The frustrating thing is that I cant really talk about whats going on (not publicly at least) but suffice to say it’s looking like i’m gonna have to make some tough decisions pretty quickly and, unless something changes in the next couple of weeks, whichever decision I make there’s going to be some pretty negative outcomes for me.  There’s also a whole load of politics involved too which makes it even more messy and difficult to deal with.

Anyway mini-rant over for now……on to some other stuff thats been going through my head recently…..

I’ve been giving some serious thought to contracting, web development and freelance stuff over the past few weeks (unrelated to mini-rant above but may ened up being pertinent…who knows) so i’ve decided to do a couple of things just to re-learn some skills that i’ve lost in the mix -

• Most of my work recently has been exclusively Perl based so i’m more than a bit rusty PHP wise.  As such i’ve been tinkering with some bits of code to get my head back into it.  Specifically i’ve been going through some of the OO features added with PHP 5 which i’m finding quite familiar
• Following on from this i’ve got 2 little projects in mind to build using PHP  (dependent on free time obviously) :
  • First i’ve got a little project to write a tool for my EQ2 guild to replace the current dkp manager and augment it with some flashy new bits.  This would be the first time i’d written a full project from start to finish in PHP for around 4 or 5 years so it should hopefully be a good way of getting me back up to speed and end up being a useful tool with the features we need.
  • Secondly, this site.  I’ve used it as a testing ground for lots of little bits here and there and have only periodically played around with the front end of things thats available to the general public (thats you! ) so it’s probably time I spent some time to give this site some TLC too.  This is particularly important if I do end up going down the freelance type route as the last thing any prospective client needs to see is broken/buggy stuff going on regardless of whether i’m just toying with stuff or not.

So thats all for now…..if and when i find the time to start some of this stuff you may see some updates and stuff posted on here…so expect the next update in 6 months time saying i’ve been too busy lol!

• Public opinion of your decision to go on strike over xmas couldnt be lower
• You’re already by far the best paid for the job you do
• BA is dieing and you’ll all be out of a job if it doesnt change it’s business model.
• Gone are the glory days of business travel raking in loads of cash for BA

So yeah that all sounds like it’s a good plan to go on strike over such a busy period, completely lose any public support you may have had, and effectively write your own P45.  Stop thinking like 30 years ago idiots and get with the program!  I’m not saying you need to completely cave in to whatever the initial offer was or agree to all the changes but surely it’s blatantly obvious that there needs to be some changes????

Australian writer Harry Nicolaides has been sentenced to three years in a Thai jail for insulting the monarchy.

Nicolaides wrote a novel four years ago, which contained a brief passage referring to an unnamed crown prince. It sold just seven copies.

via BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Writer jailed for Thai ‘insult’.

Bono, Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Jay-Z.

The names, a who’s who of the rich, famous and successful in the world of music and film, are just some of the stars who are descending on Washington DC this week.

They’re all here in town to celebrate the inauguration of a politician who has become a celebrity in his own right.

Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday is bringing with it a sense of glitz and glamour usually associated with Los Angeles and New York.

via BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Stars bring glitz to Washington

Today I handed in my notice at work….my last day will be Dec 23rd.  No, i dont have a new job but after a long and considered thought process i came to the decision that I could no longer continue working there without some considerable changes happening…and that wasnt going to happen so it’s time to move on.

Overall though i’m happy that the decision was right for me though i’m obviously gutted that after 4.5 years it ended like this.

Meh!

So on a day in which i’ve been pushed from pillar to post and back again I ask what is the point of making an effort when making an effort just gets you even more work to do and less satisfaction from doing it?

On a slightly more cheerful but not unrelated note, if you could do any other job in the world what would you do and why?  Right now i’m thinking pool cleaner cant be all that bad….fresh air, warm climate (otherwise why would you have a pool), relaxed job, no pressure, etc…

Yup, definately pool cleaner……or maybe an astronaut…..

*ahem*

Anyway, the peeps in the US now have a new president elect in the shape of Barack Obama who managed to pretty convincingly win against John McCain.  What follows in the aftermath of his election win though makes you wonder whether Monsieur Obama is the second coming…or perhaps even the harbinger of doom and the signal that the earth is about to explode!

On the one side you have those rabid Obama supporters that proclaim that America has voted for “change” and are pretty sure that Barack can walk on water, cure cancer and even kick Chuck Norris’ ass if he needed to.  And on the other side the McCain supporters are quoting from Revalations and saying that Obama’s presidency is the beginning of the end for us all (no doubt because Sarah Palin will send in the witches!).  What I liked best though was an interview i heard with a woman on the radio on election day who, when asked why she was going to be voting for Obama, said “Lets just put it this way, i’m voting for Obama and thats who i’m voting for”…..brilliant!

Anyway my point is that whatever your poltical views are (and i’m not sure about either McCain or Obama to be honest) the ludicrous reactions to the results have been comical and in some cases very very scary.  I think it’s pretty clear that Obama is a great public speaker and that he won over a lot of people with his speeches and the way he’s been presented just as much for his policies and opinions.  I watched him “preaching” to the party faithful in Denver a month or so ago and his performance was almost flawless.  Certainly it’s not something I would ever had expected McCain to pull off and it was certainly way beyond the capabilities of Bush.

So what am i saying?  Well basically, more than any other election held anywhere in the world, the US presidential election was nothing more than a popularity contest and the reaction to the results (from both sides of the political spectrum) would be better suited to reality TV shows like Big Brother or X Factor….and that my friends, makes me a sad panda.  I’m not saying everyone voted and reacted like this but a significant number of people did and i’m getting a bit fed up of the gushing over Obama thats been coming in for the past few days.

I’ll wait and see what happens once Obama is in office before i’m ready to annoint him as the chosen one or codemn him to the fiery pits of hell.  There’ll be no gushing here thank you very much