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Tuesday, April 6. 2010Cash - Gone
Have a quick look at the image to the right. It's from a Liverpool Champion story about Liverpool Council heavy-handedly enforcing a 10m from an intersection parking rule, violation of which results in a $197 fine. Here, two cars would be fined for not being greater than 10m from the intersection.
Do you, as a member of society, think 10m is warranted? Look at the silver car in the picture - that's the approximate position I parked my car within Liverpool Council's boundaries, from where I cycle to Parramatta on occasion. I don't have a photo or proof, but I believe I would actually have been further from the corner, but I'm not claiming to have been more than 10m. For the same amount of financial penalty, I could have driven between 10 and 20km/h over the speed limit, an action which statistically impacts the safety of others. Unlike, say, parking 6m from an intersection. Sure, I'll pay - it's the law after all - however I won't bother to pick small parking spaces anymore for my biodiesel-powered tiny 5L/100km car (last tank 5.3L/100km, including towing 750kg mower/trailer combo at times and driving "with spirit" at others) to fit now so that others can have the larger ones for their land yacht fuel-guzzlers. There were plenty of huge open spaces away from an intersection I could have parked in. Bugger the rest of you people looking for parking spots, it seems. Monday, November 19. 2007We're at war, remember?
Received in an email from GetUp:
How can this man live with himself? I honestly feel for people like this - Liz is so dear to me and, she keeps telling me, I to her. I can only imagine the pain Sam and Louise must be suffering, and to think it was for a war over Can't wait to see the back of him. Friday, November 2. 2007Party Politics
A pet hate of mine is the facade of democracy we have here. Either the ALP or the Liberals will be put in charge of the country. Sure, it looks like Howard is on the way out, but does it really matter?
Take your pick of comments I've heard recently:
ALP policies one-up the Liberals. The Liberals one-up the ALP. Rinse. Repeat. Oh, and it's not like the party members get an individual voice any more, it's all about the party line - read this extreme, un-reported example and be shocked at what goes on. Some people join politics to make a difference. I just don't see that difference if you are towing the party line. Why bother? With your vote, think about picking an independent, or perhaps a party that gives a stuff about more than being re-elected in three years. Maybe one that isn't going to bribe us with $billions of tax cuts while hospital waiting times reach record levels and public transport serves only a lucky few, and badly at that. (I don't care if different levels of government have responsibilities for different things - we're all Australians, and if the states don't have money for something the Commonwealth should give it to them). If you at all care about climate change, see what your local candidates' stances are. You might be surprised. Sunday, September 9. 2007Of horses
Does anyone else think that the large pile of taxpayer's money being sent to the horse-racing industry (which exists purely to suck money from the gullible into the pockets of the already rich and slightly clever) is just a little bit completely unfair?
Couldn't they support their poor starving selves with some of the countless billions they've raked in over the years, without having to resort to government handouts from the rest of us that work hard to pay taxes? I know not everyone agrees with me, but my view is that gambling is a tax on those who suck at maths, and as such it's already a scam. Oh, and the government should stop running TAB while they're at it - that just encourages people to think it's all normal. There's nothing like a Monday morning rant. Monday, May 14. 2007Home Sick
Thanks for all the well-wishes we've received, it's great to hear from everyone. I'm sick at home today unfortunately, but the flow of emails and SMSs makes life better!
Being sick and lazy in bed, I've just finished watching the following video which is being blocked pretty heavily in the US, and no wonder. It documents the private companies making obscene profits from the Iraq war. Worth watching if you have the time. Tuesday, April 3. 2007Electoral Roll Changes
Thanks to Dad for the heads-up:
We used to have seven days after the election date was announced to actually enrol to vote, time for a young person who's never voted before to get on board. Thursday, March 8. 2007States
Who needs 'em? Not 61% of the voters over at SMH polls.
