Sanity

I have plotted my sanity over time for a typical work week. Is it coincidence that I did this during a mid-morning sanity trough?

Barking mad

A gem from our R&D department (aka software development), emailed to me during a debate over whether the correct word is “preventative” or “preventive”.

If you really believe the terminology must change I believe you must spend a bit more time and get the approval from a University or some other authorised party that we will change the package name in contrary with other similar products in the market.

And people wonder why I struggle to retain my sanity at work.

Up, up and away!

Tuesday was spent on a hellish voyage to Brampton island, with plane after plane being cancelled. I arrived at Thousandairre (Sydney) Airport at 7:30am amidst heavy fog that delayed my flight until 10am. A quick stopover at Brisbane, and then on to Mackay, when I was supposed to board a flight to Brampton at 2pm.

Unfortunately, I had been booked on a flight from Brampton to Mackay, and so had to hang around the airport until 5pm. Luckily, I had brought with me Robin Hobb’s excellent novel Assassin’s Apprentice, and entertained myself with that.

After landing on Brampton I had a quick tour, a second-rate meal and then went to bed. The greatest thing about hotels/resorts is that you can wake up at 2am and watch the football, without having to get out of bed. Spain vs Russia was a thoroughly entertaining match.

Wednesday morning, and I had a lot of work to catch up on due to the delayed flights. I got cracking at 7, and was merrily gallivanting around the site when a staff member grabbed me and rushed me off to reception.

Receptionist: You were supposed to be on the 9am flight.

Me: I leave Mackay at 2:15pm. I do not need to be on the 9am flight.

Receptionist: But you were supposed to be on the 9am flight.

This conversation continued for a short while, until it transpired that she had already shifted me on to the 12 o’clock flight (ie, the flight which I was initially supposed to catch).

Having escaped this conversation, I proceeded back outside to mingle with the more intelligent inhabitants of the island – including a couple of hundred fruit bats, and a couple of thousand bull ants. This last encounter was one-sided and painful, but I preferred it to speaking to the receptionist.

After taking in the remaining scenic sights of the island (including the powerhouse, desalination plant and sewage treatment plant), I headed back to catch my flight home. On the way over there were four passengers, and I was too tired to pay attention to what was going on. This time however, it was just me and the pilot.

The decor of the aircraft was remarkably similar to that of a notorious Datsun 200B I once travelled in. I sat in a bucket seat next to the driver, with a sheepskin cover, and a window that didn’t quite function properly (it took me and the pilot a minute to work out how to close it). There was no steering wheel cover, and no LaneChanger 2000 (a giant rearvision mirror extension), but everything else was vintage 1970s class.

True to form, it took five or six tries to get the engine started. Luckily, I wasn’t required to get out and push.

During the flight the pilot gave me a crash course in aircraft navigation; apparently you don’t really need to be touching the controls mid-flight. I impressed him with my comprehensive knowledge of aircraft flying (ie, you are supposed to take-off and land into the wind).

Landing at Mackay, I headed to the airport lounge, managed to scam free internet from the Qantas Club, and then slept all the way to Sydney.

Company IT Policy

This is a good one, and just about makes it impossible for me to do my job:

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Do not transfer information using any means including USB mass storage devices and floppy diskette, CD/DVD Media and email.

I challenge anyone to beat that clause.