Charlie's Worldthought provoking
Posted on July 1, 2009
I saw this posted on one of the Flickr groups I belong to. Its amazing, thought provoking, stunning and somewhat disgusting – no wonder we’ve got issues on this planet.
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
Statistics mean little to people. Chris Jordan helps people visualise what they actually mean…visually.
“Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month.
This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. Employing themes such as the near versus the far, and the one versus the many, I hope to raise some questions about the roles and responsibililties of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming. ”
~chris jordan, Seattle, 2008
its not a nice feeling
Posted on June 26, 2009
Work is slowing down a bit at the moment. Well, a lot actually. So much so that I really wonder how my job is going to carry on more than another few months
I listen to the garbage spouted by the politicians around the world about how much better it is since they did all their wonderful intervention and stimulus packages, how things are looking up, and in the case of Australia, how we didn’t get a recession after all that and arent we clever how we’re going to be top of the global pile
Well, look around folks. Look carefully. Things arent just slow, they’ve stopped. Gone in to reverse gear. Theres a massive oversupply of labour at the moment here and around the world, companies geared up for expansion, ready to move into the high gear, but where is the work? Its gone.
I don’t see the big companies spending money – quite the opposite – they’re in savings mode and thats not good for me.
I’m still picking up jobs here and there, boring stuff mostly, but enough to keep me billable, delivering work, making myself useful, but its a long way from what I’m used to doing, a long way from what I’m good at doing. Hopefully things will pick up – in the meantime, I’ll keep abreast of the latest Oracle and industry stuff and see what training courses are out there.
vino
Posted on June 23, 2009
been sampling the local wine over the last 4 months
We have an excellent off licence/bottle shop just around the corner with a wide selection of mostly Australian and New Zealand wines.
We’ve cab savved, pinot noired, grenached, cab merloted and are beginning to save up a win list
- The Cover Drive – cab sav
- Stella Bella- shiraz
- Gramps – cab merlot
- Gramps – grenache
- Coonawara – cab merlot
- Mad Fish – pinot noir
- Mad Fish – cab sav
will be adding to this as we go on 🙂
*hic*
reviews
Posted on June 22, 2009
More films watched this weekend
The Day the Earth stood Still
Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, John Cleese, Kathy Bates. A remake of the 1951 original. A message of peace turns into a message of destruction – the alien has been sent by a group of civilizations to appraise the human race and make a final decision of its continued existence. We’re harming the earth and they’re here to see if we should be terminated. The actions of the USA turn the alien (Reeves) against humanity as he can see only destruction, but right at the end, he learns about love and compassion and reverses the obliteration, saving humanity after all. It was ok, but I really wanted it to continue to show the bit where the American’s learned that they aren’t all they think they are. Worth watching though 7/10
Underworld 3, Rise of the Lycans
The prequel to the first underworld movie. It doesnt have Kate Beckinsale in it, but still has Bill Nighy and his totally creepy portrayal of Vicktor the head vampire. The story of how te Lycans came into being and how they went from disorganised amimal like werewolves into a worthy force led by Lucian, the first Lycan. Another good dark, dank blood filled vampire fest much in the same vane as the other two films. Recommended 8/10
its unheard of
Posted on June 19, 2009
I had to stop eating chocolate after only a few rows last night
I know – never happened before – but I really dont like the way Cadburys Dairy Milk tastes here.
*sob*
photo-tastic
Posted on June 18, 2009
I finally got some energy (only a tiny bit, mind) to take a few photos over the last few days. Did some abstract ones in the garden, longer exposures, trying to get interesting effects with some sucess.
palm frond
Then, yesterday, after dosing up to the eyeballs with lemsip cold and flu, I popped out (I know – out of the house – amazing) to the beach to catch the sunset. And lovely it was too – not as spectacular as some, but still enchanting. I took the old 18-55mm kit lens that came with the Nikon D50 as its smaller and lighter than the 18-200VR and also the distortion at the 18mm end is more regular and easier to fix in Photoshop later.
Warnbro Beach
Warnbro Sunset
Then I had another go at some more abstracts – looking at different exposure times to see what worked best – I think I need to be a bit more careful as they were all under exposed when I got back to the computer. Its hard to get an accurate meter reading when you’re panning over 100 degrees of sky from sunset to dark cloud.
experiments with motion
still sick
Posted on June 12, 2009
this is ridiculous – I’ve been sick for about 4 weeks now with a virus that doesnt really do much but doesnt go away either. Its been a cold, but only for a day, its been a fever for a night, its left me with headaches for a few days and the rest of the time I’ve just felt really below par, so much so that I haven’t really done anything outside of work (from home mostly) and go shopping for food.
bah humbug! stoopid bloody lurg.
in other news, the heating people are coming in 10 days. well, that is if the part they have had on order for 3 weeks now shows up before then.
Yeah, I’m not holding my breath either.
destinations
Posted on June 10, 2009
I like to travel. well, let me expand on that – I like to travel on holiday. I have travelled loads with work but I usually get precious little time to see anything, so its not the same
Over the last 10 years or so in my career I have been to the following places with work – most more than once, and sometimes, I’ve managed to get out and see a bit of the place.
- Glasgow
- Aberdeen
- Belfast
- Paris
- Annecy
- Munich
- Frankfurt
- Amsterdam
- Berlin
- Düsseldorf
- Gothenburg
- Trondheim
- Prague
- Geneva
- Stockholm
- Milan (Lugano, Switzerland)
- Krakow
- Barcelona
- Toronto
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
thats quite a lof places actually and I’ve got some interesting memories of evenings out arranged with my company, customers or with the conference I was speaking at.
