tcpip: (Default)
Diary of a B+ Grade Polymath ([personal profile] tcpip) wrote2007-10-08 06:52 pm

Conferences, Religion, Telstra

It has caused some anguish and gnashing of teeth, but I've decided to attend the AUUG Conference. I am less than happy with the administrative competence of the organisation (let alone breaching their own constitution), but I do want to meet Marshall McKusick. It must be a month for IT conferences; work is sending me up to Queensland this month to the Access Grid Workshop, and at the end of the month I apparently have been invited to address an ICT Conference in East Timor.

In religious news science has developed a helmet with gives one a "religious experience" (from [livejournal.com profile] reddragdiva. Actually Timothy Leary did that some time ago... The Unitarian-Universalists (once again) are making a pitch for agnostics, atheists and the like to join the fold with a full page ad in Time magazine. I may be tempted to pitch a Unitarian perspective for a $100 000 reward (although, philosophically, the definition makes it impossible).

Many years ago I worked briefly for Telstra; during that period I wrote a response to their Senate select committee submission which advocated privitisation of the organisation. I took the opportunity to recommend instead that the infrastructure remain in public hands, and the service provision be placed in a competitive market. Some years later Lindsay Tanner recommended pretty much the same thing - the Tories attacked the plan. Now they briefly entertained the plan, dropped it - and once again the good idea is shelved for years to come.

Re: The Public Good

[identity profile] tcpip.livejournal.com 2007-10-11 12:31 am (UTC)(link)

I'll have a look for that Soros' book; I've read quite a few of his articles in the past and have generally been impressed by them.

As one good reference deserves another, I provide you this rather clever piece of work:

http://www.governmentisgood.com/

Re: The Public Good

[identity profile] castleclear.livejournal.com 2007-10-14 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks! This *is* interesting. I'll post this to my LJ blog.