opinios

Get A Real Job

Listening to iTunes today took me down nostalgia lane when all the tracks that we laid down with my old band Hunting Tom came on.

Damn we rocked, it's a shame nothing came of it. Fantastic afternoons drinking beer in a shitty Shinjuku rehearsal studio resulted in something that I will have as fond memories forever. And despite the fact that if I picked up a bass guitar now I would struggle to work out which end to hold it, back then I really held my own. I could hear all sorts of pentatonic scales, improvisation and syncopation coming through between the steady beat.

Unfortunately, it was never meant to last, and slowly the tight-knit group of friends dismantled. Our drummer focussed on his writing, our rhythm guitarist wrote a bunch of stuff that he wanted to sing (and is still doing so) rather than the current singer, and I left Japan to get married and return to Australia.

It also got me thinking about how only 2 years ago, I had a job that actually allowed me to be in a band. Teaching English was fun, paid well, and left plenty of time on weekends for extra-curricular activities.

With my current occupation I don't know how I would manage it. Work has me in the office on weeknights, weekends, some times all night. It is what I have heard referred to as "pointy end of the project" and there is a daunting amount of pressure for things to be done by certain deadlines. I can't even comprehend a hobby that would require practice, rehearsal, commitment outside of work hours.

It's not that I regret the fact that I take my job seriously (and it me), but I do wonder why it is that I feel compelled to "get a real job". I loved teaching, but I couldn't do it forever. The intellectual challenge wasn't enough, and I would have felt like my potential was not being realized. Plus when you start finding yourself with more and more responsibility like a mortgage or a mini-human on the way, job security seems more important.

And there's no question my current job isn't one of the most secure and challenging that I've had. So it's all good. As long as I can continue to keep on top of it all. Must. Smell. Roses.

Still, I am still managing to juggle my course, and haven't missed too many classes. I definitely need a holiday, and thankfully one of my good university friends, Tanya, is having a wedding in Kewarra Beach in October which is as good an excuse as any.

In the mean time, I am looking forward to a fabulous geekend at the end of September, as I have been approved by my employer to attend Web Essentials in Sydney. Woo hoo!

Aussies Tell Google One Big Brother Is Enough

When I was able to zoom in to pinpoint the house I live in using Google Maps a few weeks back, I didn't feel threatened, I felt excited. I linked to the image and sent it to my wife, with a comment to the effect of "look, our block is the same size as next doors!"

But this article hints that this may all change. Now if you try to zoom in on the city of Melbourne, you can't see any satellite imagery at all. Nuttin'.

Does this mean the end of useful maps for Australians? A pessimistic future for the development of useful Aussie apps that harness this API, ala Housing Maps? The end to being able to flip back and forth between satellite imagery and associated maps like in the UK or the US? What do you think: should we keep photos of ourselves free from public consumption, or would they make our lives easier?

Logic Puzzles

As a distraction from homework and workwork I stumbled upon this little logic puzzle: Whose Fish?

I've seen variations of this before and never really decided upon a methodical approach; I usually get half way, have pulled most of my hair out and give up. But I persisted with this one and managed to nut it out.

If you're into this kind of thing, have a shot and see how you go. I'll post how I arrived at my answer after the deadline has passed...