For example, Gothenburg – amazing place, lovely people, horrendously expensive – went out with colleagues to a top class fish restaurant and had lots to drink. Went to a bar later and cant remember much else. All the people there were very friendly though.
Krackow in Poland – was there for a conference for about 4 days – its an amazing place with one the biggest and oldest squares in Europe – people were so nice, we went on excursions to a really old castle for dinner and also to the famous salt mines in Wieliczk.
Paris I’ve only really seen La Defense, the equivalent of Canary Wharf in London, but have been out to a few restaurants and bars in Monmartre with colleagues which was amazing.
Toronto – been there lots, its an okay place, you have to know where to go to have the best time. Have been to many jazz bars downtown – its a very vibrant city once you know where its all happening.
Barcelona – thats a crazy place and I have to go back. Its pretty dicey, lots of organised gangs and crime, felt like I was about to be mugged all the time and nearly was – saved by an electro club at 1am when I got hammered and danced with some colleagues until the very small hours. Also saw some amazing Django style live music jazz.
I drove from Milan to Lugano in Switzerland in a little Smart Car, which was frankly terrifying and I wish I’d paid more for an Alfa Romeo. Brilliant place though, so beautiful.
Annecy was so lovely I actually went back on holiday.
San Jose was dull dull dull, San Diego was amazing, very cool city, but I was only there for one night (yeah, 3 days in total from the UK – that was a red eye jet lag visit from hell)
The crap thing is that I didnt take my camera to most of these destinations – I wasnt really into photography then. I have a few of Annecy and Toronto (and I’ve lost a few in hard drive crashes too) and one of me in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge.
Me and a bridge
I have a couple of Paris, mostly of La Defense
La Defense at night
La Defense
but thats it – the rest are in my head. Maybe that the best way – means I can go back to any of these places and not be biassed by a load of photos I took on a work trip.
So, I have to go to Sydney in a few months or so – should I take my camera or wait till I go there on holiday?
My favourite places I’ve ever been to are
- Venice
- Rome
- Barcenona
- Madrid
- Annecy
- Krakow
Italy is so wonderful – been to Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure on the Riviera – both beautful – as was Venice and Rome – Verona was fab too, Milan I didnt really get to see, but Lugano, although in Switzerland, was very Italian. I cant believe its taken all this time to realise how much I like a place and then move far far away from it, making holidays somewhat more expensive and difficult. Ah well, I’ll just apreciate it all all the more when I do get to go back – and I can’t wait to go with Jay, she’ll adore it, being the writer/artist type that she is 🙂
customer service
Posted on June 8, 2009
or lack of.
this is something I’ve noticed since I’ve been in Australia – there is such a lack of customer service here its sometimes a shock. Good old Blighty used to have the same problem, well at least from the point of view of Americans who view the sickly sweet false smile “have a nice day but I spat in your latte” view of service as the epitome of politeness.
England (my limited experience says that the Welsh and Irish have it sorted by and large, the Scots could do with some polish) had a service revolution in the 90’s and became customer focussed with a passion. Its kind of tailed off in the “noughties” and I’m was seeing a return to the bad old days before I left. But Australia, well, Perth specifically, I have no experience of elsewhere, is just terrible. Thats not to say people are rude, that’s not it at all, they’re just visibly indifferent. Supermarkets, clothes shops, cafe’s, the Post Office – all the same. Lacklustre, surly and treating the customer as a chore and a bother. There are some shining exceptions – some cafe’s and shops offer tremendous service and really have it sorted, but there’s no middle ground – its all or nothing.
I don’t know if its just a West Australian thing, or if its Oz as a whole, or if its maybe just where I live in particular, but there seems to be a distinct lack of corporate customer focus. Some individuals in shops or restaurants will bend over backwards and are just a joy, but mostly, you get apathetic service.
When I used to work in Waitrose (supermarket) in the 80’s, we, as 16 year olds, were grilled in orientation and continuous training that the customer was king – if they asked you a question, you found out the answer, if they wanted to know where something was, you didnt tell them, you showed them and made sure they were happy before continuing your work. Not seen that anywhere here at all. The opposite if anything, shop staff, particularly in the big stores and supermarkets block isles with stock, chat together and avoid eye contact with customers lest they actually be required to represent the store in any way and don’t have initiative when it comes to “where can I find the..” quesitons. Some staff do care and are okay, most wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.
Dymmocks the book shop is an exception – Angus and Robertson too actually, maybe bookshops in general – they seem to hire clued up people who do know what they have, where it is, and if they don’t have it in stock, can happily recommend some alternatives.
The first big store that brings back customer first service will be head and shoulders above the competition and clean up.
Have a nice day, wont you 🙂
along came a spider
Posted on June 8, 2009
The last thing I normally do is have a puff of my asthma medicine *wheeze* – last night though, when I had puffed – a got something shoot out and into the back of my windpipe.
A hack and a splutter later
A fooking spider
In my puffer
Now in my lungs
What dumb creature does that? I mean, its not that easy to get into, the lid is on, its not an ideal fly hunting zone, being in my chest of drawers and all that. I felt like turning myself inside out. Iiiiiik.
In other news, we have a teeny ceramic heater from our friends to keep our ties warm whilst the heater repair people do absolutely nothing.
Calling them in just a tick.
Another post on serious lack of customer service in Australia later..
Charlie's World 