A couple of days ago I got fibre to the home installed (finally). Australia’s broadband rollout is a decades-long case study in political fuckery. Previously I was on “Fibre to the Node” which used fibre to the end of the street, then copper from that street node to my home. Now I have fibre all the way to my home, which is great, but the plans offered are still depressing.
I used to pay for 100Mbps down/40Mbps up on copper and I would get about 88 down and 37 up.
Now, with new fibre, my plan is 100/20. I get 107 down, and 18.6 up.
Despite my nice new cabling, I’ve got a marginal improvement, all because our Internet plans have been bastardised.
I could pay even _more_money to get 1000 down and 50(!) up, but they only guarantee 600/40. Nah, I’ll keep my money.
It’s a sad state of broadband affairs here in Australia.
Several years ago I became interested in creating podcasts. As an early adopter, I’d listened to them for years. I decided I finally wanted to try the creation side of the equation.
I’m proud of what I’ve achieved since that decision.
Yesterday, two podcasts of mine were released on the same day. They show two different aspects of my personality and interests. I am incredibly proud of these latest episodes, but also the incredible run of consistent podcast creation I have achieved over the past few years.
NBL Pocket Podcast Episode 268 demonstrates my knowledge and love for Australian NBL basketball, combined with great rapport with my friend, Joe Corr.
Hemispheric Views is carefully and meticulously edited. NBL Pocket Podcast is a shoot-from-the-hip live recording. Two entirely different topics, recorded and edited in two different ways. I’m proud of being able to create podcasts in both forms.
I’m also proud that I have the ability to edit and produce as well. Podcasting has given me a whole raft of skills that I wouldn’t otherwise have.
I am proud of these shows. I am proud of myself for having the confidence and capability to produce these shows. I am proud that both have a large audience of listeners.
Deploying small, incremental improvements. Prototyping an improved workflow using lean, visual control and 5S principles. Observation will determine what improvements and changes to next make.
Should I spend $16 to buy a Kindle version of the book I’m reading so I don’t have to deal with small print? The pink highlight shows the Kindle viewport. 📚
I can draw a fairly straight line from my personality as a young fella to who I am today.
I mean, look at this nerd. He’s got a Commodore computer running Workbench 2.04. Dot matrix printer. Stephen Lawhead books on the shelf. A thermometer that read the outside temperature. Basketball trophies. This would be a great submission for one of Hemispheric Views Desk Reviews.
But it doesn’t end there. As listeners of my podcast will know, I maintain a depreciation spreadsheet tracking my major asset purchases. Turns out, this isn’t a new concept for me. Here is the prototype, from 2001:
People may also know me as a prodigious booster of YNAB as a means to manage your personal finances. Before YNAB, there was Quicken. Before Quicken, there was my ledger book.
And before my ledger book, there were my transaction registers!
To give a sense of the timeline, the registers, as the first documents, are dated from 1994. That would put me at 16/17 years old. My memory has me doing these a little younger, but this is the first documented evidence.
I also found a neat record of my automative service history from 2000. This car needed a lot of work!
I’m not sure I’ve changed much in the 30 years since.
I’ve never been a “career at all costs” kind of person. Probably why I’ve never made millions of dollars or been a CEO.
At uni, I worked at a pizza shop and a liquor shop. The mop was my friend. Things always needed to be cleaned.
I spent the first part of my “proper” career working to get ahead, to succeed in using my brain and to find new challenges to overcome.
The middle part of my career was spent leveraging my specialist skills to deliver consulting services and support others. There was value in status with this role; being seen to be successful and knowledgable.
Now, in the current (but hopefully not last) part of my career, I’ve got no interest in any of that. I don’t really care what others think of me, or what status is assigned to my job. I’m enjoying the effort of being a good manager. As a manager I have an ethos of never asking somebody to do something that I wouldn’t do myself (if I have the requisite skill and capability).
Mopping. I know this. 30 years later, the mop is still as friendly as ever. I feel no embarrassment about being a manager that mops.
Four months ago I took an opportunity for a career change. A move from consulting to managing two Centres of not-for-profit WA Police & Community Youth Centres. It’s been an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. What I love most is working for my staff. The people at Rockingham and Fremantle Centres are first-class. As their manager it’s my job to make their work days better. When employees are happy, customers win. Culture is king.
