Innovation and Best Practise, Droughts and Guns, Dunedin

[tcpip]

The past few days I've dedicated much of my time to completing two assignments, one for Managing Innovation, where I concentrate on the need for software development in GPGPUs just as Robert Faber has a great article on the same thing. It hasn't really entered into popular consciousness yet just how important how China's ascendancy to hold the most powerful computer in the world using a GPU-based cluster is. The second assignment on Organisational Best Practise involved making some fairly useful technical and administrative changes to our help-desk process.

It has been rather wet in Australia, indeed sufficiently wet to cause a a number of deaths and dozens missing. Spare a thought in memory of the 1100 who died in Pakistan recently due to flooding. Our alternative Prime Minister, showing typical acumen and sensitivity, has taken the opportunity to suggest that the country builds more dams. Apart from engaging in crass popularism, he appears to be ignorant of how flood plains actually work.

Much has been said about the recent shooting in Arizona where the apparent intended target, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seems very likely to survive, not so for six others however. Meanwhile sixty are killed in Sudan during their historic vote for independence, whilst fifty are killed in Tunisia as the the crackdown on anti-government protests continue. Just to put it in context, you understand. In any case, one thing is certain. Giffords's would-be assassin was not a part of a well-regulated militia by any stretch of the imagination.

Deposited a sizable sum of money into a trust account for the Dunedin retirement home, leaving me rather cash poor. Took weeks to wrangle a simple international account details out of agents making me wonder if Piggy Muldoon's famous quote didn't have the nationalities around the wrong way. Amazingly, rather than provide such details they sent me a deposit slip for a NZ bank without a branch in Australia. Twice.

Comments

[zey]

has taken the opportunity to suggest that the country builds more dams. Apart from engaging in crass popularism, he appears to be ignorant of how flood plains actually work.

Yep. When he's not suggesting that, he's suggesting canceling the National Broadband Network to pay for flood damage. Any excuse will do to stop infrastructure spending, no matter how opportunistic, crass and obnoxious.

[brockulfsen.livejournal.com]

"not a part of a well-regulated militia by any stretch of the imagination"

You are less imaginative than some Tea Baggers, or at least less drunk...

Nice to see you & Thank you for Posting

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

Along with others who post to the LJ community, it is very rare that I do not find your linked articles of interest. Thank you for posting the things you do.

Yes, even in the myopic, self-absorbed United States, we heard about Queensland's flooding. (A different mutual friend assured me earlier that the few persons I know living there were safe, albeit wet.) And of course, I shall continue offering a prayer and a thought for the dead and missing. ROFL re: the Piggy (Robert?) Muldoon quote from what I saw on Google. [Upon reflection, I may be interpreting this. Here in the U.S. it is common for the States to have some friendly joshing, that while engaging in "put down" humor are nonetheless not intended to injure, nor usually taken that way. That is the context by which I'm reading the Muldoon quote.]

As I think most of the world already knows, the United States is still under attack but from within by some very powerful and monied individuals. (Totally sarcastically) Thank you so very much, Rupert Murdoch, now a U.S. Citizen, for changing Fox News into the 24/7 hate-spewing propaganda machine is has been now for many years.

I myself would be tempted to emigrate to the Shire, but I believe that Saruman has set up shop there and I seem to have mislaid my mithril armor. ;-) Meanwhile, I did recently consider yet again making application to emigrate to Canada, but my family and friends are here, and even if willing to accept me, I believe in staying where I am and continuing to attempt to promote positive changes.

Continued best wishes to you and the globe! Namaste!

[kremmen.livejournal.com]

For a change, I think Abbott's comment deserves investigation. The Q'ld premier has been saying things would have been much worse without Wivenhoe dam, but it is now releasing over 200 megalitres/day. It seems unlikely that our current solutions are as close to perfect as possible and that no further dams could lessen future flooding. Also, more clean hydro power would be a great thing and we yet we haven't built any new hydro systems to my knowledge in a long time.

I wouldn't have thought it would matter much whether the NZ bank had branches here. Sending money internationally is pretty easy. (The fees are excessive compared to the cost to the bank, but generally fixed and therefore become insignificant when the sum is sizable.)

[shadow-5tails.livejournal.com]

Only sixty people dead in Sudan? That's actually something of a relief; call me cynical but I feared the elections were going to turn into a bloodbath. Not that sixty dead isn't horrifying enough - I guess we'll see how it all goes as the results come to light...

I've been unpleasantly surprised by how difficult, expensive and/or unpleasant it can be to move money between countries; in contrast to the commenter above we found that most Australian options wanted a flat fee plus a percentage in addition to whatever they were skimming of the often-sizeable buy-sell spread for the currency conversion. We actually considered just moving money into and out of a PayPal account at either end before we found a solution. So you have my sympathy - glad it came together for you in the end, though!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

And in related news more than 250 killed in Brazilian floods....

Crazy times...

[amazinggoatgirl.livejournal.com]

Tragedy around the world. Well, fuck, I don't wish to belittle, discount, or in any way minimize the importance of lives destroyed anywhere.

However, the Giffords/Loughner story is interesting because of how it fits in to the right-wing agenda in the U.S.

No, Loughner was not part of a "well-regulated militia;" it seems he wasn't part of anything at all. Because he is obviously psychotic, he was kicked out of community college and even the military wouldn't take him.

Here's a compilation of his videos. Note that this compilation was created by someone who claims to be a member of the U.S. military, who also believes that Loughner was a victim of mind control by the CIA. Yet the creator of the video was not considered off enough to be denied entrance to the military. Loughner was - that's how far gone he was and is.

So, Loughner, as well as many others, had nothing going for him and could not relate to other people. Who comes along to understand the misunderstood, shunned, and subsequently enraged grandiosely psychotic person?

Right wing pundits, whose ideological brethren have been systematically working to destroy the / prevent the creation of a better mental health system for decades. Curious.

I realize I might be getting close to Loughner territory here, but it seems that the U.S. right wing has a vested interest in keeping people like Loughner unstable, excluded, angry, without much-needed medical attention, and very suggestible.

Then they come in with not-so-subtle encouragement of violence against their political enemies.

If I was a total psychopath and wanted a never-ending source of free assassins, with the added bonus of plausible deniability, this is exactly what I would do. Think for a sec - wouldn't you?

Also, we can't talk about this, because then it would be a "blood libel."

Anyway, that's the main reason why people in the U.S. are talking about the Tuscon shooting so much.