word?). Then, we can get into more important things, like space travel and colonising other worlds, and figuring out Faster Than Light Travel and Quantum Computing and healthy food that tastes like fast food. (Hmmm ... Pizza!) [And maybe giving us more leisure time to practice having sex ... I mean guitar ... oh, same thing really, except the guitaring lasts longer!] :-) On a brighter note though. I've been having a good look around at some IT jobs, and my phone keeps ringing a few times each day ... only problem is, I can't answer it in the factory. The time that I did, I put the mobile up to my earplugged ear and went, "HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!" Yes, the person at the other end was probably deafened by my yelling and the factory sounds. So, I have a heap of interviews lined up which might get me back into IT for a while, as I sort out my Novel and stuff. One main thing I'd like, is to get enough cash together to fix my ailing Fender Stratocaster, so I can return to playing and HEARING what I play. Only, at present, I can't play because of the bloody hands being shredded! (How IRONIC! Yes, something which is really Ironic ... not often people see real irony!) :-) Here is another really weird thing. I am being paid the same to work in a factory, as what I was earning when I started in the last IT place I worked. Yes, my last job in IT I started on a wage which was almost the Australian Award wage. I was promoted to System Admin at that place, but without a pay rise ... so I was a System Administrator (who usually get truck loads ... I said TRUCK), on a measly sum of money. :-) I can't remember if I documented my arguements with HR over that ... but it happened. I couldn't even get the correct wage that the company said I should have got as a minimum for that position. So glad I got out of that company. I hope all the little metal shards in my hands are able to come out one day. It will ruin my music career if I can't play again because I have fingers full of aluminium. On day two of the job, I showed my shredded hands to my mother, who told me to resign immediately. I did talkto the guy fromthe agency, who's going to move me to another factory, but his description sounds liek I'll just be in a similar place slicing the same hands. At present, many consumers are going to be receiving water heaters with my blood on them. Okay, the bloods probably not too noticable. Still, I'd hate for one of these to be in a CSI episode. They'd find my blood and be unable to find where it came from ... it was ME! it was ME! Give me my blood back! Before anyone asks ... I can't wear gloves, as they are a hazard. People can get their hands pulled into the machines and lose their hands. Obviously, given a choice, workers prefer a million paper cuts (and some deeper ones) than losing a hand. Actually, some of the deeper ones are the really painful ones, as they seem to be right on nerve points. One of these being on my left index finger ... make typing painful. Here is a stupid thing I did today too ... just to make you all laugh (and guitarist grimace). I was lining up the drill, to drill a hole for a pop rivet ... and I used my left hand to steady the part of the drill you stick the drill chuck in. (I'm not stupid enough to touch the drill bit ... it get's really hot and burns ... found that out first day! Ppptthhhhh!) Well, I started to drill, with my left hand still touching the drill ... and BBBZzzzzzztttt. Ouch burns! Yes, a spinning drill burns ones fingers if you don't take them off that part of the drill too. It made the guy I was working with laugh. Funny thing is, this didnt' cause any damage to my hand. I get to go back tomorrow and Friday and do it all over again. My hands are in agony, but I have to keep working ... my feet hurt from standing up all day and lifting heavy tanks ... but I have to continue. At the end of the day, I even get to sweep the floor. I can't help but laugh. I probably have more qualifications than even managment at that place, and I am the luck guy who gets to sweep the floor. I can't help but find it funny. All those years at Uni ... and I'm sweeping floors in a factory. I think I can thank John Howard and his economic rationalism (and previous Prime Ministers, Paul Keating and BOb Hawk who got that ball rolling). I find it rather Ironic that all the office positions I tried for found me OVER QUALIFIED ... so I am now working in a job which just requires the person to have started year Ten High School (or less ... I think, "heard of High School" might have been the lowest needed). Might explain the job interview question, "You heard of a place called High School?" "Why, yes, I have." "Great, you've got the job!" Actually, I am hoping the job interview on Friday will go so well that they'll offer me the position on the spot. Which reminds me ... I need to start looking on Seek again for more better jobs. :-) Ciao!

