Christmas.....

It's funny how after all the build up, Christmas turns out to be a let down.......

Don't get me wrong I had a wonderful day with my 'better half', there was no family feud and my divorced parents even managed to stay civil all day.......but I still feel a bit empty and down.

Last year was way more fun so I guess I am missing my brother and sister-in-law in the states.

I have my health, a great wife, family peace (for a change!) and my brother's good news.....I just feel blue.......I can't budge that mood.....not even watching the 'Boxing Day Test' is helping (that would be a cricket tradition for any non-Australians out there!)

Oh well....back to work tomorrow......oh joy! (NOT!)

So this is Christmas.....

Well another week of work is over.......and it finished quite nicely with happy colleagues and bosses. The moron I mentioned in my last post appears to be off my back for now as well.....so I'm content.

I'm sitting here on Christmas eve and have been considering my year........overall it was pretty good! I have been reminded of how much my wife means to me and how much she has supported me through the 'not so fun' days that arise from time to time. If you happen to read this.....I love you!

I miss my brother and his family over in the states and wish we were visiting like last year...oh well, maybe next year.....!!!!!

Tomorrow is the 'big day' and we will be doing the family thing....which is always somewhat tense and uncomfortable (divorced parents getting together with alcohol being consumed....you can guess the rest!) . Here's hoping we all get through it unscathed.

Anyway....to anyone who reads this

Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah (Chanukah)

And be cool to others where ever you are......don't forget - what comes around goes around!

Last week....This week....!!!!

Well let's just say last week was a shocker for all concerned at work....not only did we have to 'lock up' a fellow officer but on Friday it finished with one of our own staff being stood down. Both boys had been very naughty.....no way I would try and defend either!

This week would be much better......it couldn't get any worse. Well probably not...but it could be just as bad. Today I discovered that some people think that we are all robots and believe we should have no variation in personality/behaviour/attitude or any other human trait. I guess they are bound to be disappointed because we are a reflection of society....last weeks events proved that.

The person I had to deal with was a man who had complained about how some of us (not me I might add...) had treated his son when he was arrested. Fair enough...you have the right and we expect you to defend your children. You can also complain if you believe things have not been done appropriately. I accept that this will happen and sometimes must happen......what I can't accept is that having investigated the complaints and meeting with the upset parent I suddenly find myself having to explain the issues repeatedly when he decides to complain about the exact same things again....and again! I wouldn't mind except for him having accepted the explanations during the first mediation. To top that off he has now chosen to twist my words in an attempt to undermine me to my bosses.....not fair mate! If you don't accept the explanation... then fine!.......we agreed to disagree....in writing no less! Don't take a second bite just because some other agency drops another charge on junior! Yell at them...talk to him.......take a 'chill pill'....just don't screw up my week.....

Un-Australian and unacceptable

For the past three days there has been a demonstration of the most disgusting and un-Australian behaviour initially by a bunch of alcohol-fueled anglo-saxon morons which was promptly followed with retaliation by their targets - angry testosterone-fueled arabs.

These kids have got to be joking.....this is total bullshit and they know it. They have only succeeded in making themselves and the rest of the country look pathetic. Neither side is right!

If you need to prove a point go out on the Nullabour and 'punch on'.....leave the cities and suburbs to those of us who are willing to try and get along or at least use civilised means to sort out our problems.

To those involved.......You are all just sad, pathetic little children with limited mental faculties.........

Idiots abound....!!!!

I thought this week was going to be a nightmare because of 'B' - the acting boss but I had no idea that he would have company in the idiot stakes...
One of my colleagues, who is supposed to be a manager, started the week out by phoning me on Sunday night to 'seek advice'.....what a load of bollocks....he wanted me to make some decisions for him! After some discussion and a lot of prompting by me he left me alone to enjoy the remainder of my time off only to handball the problems he had to me so when I got to work on Monday not only was the idiot 'B' in charge but I had a pile of someone else's work to do.
Well.....that was not going to happen and when he phoned to see how I was going (doing his work......cheeky bastard!) he got a shock to find that it would all be waiting for him when he came in! The problem is that he will do it again next time....he just doesn't get it!
In other areas of life things are going well except that my foot is still not fully healed....it still causes quite some pain on occasion but the surgeon reckons it will come good over the next 6 weeks.....it's time like these you really appreciate how important the design of you foot is.....and how much you rely on it working correctly. No more cheap or ill fitting shoes for these guys...only the best will do.

Why me...!!!

After a very pleasant couple of weeks back at work...and a full and entertaining social life I have found a brick wall and run right into it...!!! Not my fault and entirely unavoidable. The brick wall is my immediate boss who, as of Monday, is going to be acting as the main boss for two weeks.....Holy shit...two whole weeks...!!!

