Why Dial 112 When Your iPhone Has 3G Capability?

I just found this in my drafts.  I started it in 2009, and can't remeber where I was going with it.  Anyway, it can serve as a cautionary tale as the delayed winter sports seasons gets under way in winter 2011.

A young man has died snowboarding in the Swiss Alps. This was somebody's son, somebody's friend, and perhaps somebody's lover. My condolences go to the bereaved.

A big mistake was made by everyone involved in this incident on that Swiss mountain that day; Nobody had mobile phone numbers for anyone they were out with.

A few years back I found myself separated from my group whilst snowboarding in the low Alps in France. Solely due to lack of snowboarding expertise I found myself off-piste somewhere between two resorts on opposite sides of the same mountain. The suddenness with which you are thrown out into the wilderness is breathtaking. One moment you're with your friends on well maintained, busy slopes, surrounded by the noise of dozens of people enjoying themselves, and the next, you're in an eerily quiet, seemingly infinite expanse of snow. Pure, white, undisturbed snow, stretching out as far as the eye can see in all directions.

Preparing for the trip I had the naive idea that it would be good to purchase a pair of cheap two-way radios for the trip, and as such that was all I had on me in the way of communication with the outside world. Silence. A perfectly silent mountain interspersed with the crackle of static. Nothing. Absolutely nothing on the radio or on the breeze.

All I wanted to do was let my wife know I was OK and that I'd meet her somewhere once I had figured out where the hell I was. I was lucky. I knew roughly where I was and that no major obstacles lay between me and civilisation. I was lucky that it was a clear day and that I was reasonably well equipped (bar my mobile phone).

I decided against taking my phone out with me as I didn't want to break it. What kind of lame prioritisation is that?

[2011] So, like I said at the start, I have no idea where I was going with this.  So, I'll call it here.  Basically, always take your phone, ensure other people know your plans for the day when you're up on the mountain, and take basic tools and emergency supplies up with you.  Happy skiing, y'all!

Fluval Roma 90 Light Repair

Okay.  This post doesn't fit with the general theme of USM, but it's better here than over at PTWD, so here goes...

My Fluval Roma 90 Aquarium Light Canopy stopped working a few days ago.  Both lights failed simultaneously which I took as a pretty clear indication that I didn't just need to replace the bulbs.  

I googled the problem, and found absolutely nothing online, apart from a few links telling me I needed a whole new unit, and a number of sites attempting to sell me one for around £80 ($125).  So, "fuck that," I thought, and cracked the thing open.

 

There are six tabs that hold the lid of the unit on.  Use a flathead screwdriver to pop these out from underneath.  The lid is glued down, so you will have to use some force - I was fairly rough with it and didn't damage it all.

You can see the two starters on the left, one for each bulb, so again, very unlikely that they've failed at the same time.  That leaves the choke (the big white thing in the middle) as the only real potential culprit.

I googled the brand and model of the choke: "Helvar L30A," and found a few results.  I ordered one for just over £10 including tax and shipping from lightbulbs2u.com, which arrived in around 36 hours.

 

Two screws hold the choke in place.  Remove these with a crosshead driver, and cut the two wires going into the unit.  Twist your wires, and simply push them into the contacts of the new unit, they automatically clamp in place.

Put everything back together, test it, put it on your aquarium, turn it on.  Done.  You've just saved yourself £70 ($105).

For Those Who Were There

Relationships are like the sea off Barcelona. They are difficult to get into and rife with obstacles (prophylactics and sanitary products) once you manage to get in. Ultimately it's easier to tread water rather than risk the humilation and pain of getting out. All the while you can see beautiful topless women just out of reach on the beach just a few metres away.

My thoughts exactly...

I've never never felt so brave as when I'm looking at your face,
They can rape and break my body, but my heart will not disgrace,
They can torture and interrogate, and shackle to my boot,
I'd gnaw off my own leg and hop the fuck right back to you.

- El-p - We Are All Going To Burn In Hell Meggamixxx2

New Site: ZOMeGle.com

You've all heard of Omegle.com, right? No? Head on over there now and see what the fuss is about.

Back?

Good. Your experience there will have varied but may have contained one of more of the following: Abuse, Random Friendship or teh funnay.

If you happened to find the latter there, then why not head over to zomegle.com and submit the transcript so that we all can enjoy?

Or just head on over there and vote on your favourites.

zomegle.com

Private vs. Public

I spent the last four hours in a bar talking shop with a friend. The friend in question works in the public sector whereas I know nothing outside the confines of the private sector. We have a great deal in common, but we also seem to clash over many issues. Mainly over my desire to make money and retire as soon as humanly possible compared to his desire to improve everyone's quality of life.

Both of our parents are or were teachers, and for the remainder of this post I will use the present tense. As it turns out they both teach English and are near, or have already hit, the Glass Ceiling in the world of teaching English.

We both agree that teachers are, for the most part, much maligned and deserve more respect and financial reimbursement, however we agree that there are a number of bad apples letting the side down.

So, back to my friend, and his job in the public sector. This guy works hard and goes above and beyond what's required of him in order to do an outstanding job. And it doesn't stop there. This guy takes his role very seriously, refuses to merely give 95%, and is an all-round good guy. He is exactly the sort of person you want managing a team of Business Analysts or leading one of your Projects. Simply put, this guy doesn't quit.

He doesn't get stressed, he doesn't work late to prove how 'dedicated' he is, he genuinely just delivers what's promised within the allocated time frame and then clocks off at the end of the day. He is the epitome of a self-managed hard worker.

To summarise, he is exactly what the private sector needs more of.

We got into a very involved conversation about the different recruitment processes employed by the public and private sectors, and the incentives offered by each. He is earning a salary comparable to mine, however he receives neither an annual bonus nor a pay-rise. To me this seems ludicrous. A person who is, to boil it down to the simplest, working five days a week to maintain and improve the quality of living of the entire nation doesn't even get a cost of living raise? What the hell is that about? Cue me advocating the virtues of a career in the private sector over a plethora of empty bottles, preaching about how you can perform adequately and still make the grade.

My dad worked his ass off for too long for the joy of the job and the benefit of his students and ended up getting dicked on by the powers that be. My friend's mum is still in the game, working as a head of department whilst simultaneously managing special education for the entire school and how is she rewarded? That's right, she has the threat of a pay cut hanging over her.

In summary, the people that really matter to the good of the nation (the teachers, the police, the paramedics, the social workers) are all getting a short straw. My friend tells me that "you've got to be the right kind of person to do these jobs," and therefore the remuneration isn't a massive factor. You've got to instinctively want to work your fingers to the bone for your fellow countrymen. This business model seems to work for our respective parents, but I can't help but wonder how many potentially awesome teachers decided against a career in education to pursue a far more profitable career in the private sector.

Granted, there will always be good people willing to do the right thing for the next generation, to try and educate them, to try and help them become all they can be. But there must also be an equal, if not greater number of moral, intelligent people who just want to make some paper and provide for their own as best they can regardless of anything else. Surely that's evolution?

Start With the Basics

OK, you're in the conference room. How do you know it's a room? That's right, check for the presence of walls, a floor and a ceiling. If all three are present, then yes, you are indeed in a room. Congratulations.