A Little Story About Accents

Today, I was working in a factory (yes, in a factory), and the guy I was working with thought I was English. (Yes, English). Funny thing is, all English people can hear my Aussie accent. Yet, almost everyone else in the world, thinks I am English, as I have a slight English accent. The English people obviously can't hear it, as they always tell me I don't sound English at all. A funny thing happened a few years ago. One of my drinking buddies was a Canadian (yes, from Canada), and her Canadian friends thought she sounded really Aussie. When she told us, we all laughed, as we could hear her accent play as day ... she was definitely Canadian. Then, when she was talking, I decided to listen really hard, and I noticed something. I realised, that a lot of her speach did have some Aussie accent in it. It was only noticable when I listened for it. I refer to this as listening in the gaps. Basically, listening to the bits which didn't sound Canadian. There it was, an Aussie accent. Then I realised why it is that where ever I go in the world, people who aren't English always hear my English accent, while the English can't hear it. It's because we are so acustomed to hearing words spoken a certain way, that we ignore it. Yet, we can easily hear the things which sound different and exotic to our ears. Thus, when my Canadian friend speaks, we Aussies only hear her Canadian Accent. When she talks to her Canadian friends, they can only hear her Aussie accent. When I speak, Aussies usually know that I am well spoken for an Aussie, yet people (like the Zimbabwian today could easily hear my English accent.) Don't get me wrong, I don't sound like a typical pomy (to use the Aussie slang for English Person. Read it as Limey if you're from the US). For years it was funny, as I was always being mistaken for English when I first returned to Aussie from Malaysia as a kid. I also played soccer and our school was 50% Aussies and 50% English (with some other nationalities thrown in for good measure). Sounding English, and NOT playing Aussie Rules like the other Aussies automatically made the Aussies at school assume I was English. Where, I hear you ask, did my English accent come from? Well, my mother is English, and to a certain extent, this played a part in my accent. The other thing was, I grew up from 4 to 7 and a half years of age in Penang Malaysia. So I was isolated from the Aussie accent and culture for a few of my formative years. Thus, when I speak I say "Dance", "Plant" and some other words in a rather posh sort of a way (having family from Southern England and London areas. Plus an Aunty who tries to talk like the Queen. My mother refers to this as "putting on the dog". An obvious English saying, which I'll be damn as to it's origins). So, once again I've been mistaken for an English tourist in my own country, while every English person I know thinks it's weird, as I don't sound remotely English to any of them! :-)

Interesting Stem Cell Documentary - Why we need to go into space.