I am usually pretty good at getting along with virtually anybody but this bloke is beyond even me. He is out of touch in our workplace, which in itself is a worry, and he is constantly trying to impress his superiors in a vain attempt to aid his promotion options....!!!! Add to this his stubbornness, inability to accept change in technology and his really bad comb-over and I have a two week nightmare to endure....did I mention that he handballs most of his work to those he can "trust" - meaning those who can't refuse.....that would be me...!!! I would take leave but we are already very short staffed and it would certainly be refused anyway.

Our current main boss understands the problem but is not able to do much except sympathize....my better half just wants me to tell the nightmare to get f**ked....I wish I could and one day I probably will...at the worst possible moment...!!!

I am too busy to deal with this tool right now so I'm going to try not too.......

Maybe I should go and have one of those really good beers I have made.....Hmmmmmmmmm beeeeeeer................................................................... Beer and pizza....sounds like dinner to me. Anyway it's not Monday yet.

Celebrations...

Well it's been a week of celebrations for us...a birthday and a wedding anniversary (24th..!!)

We spent some quality time together, as well as with the family and really enjoyed ourselves. A night away at a lovely little spot in the hills and a particularly good French meal.....they really know how to make desserts...!!!

Sadly it was back to work today and geez....one day off and there's always a pile of extra work to do. It sort of puts a dampener on the fun....oh well no point worrying.

The foot is improving rapidly now and I'll soon be back to walking for exercise....oh joy.

The beer is still very good and it all seems to be very strong....several tasters have found themselves falling asleep after only one glass.....hmmmmm....only a small problem.

I must work on my pirating when I get some spare time..........aaaargh..!

Woo hoo....more good beer

Well that pretty much sums it up....another batch tested and found to be good. It's 'Blue Mountain Lager' with extra amber malt added by the master brewer (that would be me...!!!). It has come out like a brown ale in clour with a light malty taste...should be very refreshing during the approaching long hot summer.

Well I have survived yet another week back at work and now the weekend has almost finished....already..!!! Time flies when you are having fun....and when you're busy as well. Did a heap around the house and finally built the desk I had been promising for over a year. I've had all the stuff to make it and it took way to long for me to get off my fat arse and actually do it.......sometimes I really get pissed off with myself for my procrastination......you'd think I could address that.

Note to self....'Pull your finger out!'

First Week....

Well I made it through my first week back unscathed........no major blow-ups and no-one stood on my foot....yay!

The boss is going relieving and 'G' is acting for a while.....no f**king with my crew this time...at least not without a major blue....!

And my beer still tastes great...!!!!

Work.......

Well I'm finally back at work......and although my foot hurts like hell I am happy:-) The problems that were created by 'G' and 'G' are being reversed already and my crew seem happier than they sounded while I was gone.......basically you don't mess with my people unfairly and get away with it...!!! Now to try and get things moving in a positive direction and sort out some of our regular 'customers' (offenders, perp's, POI's, crayfish, scumbags, etc......you get the idea). I wonder if we can trial some pirate related punishments like walking the plank and keel-hauling.....mmmmm maybe that's a bit extreme........it is inventive though!!

Mmmmmmmm Beer......

I have just tried my first bottle of the 'Kilkenny' beer from my attempts at homebrew............woohoo it's not just drinkable but pretty good. It's not exactly 'Kilkenny' but its is pretty close...just a little bit too bitter but I already know what caused that and can and will correct it in the next batch...... I'm a legend and I can walk a bit better today as well...I even did some stuff around the house today......excellent....!!!!

Now to take over the world......

Best day of the week...

I'm free...well my foot is...the plaster is off and I can scratch and shower properly...yay..!!

I have just seen the account and all I can say is it's a bloody good thing we have private health cover...I pity the US and UK health systems and the state they are in....Aussies may whinge about our system but it is streets ahead of many others.

The only downside is.....now back to work. I know I can't complain after all I was complaining about being home only days ago...you don't realise what you have until you lose it...

I've got an itch I can now scratch....got to go

'Intelligent Design'........

For 'intelligent design' read...fundamentalist christian ideology learns to utilise modern "whiz-bang" technologies to try and sell the same old message.....

It's sad to think that some of the so-called intelligent people are being fooled by this baseless simplistic crap! Don't even pretend it is science.....

I guess it's another case of if you don't like the facts then change them to suit yourself

Watch your back...!!!

As I have mentioned I am currently stuck at home on sick leave as a result of surgery. I have just had a phone call from the guy who is 'acting' in my position....you know being paid a higher rate to do my job. He is clearly being 'screwed over' by two of my peers while doing my job....this unfortunately is a fairly common occurrence in the 'job' because while an acting officer is supposed to be given support and all the respect due to the rank he is occupying it is often the case that substantive officers see 'actors' as lesser mortals and treat them accordingly, which is obviously happening in this case. The two peers concerned have both had a turn 'acting' at a higher rank during my absence (the role that supervises my position) and have that the opportunity to impose significant changes on the area I usually manage.....largely to the detriment of the staff and moral without any noticeable gains in productivity.

