Taking A Train In Wellington?

Years ago, the New Zealand government decided to sell of some of it’s assets, and one of the things they sold off was the ral system. A later Government decided to buy it back off the private sector.

Unfortunately, the private sector tended not to invest much in the infrastructure. They still have carriages that they proudly paint on the side “This carriage first came into service in 1954“.

1954! 55 years ago.. and they are still using it. Admittedly, they’ve refurbished it but… 1954!!!

You’d think that with the amount of people who use the trains, they’d get their act together. A few weeks ago, they were going to give people a free trip home on a Friday evening.

Why?

Because the heaters in the carriage were failing. In peak and off peak hours.

Except… on the first Friday they offered a free trip home…the points failed. Trains were delayed/cancelled and people were left standing at the station, either to wait, or to find alternate transport back home.

Today, the points failed. Again at 415pm. Worse, the text/sms system that they use to notify people was not working. I got to the station at 515, and joined a few thousand people milling around.

Oh, sorry, apparently the SMS system was working.

An hour after I got home (by taking a bus and walking), I got an SMS saying that the trains were running to a  half-hourly timetable.

And people wonder why State Highway 1 and 2 are full of cars in the morning and evening with 1 or 2 people in them?

Just wish the suburban rail system would get itself sorted.

Just Wondering…

I’m running Firefox 3.5.1 on a 64 bit Vista platform (and yes, I know all of the comments about downgrading to XP/waiting for Windows 7 or running Linux – this is being typed on Ubuntu 9.04 at the moment)

Is anyone finding that the memory management of 3.5.1 is absolutely abysmal? I keep getting screen freezes, and even when I run it in 32 bit mode, FF freezes as well.

It’s not like I’ve got a dozen tabs open either – it happens even if I have one tab open.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have had to restart Vista….

Deja Vu….

Well, it’s been an interesting break. Had no idea I’d be off blogging as long as I have been.

Let’s do a quick recap.

I got made redundant from my employer officially on 30/6. Ironically, I start back with same employer tomorrow. Different role, same salary – so that’s all good, however,  it’s a long story that requires probably more than one cup of coffee in the telling.

My mother is, once again, in hospital – they did some CT and MRI scans, which have proved inconclusive. It was, however, a major concern to the family, with brother and sister in law coming back to Wellington, and a couple of nephews also returning. However, she seems to be recovering. Thanks to those friends of mine who prayed for a quick return to health for her.

On a personal note, have had a few things that have made me ponder about what happens next. I seem to have a few more options opening up, but have also spent more than a reasonable amount of time trying to unlock doors that have been locked and bolted shut.

A Taboo Topic

Or.. that’s the way most people will treat it, at least here in New Zealand.

So… I’m going to address it (to some extent) here.

When I was a kid, one of my favourite TV programmes was called M.A.S.H. Of course, as a kid, I’d hum the lyrics, not really understanding what was actually sung.

“that suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.“

Of course, sitting in the A&E (Accident and Emergency department, which is the New Zealand equivalent of the ER or Emergency Room), with a friend who decided that life was no longer worth living, even though they are 31, have a whole lot of life experiences to go through – the ups, downs, ins and outs and all other aspects of life, and is definitely a (I think) reasonably intelligent and educated person; you start to wonder.

You start to wonder… thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I had lent a hand, or even just listened better, they may have not undertaken that course of action.

Hindsight is, as they say, perfect.

It also sucks.

Badly.

So…. why is it that in New Zealand, which has one of the highest rates of suicide per capita for teenagers (according to the records), so reluctant to bring such a topic out into the open?

I hate to say it. I really do.

But, I am going to say it.

Apparently (and I am prepared to be corrected on this), they thought that if it was discussed as a issue, it would encourage people to do that.

To which, I have to reply “Helloo! anyone there???“

In other words, I’m not sure that’s the right way to approach the problem.

Surely if something is discussed, people become aware of it. Surely if people are feeling that way, they should be listened to. Surely it could’ve been worked out.