I wrote a comment recently on another persons blog regarding stem cell research. The points I made were basically these: 1. They can get stem cells from a persons body (ie nasal cavity and also from the blood/bone marrow etc), as opposed to the ones they get from aborted fetuses. 2. It's only a matter of time before they start doing some amazing things. (That apparently, they are already doing). Today, I saw a documentary which must now be a few years old. For one thing, it was made when Christopher Reeves was still alive, and obviously before he walked again (for those that remember the news, he did walk a few steps). The documentary was using peoples own stem cells in order to repair their spinal chords and heart problems. A lot of the 'right to die' advocates are always making out that people in certain situations are in hopeless conditions, yet we are seeing some of the greatest advances in medical science in recent years. I remember reading years ago a Science fiction novel where people were living extraordinary long lives, but after a certain amount of time, they're nervous systems gave in, as there wasn't a way to repair nerve damage. This Science Fiction piece wouldn't get written today, much less published, because this is exactly what medicine can now do. I'm not having a shot at the author of the piece, as he was spot on with the medical beliefs of his day. Just as per usual, as soon as a scientist says something is impossible it invariably gets proven wrong. One of my old favourites was a Roman General (okay, he's not a scientist), who stated that warfare would never improve past the Roman Legion. He felt that the pinnacle had been reached, and there would never be anything to surpass what they then had. Imagine if we could bring him forward in a time machine and show him the equipment of a modern army. Or even better, send him into our future. Some of the things they are working on now are even more impressive. Powered armour and invisibility are two which have had recent break throughs (not to mention robotic warriors). The 'Right to die' faction have a lot in common with the Roman General. They are ignoring possible future advances which will change the face of the earth forever. Soon, there won't be disabled people. They'll become a thing of the past. (Future saying, "Special Olympics ... what the HELL was THAT?") I'm going to go out on a limb, and predict it will happen in my life time. (Provided of course I live to a standard sort of age ... or even better, well into my hundreds thanks to new science). Actually, I'm not out on a dangerous limb at all. In the last hundred years we have seen the advancement of science so much, that for me to be wrong would require some pretty devestating things to happen. We'd have to start going backwards in a lot of things. With the ability for mass destruction by some armies of the world, it is highly possible. We'd have to blow ourselves back to the stoneage or dark ages. I am taking the gamble that it isn't going to happen. One of the good things I saw in the documentary was a lady who'd been run over. (That's not the good thing ... wait, I'll get to it). She'd basically been crushed by an SVU. Her entire insides had been damaged along with her spine and her blood vessels in her eyes had burst, making her temporarily blind. She'd told her father that she wanted to die, as she didn't want to live paralysed and blind. Her father talked her out of it. She said it was a good thing too. (That's the good thing. After all that, she hadn't really wanted to die at all. In fact, she was extremely happy that her father had talked her out of wanting to die). Her eyesight came back after the blood vessels repaired themselves. She also has regained some of the movement in the lower half of her body. It was amazing to see her go for a swim and actually move her legs. Something which had been impossible, till she had surgury to implant some of her own nasal stem cells into her spine where the break had occurred. Remember, this documentary is a few years old. I was left wondering where they are up to now. The unfortunate thing was, that the surgury wasn't available in the US (or UK or most countries at that stage). It's also only at a trial stage. The Doctor who was performing this surgury was interviewed. As he pointed out, though most never fully regain their ability to move and things like they used to have, there is a substantial improvement none the less. As he said, going from not being able to do anything, to being able to flick switches and so forth, makes the surgury worth while. The patients spoke about no longer requiring other people to help them. They now had their independence again. One of the other things they'd done, was release stem cells (from a persons bone marrow) into the heart. This was to help people whose heart muscles had been damaged (or were born with problems in their hearts). The stem cells repaired the damaged muscle and the heart was back to a normal healthy heart. I can see this really helping people, so that heart transplants will no longer be needed in the future. (At least not for those with damage to the heart muscles.) I was left wondering if people are going to be using this technology (or are already using it) to repair kidneys, livers and other organs. Will it be the cure for diabeties? They can already reproduce skin (and print it off by the metre) just using two centimetres square of a persons own skin. I wonder if they'll be able to make these stem cells grow and reproduce them by the litre, from a small sample of a persons nasal stem cells. It will remove two of the most contraversial issues which plagued social discussions at the end of last century (and beginning of this century). The first, is the 'right to die' issue. With cures around the corner for almost every physical ailment, from nerve damage to heart disease to brain damage, there will be no reasons to let anyone die. The second, is the issue concerning stem cell research using aborted embrios. With most of the advances using peoples own stem cells (after all, the body won't reject it's own stem cells), the reasons for needing the other stem cells won't be nessecary. The main reason, from what I was told, has to do with human cells only being able to split seventy times. It was one of the reasons Dolly the cloned sheep had some problems. Her cells were as old as the sheeps she'd received them from. From what I understand, scientists are close to being able to find the trigger to this, and turn it off in cells. That means, that after a cell splits for the seventieth time, it'll be able to keep growing and splitting. We are on the verge of immortality (or close to it). Which, I beleive, will bring up the next major issues for this coming century. What are we to do with the amount of human population that will then exist? The first world has been seeing declines in population growth, with most first world nations actually experiencing negative growth. If this can be extended to other second/third world nations, we'd have a solution, for a short time. Getting to and terraforming Mars would be the next major step. Of course, we'd then be looking to stepping outside the solar system and exploring other worlds. In the meantime, there is the problem of retarding the second/third world population growth and convincing the human race that working together to get to Mars is a good thing. There are still short sited people who still question the reasons for even going to the Moon. One of my previous flatmates used to think it was "Anti-God" to go into space. He claimed there is only lifeless rocks out there, and we shouldn't go. I'm glad to say, that most Christians don't hold the same view as him. I am sure though, that there will be other's though, and many from other religions who still hold similar views. My response to them is, "Good, you can stay here." Reasons I can see for going into space: 1. It eliminates a possibilty for extinction of humans due to a world wide disaster. (Think dinosaurs) 2. It removes the pressures of over population 3. It gives us more possibilities for science: a. Easier to contain potential disasters by performing dangerous experiemnts in issolated locations. After all, a dangerous experiment performed on a moon of Saturn is less likely to effect the human race on other worlds b. Trying to get to Faster Than Light Speeds will probably require a nice lot of space for potential run ups and slow downs. After all, light gets from Earth to the moon in about half a second (or so) and from the Sun to the Earth in eight minutes. Even other experiements requiring speeds close to C (the speed of light) would need these distances. c. Different conditions (like weightlessness) can aid in some experiments. d. I'll add a "other things I haven't even thought of yet" here ... as there probably are a lot.

WATCH OUT! DOG'S WATER!!!!