Should I mention at this stage that these two peers have both in the past butted heads with me (unsuccessfully.....!!!!)......could this be some form of payback...???? Nah... they couldn't be that unprofessional surely.....!!! They would take issue with me rather than picking on the staff would have done nothing wrong and in fact are working 'above and beyond' the call. It must be my imagination.

It is typical of some people in the 'job' to take the stick to someone when they are not there to respond .... they usually accompany this with 'bad-mouthing' and 'white-anting', two of the tried and true methods of climbing the greasy pole....... sad and pathetic really..!!

Unfortunately for them I have long since discovered that my stubbornness and persistence not only circumvent most of these changes, returning the status quo, but usually result in them suffering the angst that they have aimed at me.....if I could patent the method I would make a fortune. So 'G' and 'G'...learn to relax and enjoy life....Oh and get some fibre in your diets...it looks like you need it..!!!

BTW the beer is improving.......

Quiz Night....

We (that's my wife and I) have just come home from a 'Quiz Night' ...... not 'nite' as some fools insist on enunciating...what is so hard about using English correctly. I'll save that for another day...it is likely to be a long rant...!!! We did not win or even come second...we were fourth...!!! What the f***....we had a table of ten including five Cytologists, a literature and Latin student, a Chi Gung master who also practices white magic, a sports nut who is a national womens hockey player and my wife and I who are both trivia flypaper. It should have been an awesome combination and it was until the final round....it was supposed to be a music round but it was just stupid....the questions were ridiculously obscure and one team was given extra points because two of the girls got up and danced to 'Nutbush City Limits' by Tina Turner....which would have been okay except no one else was included in this strange exercise. That, of course changed the result completely and pushed us well out of the running....although in the end the first prize turned out to be gym membership which was not something any of our team were interested in...we got free 'give away' CD's (you know...the ones no one can sell and they get given away as prizes for crap quiz nights...!!!)

I think I'm sounding just a tad bitter right now........

Dr Karl......

I have just been fortunate enough to see Dr Karl ....a man of immense scientific knowledge and funny too....!! He is able to make science fun and easy for all ages.....he also likes beer so he is okay by me anytime. He appears on radio, television and has even made community service adverts which were amongst the funniest and best remembered I know of......he also has the most extensive collection of hawaiian (loud!!!!) shirts I have ever seen. He has spent much of his life trying to turn people on to science and is very good at it...!!! There should be more people like him.....hungry to learn and teach at the same time. To paraphrase Henry Rollins "You have a wonderful thing called a brain....use it...!!!!

Serenity...

Like many others I have been to see the latest offering from Joss Wheedon....'Serenity' the follow up to his television series 'Firefly'(which has not been shown here in Australia). I liked it...a nice simple western style story with good, bad and shades of grey...... plenty of action and good sharp humour.....well black humour...!!! It was also good to get out of the house for a break after being cooped up after surgery....a worthwhile trip for some sound escapism. I figure that a trip to the movies should be about escapism....if I want reality.... I go to work and get more than enough...!!! There should be more pirating in my job....I really like the clothes and you get to talk funny....

Interesting Week...

It has been an interesting week here in the West. Probably not a great one for Police as it emerged that some of my colleagues were stupid enough to release confidential and apparently very graphic images of a sudden death scene in the outback. Not smart..... and not acceptable under any circumstances. They should and no doubt will be harshly punished.....quite rightly. These actions severely affect the family of those who died and also make the job just a bit harder for the rest of us...!!!

Also one of the states worst serial killers hung himself in his prison cell overnight Thursday/Friday......a very unpopular person (and I use the term 'person' very loosely...!!!) and I expect very little if any sadness will flow as a result. At least the survivor and the victims families appear to be gaining some resolution to the horrendous story due to his death.

On a lighter note I finally tried my first batch of homebrew.......Oh dear...not the taste I was looking for or expecting. All I can hope is that it will improve with age.......boy..! it needs too.....

Frustration........

About 3 weeks ago I had minor surgery on my foot to repair some old damage.......probably from being stood on by a horse at work years ago(Yes we still have mounted Police here in Australia..).

The thing is I am now off work for six weeks or so which most people would enjoy but not me! I can't do anything......not even stuff around the house....what's the point of having so much free time when I can't use it constructively. Well that's not all true .....I do have a hobby now.....homebrewing beer. The problem is if I spend all my time brewing I'll have more beer than I'll ever drink......as an Aussie how can that be a problem...!!!

I guess I should be happy about the beer.....I'm just waiting to try it....it has to mature of course!

Being stuck at home has also given me time to ponder the events in Bali this week past....why is it that there are always people in every belief structure who believe that they have the right to impose their ideology on others with the use of violence. No matter what you believe in, there is no excuse for doing that...!!!

Aaaaarrghhh 

Ooooh Aaaargh....I've a blog me hearties......

Now I've got one what to do........change the world me thinks..........

One scurvy dog at a time..........