Now friends and family are asking the same questions….

Why? Why did this happen to someone close to me? Could I have done better?

I’ve known people who drink themselves into an early grave, related stories of kids (teenagers who were top of their school) who decided one day that their life had no point anymore.

And all there is left are the people behind saying “Why?” and others saying “If you have to ask why, you’ll never know or understand“.

I don’t understand. I wish I did. God, how I wish I did.

Instead, I’lll just hope they make it thru the rest of the night..

Website Development

So… A friend of mine has decided that he wants a website, which, you must admit, seems fairly normal and reasonable for someone who runs their own consulting company

Seems fairly reasonable.

So… what does a geek like me decide to do as a starting point?

I start write a functional specification… I start thinking about proof of concept and schematics instead of just firing up the nearest (or closest) web editor that I can find.

I must be getting old… actually starting to think logically instead of just hacking into the code.

Still… it’s all good – if you lay the foundation right, you can get it done so much easier…. Not to mention quicker.

On The Occasion…

I got asked today what would be the one thing I would want to do most on my birthday (Yep, another year older, not sure if it’s wiser or not…).

So… What would I really want to do?

Fly to the moon? It would be nice, but no… not that. Go and see any of my favourite artists/bands performing? Again, nice, but would not be the main thing I would choose. Go to a high class restuarant? Maybe…

I suppose the one thing I’d really like to do is visit myself on my 21st birthday, and just say the following things to myself.

• Life is for living – give it everything you have got!
• You will offend people, and be offended by people – sometimes it will be by commission, other times it will be by omission. It’s part of life, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
• Lighten up. Nothing you are going to go through is as bad as you think it may be.
• No matter what, never stop believing in yourself.
• Your family and your inner circle of friends are important. You don’t need to be afraid to be open and honest them – they are there as support for you, as you are there as support for them.
• Your heart will be broken by those you love. You will also break hearts. Remember to treasure the good times that you have spent with those whom you love. Never regret loving those you do.
• If you are going to get angry, deal with the anger constructively. Resolve the situation at the time it happens, and then treat the matter as dealt with.
• The most important person you need to impress is yourself.
• Always have some money put aside for unforeseen circumstances.
• Laugh a little each day. Even if you have to watch reruns of Monty Python (“Nobody expects the Inquisition!!!!“, “It’s just a flesh wound…” and many others)
• Travel. First around the country, so you can have a better appreciation of where you live, then around the world, so that you can gain a better perspective of your life.
• You’re your own worst critic. Once you accept that, you start moving forward.

Probably then, would just leave, with a smile on my face, knowing that even the advice I would give myself may not actually be taken.

Having lived through the rollercoaster we call life this far… been led up (and down) the path… done some pretty cool stuff (and some not so cool stuff), I’ve come to the conclusion that life is, in the majority, good.

Yes, there are some things I’d change, if I had the opportunity to go back, and some things I wouldn’t change. I’m where I am now because of actions I’ve done in the past, but that doesn’t limit what I do in the future.

To family and friends, who have shared and had input into my life – thank you for being part of my life, and taking time to spend with me.

We may not have always seen the same things, there have (probably) been times when you’ve wanted to beat the living daylights out of me (and I’d probably have wanted the same for you too…. ) but you’ve been there for me, and I hope thay I’ve been there for you.

‘Nuff said already!

Time Flies…

Before I know it, I check in on my blog… and realise “I haven’t been here for a while“,

Somehow time slipped away from me. I can’t believe (but I better believe) that my last post was nearly 2 months ago!

In that time, I’ve been to the Cuba Street Carnival, been to see Slumdog Millionaire, found that work has some interesting things in store, and basically made the usual mistakes in life that keep reminding me that I am human, that no matter how hard I try, I am not perfect (not that that is any excuse for not striving for perfection).

I suppose the key to keeping this blog fresh is to literally hack away at it – a little each day.

In a way, it’s like having a plan. Having a plan is good, but as I’ve mentioned before, you have do to something more than just plan things – you have to do the spadework/ground work and put in the hard yards.