Blah!~ I am feeling very ill today. Reason being is I allowed myself to get upset. When I get upset, I get very ill. At present I feel like I am going to vomit everywhere. Even though I've taken one of my tablets, it hasn't helped. Even worse, I have a meeting this afternoon, so I hope I won't vomit on anyone. The reason I was upset went like this: My younger brother arrived home last night. I tried having a conversation with him, and immediately he went off on one of his tangents trying to tell me how the world works and everything. I tried to interupt to explain that I wasn't talking about what he was standing there telling me I was talking about. So we ended up having a slight argument where I got frustrated, as he just wouldn't listen. He ended up walking off in a huff. Next thing I know, I hear him explaining to my mother his version of events. He started telling my mother what he thought I'd been talking about, which was a complete misrepresentation of what I had been trying to discuss. I then raced into the other room to explain (once again) what I'd been talking about. This resulted in another argument with my brother, who then started trying to explain his version of Psychiatry/Psychology. Mind you, he's never studied it, where as I have. So to say he was 99.9% wrong, would be pretty accurate. (actually, the only bit he got right was that there was a conscious and subconscious part to the mind). So on the argument went, with my brother being an expert in everything and refusing to let me get a word in edge wise, and me trying to get anything into the conversation! Needless to say, I got rather upset and started screaming at the top of my lungs for him to "Shut the F*** up!" It didn't stop him! He just kept going on and on! I screamed at him that if he wasnt' going to listen to anythig I had to say, then I wasn't going to listen to him. I started to walk off, and he just continued!!!! So, in my frustration I grabbed the bowl of water we leave down for the dogs. Jeff saw this, and immediately ducked into the hallway. I lost half the dogs water over a lounge chair and over theTV/Video remote controls! But I got him in the hall way and drenched him (and half of myself too). He started up again. I then screamed for him to "Shut the F*** up!" over and over till eventually he did actually stop! AMAZING! He went to his room and got changed, while I headed into my study (where the original argument occurred). I had been studying, but found I wasn't able to concentrate because of the adrenalin pumping through my body. My mother, who had sat through all this quite calmly, ended up speaking to my brother, then coming to speak to me to try to get us talking. She seemed to think we needed to start talking immediately again! Gees! She told my brother some cock and bull story about me being under a lot of stress lately. When she came to speak to me, I told her it wasn't true. I was angry for the very reason I'd originally said I was angry. I'd tried to tell Jeff something, and he wouldn't listen! He immediately becomes and expert on anything in the world, and starts telling ME how the world supposedly REALLY works. I can't have conversations with people who won't listen. It's funny that people always try to explain things away with some emotive explanation invlolving stress or hormones. Why can't they see that some things actually are EXACTLY as they are said to be? I was P!$$3D 0ff because lately Jeff never lets me say anything without interupting and telling me what I think! No one likes to be told what they think! I explained this to my mother adding some recent examples. Well, my mother took this news and told Jeff, who admitted it was his fault. Jeff came and apologised. I said, "Okay" because everything was Okay as far as I was concerned. Actually, I didn't need the apology from him, I just need him to stop. I spent the rest of the night moping in front of the TV. Partially because I felt very ill, and partially because I also felt guilty for exploding at Jeff. It's not that I think I was wrong, it's more the fact that Jeff has a heart of gold normally. This is a guy who'll bend over backwards to help someone in need. Throwing the dog's water at him might have been an over reaction too, but it was the only way I could get his attention to get him to shut up. Anyway, I felt bad about the incident anyway. (As I usually do). My mother and brother had cleaned up where I'd chucked the water. My mother told me to go get changed out of my wet shirt, but I wouldn't. I just sat in the wet lounge chair (which is my usual TV viewing spot), in my wet shirt moping. (It wasn't cold or anything, so there wasn't a need to get changed). Anyway, I couldn't study because I was feeling so sick. My body doesn't get a long with adrenalin for some reason. Anytime someone makes me either angry or upsets me by saying bad things about me, I get physically ill. If someone is particularly nasty, I'd just either ignore them or just get rid of themfrom my life. I can't afford to have people making me ill all the time just because they are trying to bolster their own self esteem problems. So, just watch out, unless you come to town at highnoon with a bowl of dogs water. If you do turn up in town with a bowl of dogs water ... be careful, I'm mighty fast on the draw!

Gees! Charles and Camila the MOVIE?!!!!

They announced a Charles and Camilla movie either, today or yesterday. Not sure which. It's being made by the British. I wonder if Hollywood would make a rival version (like they normally do when they get wind of a studio making a movie about something - which is why we get two Robin Hood epics, Two Wyatt Earp films and other things along similar lines all the time!!!) Well, fortunately, I've discovered the final scenes of the Hollywood version on a disused website warehouse somewhere near the Dagobar star system: EXT. TOP OF BURNING SKYSCRAPER - DAY HRH CHARLES Prince of Wales is standing on the top of a burning building with two M16 Machine guns - one in either hand. Numerous apache gun ships are flying around the building attempting to pick him off.

HRH Charles Take this you blighters! You can't stop us getting married MOTHER!

HRH Charles fires off several bursts of machine gun fire bringing down several Apache helicopters gunships.

CUT TO:

INT. COCKPIT OF APACHE GUNSHIP - DAY HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH II is at the controls of the gun ship. She makes a fist with her white glove and shakes it in defiance at Charles whom we can see in the distance on the burning skyscraper.

CUT TO:

EXT. MODERN CITY - DAY A harrier jump jet screams into view heading for the top of the burning Skyscraper. At the controls is CAMILLA Duchess of Cornwall (Dammit! I wanted that title!)

CUT TO:

EXT. TOP OF BURNING SKYSCRAPER - DAY The jump jet arrives and lands on top of the burning skyscraper next to HRH Charles. Just as it arrives a Gun Ship rises into view. HRH Queen Elizabeth II is at the controls. She smiles. HRH Charles and Camilla see this. Camilla has just enough time to leap from the cockpit of the Harrier as a missile is fired from the Gun Ship. HRH Charles and Camilla leap off the side of the building together just the harrier explodes into little pieces.

