xntrek

I don’t often pull out my language cop card, I understand (well, accept is probably a better word there) the way people (mis)use the words that are so very clearly defined in the giant tome that keeps such knowledge - you may have heard of it, they call it a dictionary.

Ahem.

As I was saying … I accept that people utilise words in a way that is often not the original intent of the word. This, I understand, is due to previously hearing it in a changed state (through nuance, sarcasm or irony) or having in fact learnt the usage in an incorrect context or use (through ignorance or simplification).

All of that is to say, that sometimes people say things that pass on a sentiment that may not in fact be correct.

Take into consideration the term “A simple life”

A. Simple. Life.

Simple: Adjective: Easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty. (Synonyms: plain - homely - unsophisticated - naive)

Life: Noun; The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional… (Synonyms: existence - lifetime - living - being)

Is this really what people are thinking about? Is thiis what they are really after? An unsophisticated existence? Living as a naive being? Perhaps, the phrase is wrong, perhaps somebody was lazy this one time and shortend the phrase? Let us compared it in a fuller sense:

A simple LIFESTYLE:

Lifestyle: Noun:  The way in which a person or group lives: “the benefits of a healthy lifestyle”. (Synonyms: way of life)

An uncomplicated way of life. 

This would make far more sense now, would it not? 

If that is the case, then some of the social assumptions and stereotypes must surely change? A simple lifestyle does not imply that the participant of such a way of life has an uncomplicated existence, nor does it imply stupidity or the presumption that any idiot can do that work.

This basic lack of language fidelity may very well be the cause of so much misunderstanding.

Not going to bore you with a long winded review - here's some points at the end of the first month.

• File management - or the complete and utter lack there of! 
• Inability to search for text within files
• The Keyboard and in particular its lack of cursor keys

Things that are Annoyances:

• Apps that fail to be rotation aware
• Apps that are marked as “universal” and are just the unmodified iPhone apps
• iTunes as the default management tool
• Lack of Adobe Air and Flash Support

Things I still Love:

• Power Management
• The Retina Screen
• The uniformity (mostly) of application aesthetics and functionality
• The killer apps that made me choose the ipad over the Android
  • the ones that make Social media consumption easy (Flipboard and Zite)
  • the one that makes non-DRM & PDF reading and annotation so easy (Goodreader)

Yeah, I know ... somebody is late to the party ... also, seriously, 8 days?

It surprises people that as a versed IT consultant, geek, academic and self-confessed gadget junky that I didn’t buy the first or even second generation iPad.

The initial release just didn't do it for me ... basically, it was an iPhone in a larger format and without the phone function. The second gen version, once again, failed to add any real argument for buying it. In fact, Android tablets have been making a far better argument for the tablet over the notebook.

That said, a friend gave me his iPad 2 to use for just over a week. I am now about to purchase one.

Let's take a step back.

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They ask for equality but mean equity whilst others shout louder demanding entitled emolument for past wrongs all the while the rift expands between those that want it to be fair and equal, those that want reprisal and those that want the status quo further fracturing the argument and causing even more conflict than was originally in place.

I mean other than “paid a ludicrous amount of money to simply make up the numbers whilst having no requirements, deliverables or responsibilities” Is there such a thing?

What would yours be?

I don’t even know if mine would exist.

The things I am good at are things that seem to be things that people don’t seem to hunt. Like deductive reasoning, right-brain left-field thinking and being an all round goofball who just happens to think differently enough to see things in a way no one else around me seems to. I seem to be able to Identify synergies and make connections between seemingly disparate pieces of information. 

But there’s no call for a “brilliant thinker” on the job boards.

The things I enjoy and am passionate about are seemingly diametrically juxtaposed in the work force.

Teaching, consulting, agriculture, food, technology.

How do I even start to combine these into a job?

Let alone one that can pay the mortgages?

Just a reminder PLEASE do not give small living things as gifts for xmas.

They may seem cute and you may get squeals of delight, but the novelty will inevitably wear off.

Next thing you know, they go feral and start congregating in packs in the park, around alleyways or near shopping centres.

Remember children are for life, not just for xmas!

So, it's the end of another year and this one has been a full one. 

After all the heartaches and mess I went through over the last few years of the noughties, the hectic pace of this year has been welcome, even if it hasn't always been smooth sailing.

Of course, the predominant part of my year was enveloped in the agricultural studies and activities which I have detailed in a seperate review.   

From a personal point of view, it's been full of ups and downs.

This year we moved from our wonderful and recently renovated home in Narre Warren and put it up for sale just as the housing market dropped ... and Ingrid was made redundant. We recovered from the latter, but, the house has been sitting there, waiting for the right people to come, fall in love with it and afford to pay for it.

Moving into a rental home on the complete opposite side of Melbourne has been interesting. The house is older, smaller and less energy efficient than the one we left. That said, it is closer to the CBD, school campuses and to the property which has allowed me to travel less for work and study and allow me to be more poroactive with the landcare groups.

On the downside, we lost our dear four legged companion of eleven years. Biscuit was a much loved member of our family, and the shock of losing him so unexpectedly was quite jarring. 

Healthwise, I have been more stable. Whilst being drug dependant for my mental stability is not ideal, I'd rather that and not the alternative. My weight has suffered due to the increased levels of arse-on-seat-edness that this year has brought, but I am hoping to change that in the coming year as I kick off the range of activities that are needed to be completed.

We took on an architect and working through the process have a passive, autonomous  eco home designed and submitted to the planning office for approval. The house is just so us - whimsical, elegant and eccentric all in one. We're both very excited by the project ... but until the house sells, it is already starting to be a financial strain on top of the other financial commitments and we may find ourselves delaying the next part of the process due to a simple lack of cash flow.

Whilst I have chosen to take on all of the study, projects and activities that have been keeping me busy, I do miss and regret the lack of social interaction with both those I have shared my life with locally and abroad. There are so many people I interacted with online who's lives are hidden from me due to my lack of time to keep up whilst locally, the same story is repeated as work, study, homework, commitee meetings and all round business wipes out any semblance of spare time.

Overall, all said and done, I'd have to say the year has treated me well. After the last few years, it's a very nice change.

So, all in all, a good 2011.

I look forward to an even better 2012!

Give a man a bank and he can rob the world.

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 This is what my outside-of-work life looks like from the view of my assessment commitments ... 

Someone tell me again what I was thinking when I took all of this on?