So, the proof for me is, at least attempting to get this blog updated on a reasonably frequent basis.

How frequent is frequent? How long is a piece of string?

Time will tell.

On Being Contented

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus

One thing that I learnt a few years ago, is that everything that you own, or everything that has your name on it (in a legal sense) can be taken away:

• House
• Car
• Job
• Friends
• Lover

All around the world, people are facing an economic crisis. That which they currently have is under a cloud. A cloud, you could say of fear, doubt, and uncertainty.

I’m not saying that I know everything (I know more than one or two people who would say I am a bit of a smart a** , and a condescending twat – which, to an extent I can be ), nor am I equipped (as far as I am aware) to help others through what to them is a traumatic experience.

Best bit of advice I was given years ago, was from a friend of mine called Stuart. He told me “When all else is stripped away, all your hopes, your dreams, your expectations… everything gone. Then, and ONLY then, will you find what you have. Who you are“.

At that time, I considered it too esoteric for me to get a handle on. It was only when I was able to reflect on it, that I realised that I had what I needed, and that I had more than I needed.

From a Chinese friend of mine I once heard the saying “世上没有永恒的事物” – loosely translated it means “Nothing in life is eternal“.

Again, I am not trying to trivialise the huge amount of pain that others are feeling. Having been there, done  that, I just want to say that there will come a time when it all comes right.(I even dislike saying that, as I know it’s so cliched).

Just hang on in there…. remember that you have what you have.

In 12 step programmes, they have a saying “One day at a time“.

In the midst of a major crisis, that saying kept me going.

Yet, in our society, we have this concept that when we get to a certain point in life where we get X or Y, we will be happy. We base our future happiness on what we will have – contintually striving for some future perfection, some magical point in time where everything will just “fall into place“, then all of a sudden we find the need to buy other things when we reach that magical point, solely to fill an ever larger hole that we find ourselves in.

In other words, we sacrifice what we have, instead of concentrating on what we have.

I’m no philosopher like Epictetus, but I tend to agree with him, that it is important to enjoy what we have, instead of mourning that which we don’t.

Windows 7 Beta (Redux)

In a previous post, I went and installed the Windows 7 Beta on my VMWare server.

It was good (hey, I was able to install it, successfuly), however I had some issues with it (due, I must admit, to running it in a virtual environment instead of actually installing it on the hard drive).So, I went ahead and created a new partition and installed it.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes to install from start to finish. That was the (fairly) easy part.

So was the automatic configuration of the network, and Windows 7 picked up the new driver for my video card.

So I decided to see what else I was able to do?

• Firefox? Check
• nVidia driver? Check
• Avast Antivirus? Check
• Flash Player? Check
• VLC Player? Kind of – haven’t set up sound card
• Creative SB Card – downloaded the Vista version, but it came up with Driver Version Not Found, so will try again.

I have to admit, the beta loads up quickly, shuts down quickly, and, so far, is playing “nice” with the apps that I have been using on XP.

Setting up default programs for Windows 7 was easier than I thought too, likewise the Gadget gallery seems to be working fine.

Almost seems to good to be true at the moment. Even if I do have a base score for Windows Experience of 3!

My main gripe – my Ubuntu partition has disappeared (new bootloader means that running FixMBR in XP will NOT work), however, I’m glad I used Remastersys to create a live CD so I can have Ubuntu running as it was before.

Wellington’s Best Radio

Just came across what I consider to be Wellington’s best radio.

Why do I call it that?

When you’re in Wellington, tune your radio to 107.7 on the FM band, and you’ll see why.

Wellingtonians are proud of the cafe culture that has sprung up over the last few years, and (not that I am biased or anything ) quite rightly so.

All these guys do is play Cafe/Lounge style music. Unforunately, they don’t stream over the ‘net.

But Dean said they’re working on it!

Minor disclaimer. I am not associated with 107.7 in any way, I just happen to like their playlist.