CUT TO:

EXT. SIDE OF BURNING SKYSCRAPER - DAY We see HRH Charles and Camilla floating gently to earth. Camilla has hold of HRH Charles ears and they are using them as a parachute to retard their fall. They land safely on the ground and look around. The camera pans left, and we see a large Cathedral. They smile to each other and run towards the Church. We pan back to the skyscraper. Several of the gun ships fly into each other and the side of the skyscraper. They all explode and the skyscraper collapses into rubble.

CUT TO:

EXT. CLOSE UP OF EXPLODING SKYSCRAPER - DAY We see the Apache Gunship of HRH Elizabeth II get hit by a piece of rubble from the exploding building. The Apache Gun Ship spirals out of control and into space (ala Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope). INT. CATHEDRAL - DAY HRH Charles and Camila are at the altar with a Priest taking their vows. [Cue Triumphant music] SUPER: And they lived happily ever after ... And Like all Hollywood movies, it's stuck totally to the truth and hasn't altered or distorted anything in anyway. :-)

If You Persist, You Will Succeed.

A long time ago ( in a galaxy called Sydney), I was a member of the UTS Christian Fellowship group at University. One of the guys in the group (Andrew) told me about his church. Apparently, around the top of the walls (where the walls met the ceiling) was written, "If you persist, you will succeed." My friend Andrew counted the amount of times it was written, twenty two. (You think they could have spelt it right the first time! Nah Just kidding!) Other than being one of the things Jesus taught (the parable of the woman who kept bugging the Unjust Judge till she got justice - Luke 18:1-8), it is also pretty common amongst other religious/wisdom teachings. How important is persistence? Here is a nice quote from Calvin Coolidge: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common tan unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press On" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. (I know pressing "On" certainly solved my problem of the computer being off) :-) Sometimes, there are something you should give up on. It takes wisdom to know when you are beating a dead horse and when you are not. If there is a chance of success, then pressing on is probably the most important thing to do. I remember a guy once, who used to go around seeking everyone's opinion till he got someone to say what he wanted to hear. One of the things he used to seek opinions on, was the latest girls he was chasing. Most of us would tell him to "give up" because he was usually bugging the girl in question. He could always find someone, who didn't know about the situation, who would tell him to persist in chasing the girl. (Mind you, it was a different girl almost every week.) So, he would persist in chasing the poor girl for that week, and annoy the ##$$@$@~!!! out of them. It was only when the girl got really rude that he'd get the hint. When the rest of us asked why he'd persisted when we'd all asked him to stop, he'd always be able to say, "But told me to persist!" So, to be wise, we must know when to persist, and when to desist. In the end though, we'll find that anything we find worth pursuing, we should persist in pursuing. Then another type of wisdom is needed. The wisdom in knowing how to pursue. After all, beating your head against a brickwall is not recommended when a perfectly good door is three feet away. Better to go through the door than trying to knock the wall down. (Though I rememebr an old flatmate who acted that way when he was too shy to ask a girl out!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On another matter, last night I was kept up when a possum got into the roof. BLAH! I had to go to the TradeExpo today, so was half falling asleep. Still, lots of valuable information to be learned today. (Learned that there are even more ways to part fools with their money than I had previously realised. Also, with some new borrowing techniques, you can lose more faster!) :-) When I got to the trade show, I found my car keep beeping to say the door was open when I tried to get out. Usually it only happens when I leave the keys in the ignition. Was only tonight that I realised the parking lights were on, and that's why the car was beeping. I am surprised the battery wasn't flat after the car had been left like that all day! I got home and started to tell my brother about it. I am always amazed that people turn into experts on anything whenever I try to tell them anything. I wasn't trying to impart knowledge to the guy, I was just letting him know about the atmosphere. Funny thing is, he refuse to go to the show earlier when I asked if he wanted to go. He also has zero trading experieince. Still he wanted to tell me all about how to trade once I got home! Blah! The guy wouldn't know a Wolfe Wave from a Swing Trader! (No, a swing trader doesn't sell swing sets for traders children to play on!) Oh well. I brought back a wealth of things to think about before making my next trade. A little bit of new software to try out. Plenty of people around to now tell other people how to trade and how to make money. I was surpsied at how few people there were there, considering how important trading correctly is to making profits with ones superannuation and portfolios is. Guess it doesn't matter to some people.

Dating Crap!

Your dating personality profile: Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate. Big-Hearted - You are a kind and caring person. Your warmth is inviting, and your heart is a wellspring of love. Intellectual - You consider your mind amongst your assets. Learning is not a chore but a constant search after wisdom and knowledge. You value education and rationality.