While I admit I haven't thought every single consequence through, I tend to agree. I work for an arm of state government and watch us spend huge amounts of money and effort building systems to work only for people on this side of an artificial line in the dirt a few hundred kilometres away. Those on the other side need the same services, but we won't share any of our efforts with them. Let them work it out for themselves! We had to spend our money, why shouldn't they spend their own to achieve exactly the same goals?! Strange thinking from where I stand, since we all carry the same passports, sing the same anthem, wave the same flag and claim to be Aussies when we travel overseas. I understand the theory of a State government, but the practice these days is far away from that theory. Does anyone really feel good voting for any of the candidates in a couple of week's time? Do you feel that any of them strongly represents your feelings, regardless of whether you are left-leaning, right-leaning, or as apolitical as they come? When I would have to vote for the most Right major party (Liberals) to get the best environmental water plan (recycling), because the sightly more Left party (Labour) wants to rape the environment with a desalination plan, and the only major alternative is the Democrats who are in a complete shambles, what am I to do with my vote? Monday, November 20. 2006Laws for the companies, not the people
According to the SMH, Apple had this to say, amongst others, about what the proposed Copyright reform currently going through parliament would mean to ordinary Australians:
"Apple submits that the current provisions of the bill will leave the [Australian Copyright] Act still outdated and overly restrictive given today's technology and the legitimate expectations of consumers," Apple's submission said. Given the silence of most of the mainstream press, it's good to see SMH finally picking up on this nasty piece of work, and that as I write it's the number two viewed story today. A law which would punish you and I for copying CDs that we paid for and own onto iPods (or computers, or anything else really) that we paid for and own, so that we could have them in a more convenient form is a very stupid law in today's society. We already have that law, and here is the opportunity to revise it and make it relevant, but instead they are making it even more of an attack on consumers. Record companies really don't seem to understand that they are battling against free - that's the price of a download off Bittorrent or similar, and if you want to make it worth my effort to buy a CD and own it, drop the prices and let me do what I want with the thing that I bought and I own. Don't even get me started on paid-for digital downloads - that's not an option. The stupid Digital Restrictions Management that these things come with mean that if you bought (yes, there's that word again) a song off any existing music store, and then decided (why I don't know) that the Zune looks like a good thing to buy for Christmas to listen to music on, then you can't listen to any of your previously purchased songs! Microsoft want you to "buy" all your music again, and rinse and repeat in few years when the same thing happens. No thanks, give me a CD that means I have the physical media as a real backup, and I can turn into any form I want. All purely for my use, or at the worst to pass a couple of songs onto a friend to recommend a new artist I've heard. Record companies, and the idiot governments that listen to them when creating laws to govern the people, should actually listen to consumers/voters now and them. Update 30/11/2006: Wow, that's a quick backdown, even by government standards! Maybe more of them read my blog than I thought ;) Wednesday, November 23. 2005Running drugs is bad, mmmkay?
From the Sydney Morning Herald (and plenty of other media outlets, for months now), talking about the upcoming hanging of Nguyen Tuong Van for drug trafficing in Singapore:
"Mr Howard has said he does not want to give false hope to the family, but that is clouding the issue. Australia, as an opponent of capital punishment, has a responsibility to take a stand." I don't generally get too political here, but Australian media, and a reasonable slice of the population seems to be missing a couple of facts:
Get a clue. He did stupid bad things and now has to face the consequences. Australia doesn't need to spend any money whatsoever trying to save him. That money should go into rehab programs rather than saving a drug runner's life. Monday, September 12. 2005No Coles in Oatley
Played with the Georges River Concert Band at the No Coles in Oatley protest on Sunday. There's a picture of us here.
Was quite a good gig, I don't play in concert bands very often now so enjoy it when I get the chance. Liz was still sleeping due to nightwork so missed out. As for the reason we played, well check the protest site for details, but suffice to say that Oatley is a pretty unique little suburb, has a supermarket already, and doesn't fit well at all with lots of semi-trailers delivering food to a supermarket that the vast majority of residents don't want. The reasonably impressive (strong words from me) Hurstville Council is siding with the residents, but the Land and Environment court continues to overrule and allow the developers free reign. Thursday, April 7. 2005Poor banks
It would be nice if calls to give first-home buyers a break had been made before Liz and I had spent multiple thousands of dollars on insurance against the poor, defenceless banks loosing out on one mortgage. How sad that would be for them, as they're obviously not making any money now.
It's like how each bank charges customers of other banks for using their ATMs, forgetting that it all works the other way too. Just drop the bloody fees in one fell swoop and the customers won't have to bear the brunt of these ridiculous charges yet again. Oh to be a government-protected financial institution. Tuesday, December 7. 2004The FTA starts to rear its ugly head
An article over at Australian IT is not the first bad sign about the FTA, but I believe is a warning about lots of really nasty things to come.
It specifically references last-minute rushed through changes which will affect ISPs and in turn all of us who rely on them for internet connections. Wonderful. Friday, November 26. 2004How To Kill A Country
This article in the Sydney Morning Herald explains rather well the problems we are going to face early next year when Australia's "Free-Trade Agreement" (FTA) with the USA comes into force.
As a software developer, I am mainly concerned with the intellectual property rights - the DMCA spreading to another country on our planet is definitely not a good thing. The linked article is interviewing the authors of a book who's title I have borrowed for this post - Elizabeth Thurbon, Linda Weiss and John Mathews. They raise the main points rather eloquently. It is interesting to see the views of such respected people aligning with the views of Richard Stallman when I heard him speak a month or so ago - founder of the Free Software Foundation and someone typically regarded as being as close to anarchical as you can get without actually being there. I intend to find as many ways as possible to separate myself from persons and companies who intend to use these new freedom-trampling laws to sue their own customers, as is happening in the States.
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