Your date match profile: Athletic - You aren't looking for a couch potato. You seek someone who is active and who keeps her body in top shape. Intellectual - You seek out intelligence. Idle chit-chat is not what you are after. You prefer your date who can stimulate your mind. Shy - You are put off by people who are open books. You are drawn to someone who is a bit more mysterious. You want to draw her out of her shell and get to know what she is all about.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Liberal 2. Big-Hearted 3. Intellectual 4. Athletic 5. Wealthy/Ambitious 6. Adventurous 7. Religious 8. Traditional 9. Stylish 10. Practical

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Athletic 2. Intellectual 3. Shy 4. Traditional 5. Conservative 6. Religious 7. Practical 8. Big-Hearted 9. Adventurous 10. Funny

Take the Online Dating Personality Quiz at Dating Diversions How the frig did I get atheletic as fourth? I would assume it meant Adventurous. I'd leap out of a plane with a parachute, but I couldn't be bothered running to get in the darn thing! Also, my GF doesn't have to be atheletic. Just adventerous like me. She also doesn't have to be shy, a nice shade of in between would do nicely. I hate too shy, and I hate too bloody in your FACE! They can also move FUNNY up the friggin ladder too, as I like girls with a sense of humour. Preferably their own. And Sticking Wealthy and Ambitious together! They are NOT the same Friggin' thing! I HATE that! Also, as a LIBERAL why the FRIG would I want someone CONSERVATIVE! I hate those RIGHT WINGED NAZI BITCHES! (Though they can look rather cute in uniform!) :-)

The Cylons are COMING!

Combine Bionic Eyes: BBC Bionic Eyes With Robotics: Robotech Landwalker Along with AI and other advances, and sooooon we'll be able to build are very own Cylons. And they'd look like Humans a lot earlier than when we are able to get to a Battlestar Galactica type technology of interstellar Space travel. Guess it's going to be one downfall of the Sci Fi series. Still, I like watching it. It has a lot of good things which I can relate to. I also loved the old series, but it seemed to have lost it's way towards the end (like, when they reached Earth). The new one has some nice grittiness to it. But, it looks like in Science Human replicons (or whatever you want to call them) will be more real sooner than the walking metalic machines that most Cylons are. Philip K. Dick's visions depicted in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (aka Blade Runner) seem closer to becoming reality than a lot of later SF. (Note difference SF = Science Fiction in the literature sense, while Sci Fi = Hollywood type Science Fiction movies/TV etc which often have little or nothing to do with Science.)

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Monday night my mother and brother were watching "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?". For some reason I sat down and watched it too. I really peeeeeved my mother off by getting all the questions correct! (Yes, all of them, for the entire show!) This resulted in me being yelled at. The first reason being that she thinks I should go on the show! The other reason, was my mother is sick and tired of me knowing so much, yet my life seems such a complete waste to her (and many others agree with her!) Constantly being asked, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?", is one of the questions I keep getting asked. It's funny that people equate MONEY with INTELLIGENCE. If you ask any person on the planet what is important, you will find most will place HAPPINESS, LOVE, FRIENDS, FAMILY, HEALTH and many other things above MONEY. Why is it that they don't like the fact that I am happy and content with my life? Sure, I am not rich. I would like money so that I am financially free and independent. After all, if there is one thing money does give people, it's freedom to do a lot of things they otherwise could not do. The only problem, is it won't guarantee happiness. :-) Now, as Billy Connolly would say, "Rich and Miserable beats Poor and Miserbale any day." I agree, it does. But what about Poor and Happy verses Rich and Miserable. After all, what is the point of being Rich if you are Miserable. Isn't it better to get ones life in order so that one can be happy. Then, when one truly has goals set, they can work on becoming HAPPY and RICH. Of course, if you find yourself in the RICH and MISERABLE position, my suggestion would be for you to start working towards goals which will make you happy, while trying to conserve your fortune. I've already trashed my health trying to make it rich by doing it the way we are taught to do it in school. Work hard, and in theory you will get rich. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. It never did. Working hard only makes other people rich. The ones you are working for. It makes them look good, because they get more work for their dollar. In theory, they are supposed to notice this and reward you. This doesn't always happen. When I worked for a certain company! (Let's call them company B) I replaced four people, and was constantly being congratulated on saving the company. Yet, when it came time for pay rises, I didn't received one in three years! With the rise in the cost of living, I was actually LOSING money working for that company, even though they noticed my good work. At another company (let's call them Company A), I merged three jobs together and automated a lot of the work. Instead of seeing how cleaver I was, and how I saved money for the company, they considered my automating of work to be laziness on my part. What they then did, was employed someone else to oversee me, and pulled my automation apart. They were now paying two people to do the work, and we were then needing to do overtime to get the work done! They also had problems handing out money for good work (probably because they didn't recognise it!) No wonder I left the poorly managed companies and started working for myself. I earn a lot less, but at the end of the day, the potential to earn more while being happy is greater. After all, every good idea I get which helps make money will mean the money goes INTO MY POCKETS, not into someone elses pockets. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On another subject. Here is a philosophy I've carried with me most of my life. "There is always more than one way to the square." (A lot less messy than the "more than one way to skin a cat"). I actually got this from a Readers Digest story when I was 7 years old. It was about a fashion designer who used to get some remarkable results (though I can't remember her name). She talked about how her father took her to the top of the City Bell Tower (or was it clock tower) and showed her the sites of their City. As he explained to her, all the roads lead to the square in the centre, and almost everyoen was trying to get to the square. What he explained was, everyone is taking their own path to the square. None of these pathes are wrong, as they all lead to the same place. If you find one way blocked, you just take the other road. I think a lot of people miss this (especially managers). Whenever a manager wants you to do things their way (and only their way) they'll often accuse you of being "unable to think outside the square". This is in spite of the fact that it is usually the oposite way around. They can't imagine doing things differently, so they try to foce you into conforming with "their way". Guess it's time for me to get back to becoming a Millionaire in my own way! :-)

AFS - Another Flaming Survey!

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	David-Lee
Birthday:	31 May 1965
Birthplace:	Ipswich Qld
Current Location:	Perth WA
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Dark Brown
Height:	165 cm (5'5")
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Both - but mainly right
Your Heritage:	Mainly from Scot/English/Irish/Danish/Dutch desent with a few other obscure things thrown into the mix
The Shoes You Wore Today:	None
Your Weakness:	Japanese Girls
Your Fears:	Japanese Girls
Your Perfect Pizza:	Vegetarian
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Millionaire
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	lol (Not very exciting - but honest answer)
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Woohoo! Still breathing! (or still alive!)
Your Best Physical Feature:	My arse (or so I've been told) or my eyes
Your Bedtime:	um ... mostly before sun up
Your Most Missed Memory:	I'm missing memory? Probably 2 GB worth!
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Neither
Single or Group Dates:	Group
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Litpon Ice Tea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Tea
Do you Smoke:	Nope
Do you Swear:	F*** No! Not often
Do you Sing:	Not very well
Do you Shower Daily:	Yes (whether I need it or not!)
Have you Been in Love:	Yes
Do you want to go to College:	Yes (again ... wait, I'm still there)
Do you want to get Married:	Yes (maybe ... first time was hell!)
Do you belive in yourself:	No, I am a figment of my own furtile imagination.
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Yes. Even on a chair!
Do you think you are Attractive:	Yep (for my age)
Are you a Health Freak:	Sort of.
Do you get along with your Parents:	My mothe, Yes. My father should be shot out of a cannon ripped into tiny bits and then hae hyenas do things to his testicles!
Do you like Thunderstorms:	Yes
Do you play an Instrument:	Many
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	One scotch and coke
In the past month have you Smoked:	Nope
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	Nope
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Nope
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	Yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	Nope
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	Nope
In the past month have you been on Stage:	Nope
In the past month have you been Dumped:	Nope
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	Nope
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Nope
Ever been Drunk:	Difficult - allergic reactions usually stop me.
Ever been called a Tease:	Maybe
Ever been Beaten up:	Constantly
Ever Shoplifted:	No shops are very heavy. Might cause hernias!
How do you want to Die:	I don't!
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	Me (Other people suck!)
What country would you most like to Visit:	All of them
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	Not red
Favourite Hair Color:	Black
Short or Long Hair:	Either. Bald if it suits her! Bwahahaha
Height:	Close to my own. Hate looking up or down at people
Weight:	less than mine. No one can be this fat!
Best Clothing Style:	Um ... I'm a guy! Just chuck something on! Anything (or get it off! I really don't care!)
Number of Drugs I have taken:	Only prescription (is this survey to re-inforce someones self image with their drug problem?)
Number of CDs I own:	about 300+ Maybe more
Number of Piercings:	none (my body bleeds enough with the stigmata!)
Number of Tattoos:	none - sometimes temporary ones - never real.
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	Too many to remember.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Do You Mean HERE Secret Lover?

As "Secret Lover" (whoever she may or may not be) stuck in the message board - here is a link to stress relief. Stress Link Probably important if you are feeling a little stressed out, or as in my case yesterday, trying to remain calm after receiving an Invoice for payments already paid! (I hate when that happens - yet didn't the same thing happen only a few weeks ago with Telstra! Waaaah!) hee hee Any way. Here is a link to The Canadian research they mentioned in the article above from "Secret Lover". (I will be so disapoointed if Secret Lover is a guy!) hee hee :-) Cheers for the link Secret Lover. I promise not to get too stressed out in future (till next time) ROFL.

Woo Hoo - Staying Calm Payed off!

Woo Hooo! Received an e-mail from my University telling me they did indeed receive my GSF payment, and that I am to disregard any further Invoices sent to me asking for the money. Woo Hoo! Good thing I didn't froath at the mouth & jump up and down (like some people I know). *Much relief being felt*

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Hmmm, which leads me onto todays topic. Sunday my youngest brother Jeff, and I decided to try to help my mother out a bit. We have a third shed sitting in pieces in the back yard waiting to be assembled into ... a shed! (Funny that!) So I convinced my brother that we shoud do it, as it's been sitting their for months. So, we got into the back yard, and started trying to sort the pieces out. I leveled the ground where it would go. We ran into a small problem. We couldn't figure out how it all went together at first. My mother phoned my brother Paul (from whom we'd received the shed). He had no idea how it fitted together. So we spent about two hours trying to figure it all out. Eventually, the jigsaw started to make sense. (Then half an hour after that, my mother came outside to tell us the same thing, to choruses of "We already know that!") So, we were still trying to get things assembled, when Jeff suddenly realised something. If we completed sticking the shed where my mother wanted it, we would be unable to open the door to the shed next to it. We couldn't move the third shed over, as it was too close to the house. OUCH! So in the end, the third shed didn't get put up. My mother is rethinking where the shed will eventually go.

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Yesterday, my mother decided to remove some of the tree branches of ours which hang over the fence. I was awoken early in the morning to help my mother lift a branch off the fence. She'd basically been sawing through branches and found that they were way too heavy for her to lift. The entire point of the exercise was to chop the heavy branches off, so they wouldn't fall onto the fence during storms. (Thus breaking the fence). Obviously my mother hadn't of thought it through too well, as she was sawing through the branches, and they were landing on the fence anyway. Well, after lifting the first branch off the fence (and being eaten alive by mosquitoes), I went and had a shower. Only to find my other waiting for me to lift an even heavier branch off the fence. (What do they say about people who never learn from their mistakes?) Well, while trying to lift the branch off the fence, (which took both of us to do) I heard the fence crack (fibro cement fence). Apparently, their is a micro split in the fence now. Not too bad. The branch was so heavy, we had to flip it out of our yard, and onto the verge (which is a pretty big verge). I then had to go around to that side of the fence to chop the branch into smaller chunks and toss it back over the fence. Moral of the story: If people think things through better, I can have my sleep in like I want! Waah!

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Thought for the day: Some people see a sand trap, others see a green ... I see a place they're gonna bull doze and turn into flats!

Thought for Today - April 4th

If the Australian Government is so Pro-Competition, why did they only order one Competition Commission?

F@*&ING Bureaucratic Bungling!!!!

Today I was having a nice day until I received a letter from my University. This letter was basically threatening me with expulsion if I didn't pay my General Service Fee (GSF). The problem I have with this letter, is I paid my GSF two weeks ago. I looked at the letter and found they checked a week ago to see if I had payed. Surely they would have it on record that I paid prior to this. Apparently not! I then checked the time. As it was only 4 PM in the Eastern States, there was time to phone and get it sorted out! Nope! Their offices shut at 4 PM. Just missed out. I'd like to jump up and down and swear a lot concerning this, but unfortunately I have a habit of staying rather calm! Dagnammit! Why did I learn to be so polite? I sent of a brief e-mail asking them to check their records, as I have the receipt from the post office in front of me. As I paid via Bill Pay, the payment should have been instantanious. That means they received the payment TWO FRIGGIN' WEEKS AGO!!!!!! Hopefully it is just an oversite or some other simple problem that they can rectify, but I am not paying the GSF a second time because of someone elses incometence! Like normal, I will wait and see the outcome of this, as I am pissed to the max!!! Still, I'll stay calm till I find out exactly what is occurring. There is a part of me that is fuming. Somehow whenever an issue occurs, it somehow always seems to happen to me! @#$^$(^Q#*(#$Q!!!!!!!!! [Cue sad violin music!] This better get resolved, because I don't want to get thrown out of University because of some other idiots mistake!!!!!!!

Test Your Sexual Skills

Did this test a long time ago off Sara's site. But now Suanie has it up. Thought I'd advertise! Bwahahahahaah! Actaully, I ran a few of my pseudonyms through it as well, and one of them did REALLY good. Better than my real name, but decided to stick to the real name in case I gave a few of my performing/writing names away! Bwahahahahahahaaaaa

What Is Your Best Sexual Skill?
Name:
Age:
Sex:	MaleFemale
Sexuality:	StraightGayBisexual
Flirting Skill Level - 96%
Kissing Skill Level - 65%
Cudding Skill Level - 41%
Sex Skill Level - 92%
Why They Love You	You know how to push their buttons.
Why They Hate You	You kiss better than them.
This fun quiz by lady_wintermoon - Taken 2017199 Times.

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