Roll on Big Brother.
1984 is upon us.
BB IS watching…. Very carefully

There has been an e-mail to the department where I work, from our manager, saying that the internal servers are being monitored and the individual PC’s files/folders and bookmarks of users can be inspected. In fact they are checked on a regular basis. Anyone suspected of accessing the internet will be further investigated and may be sacked.

This raises a question.
What about the data protection act ?? Does it apply on a personal level ?? Is this practice legal ??

Well as far as I am concerned the company can stick their internet servers as far as they will go.
I have no intention of ever using company internal servers for any kind of non work related activity.
All my Blogging is done from my home using my own personal PC and using servers that have no connection with the company I work for. In fact in the past I have deliberately gone away from using the servers supplied to the public by the company, they can stick there so called staff discount. I would much rather have nothing to do with them on a personal level and retain my privacy from them.

It is standard practice for the company to block access to anything they consider inappropriate on their servers. I have been advised that they have blocked access to Blogger etc. I wouldn’t know as I only blog from home.

Wait till they want a favour from me – they can take a running jump !!

Maybe I am being childish, but only as petty and childish as they are.
To know that I am being spied on. And the company to blatantly admit this. It really irritates me. It is a total abuse of technology….and then they have the nerve to accuse the staff of abuse !
How miserable and bloody minded can they be ?

I would like to point out that I do consider the company, a multi-national Telecomms supplier, are stuck in the Victorian times WRT people management.
They seem to think that the big stick method of management is the best one to use. Oh yes they make all the correct noises and go through the motions of being an enlightened 21st century caring employer but basically, deep down they are still stuck very rigidly in the 19th century.

As a worker I am monitored for quality and quantity of output. I work within laid down rigid practices and procedures. I am even taught how to think the company way!! If I deviate from the company policy then I am in trouble.
On an annual basis I am expected to produce evidence that I am doing my job properly, that I am upholding the company values. I thought this sort of thing only applied to the short contract high flying managers, not a lowly technician like myself.
As we are talking about wasting money I would like to point out that the management of this company are the worlds worst. The amount of management propaganda that were are deluged with is unbelievable.
Senior managers have meetings in exotic locations all over the world.
The company was supposed to be streamlining but we appear to have more managers now than we had ten years ago. I have nine levels of management !
What do these managers actually contribute to the company.
I remember last time the managers went on strike - the job actually ran better without them.

Earlier on I put up a post about the company I work for and their attitude to the workforce.
Then I read it and bottled. Then I took it down. I decided it was too specific. The problem is I cannot say what I want to say without saying too much, so the best thing is to say nothing at all.
I think there will have to be a major re-write.

In general today I am feeling pissed off.
In particular I am pissed off with Friends, employers, councils, governments and every other Tom Dick and Harry telling me what I should do, should not do, think, eat, drink etc etc.

I don't mind a bit of friendly advice or even a bit of constructive criticism but BEING DICTATED TO, BY EVERY FUCKER UNDER THE SUN JUST GETS RIGHT UP MY FUCKING NOSE......YES I AM SHOUTING !!!
I AM JUST TOTALLY COMPLETELY PISSED OFF WITH IT...Agggggggghhhhhhhh

Why don't they all just F F F Fade away.

Ahh..........That's better

Must let off a little steam now and then.
Normal service will be restored soon.

ghosties

Last night as I was in bed, just dropping off, in that intermediate stage between sleep and wakefulness when I heard a loud crack from the ceiling and then a noise as though someone was wandering about in the loft. I saw a figure walk past my bed. I sat up and looked around but of course the room was empty.
Maybe just the house cooling down at the night moved in.
I settled down to go back to sleep. Again just as I was dropping off another crack from the ceiling. I looked around. still nothing.
Again I settled down and went to sleep.
Definitely a bit of an eerie experience.
What does it mean ??

Can you decode the post below.
It is not a blind typist or an alien language, but one of the simplest codes going.


Ancaa ouyab rackcac hetad odecaf ??
Fiaa Ouyab rackcac hetad odecaf ouyag aymaf ebag issapointeddah.
Implysai ecausebaj histak ostpal oesdam otnan ontaincao nythingaap ensibleaq otas aysat.

Hanktaa ouyab orfac ouryad fforteae !!

I managed to complete the wiring of the summerhouse...Now the only thing left is to finish putting up the Venetian blinds. The wooden sort....From Ikea. I little over the top maybe, but they look good.
My sister-in-law and her husband are here for tea Wed. As he hates Coronation St. We will probably be fixing the blinds after tea. Might be a bit tricky after a few glasses of the red stuff !!

Self improvement....Bah!!

I think I write better when I am writing for myself. When I am writing for an audience I tend to be very brittle and not flowing. Inhibited.

Why should we be committed to doing anything? My life is for me and not impressing others. I am not a great man and will never achieve great things. Most people, after death, are only remembered by one generation at the most, so why bother.

Some may say we have to contribute to society or nothing would get done in the world
I contribute to society; I go to work. Keep the wheels turning.
What do I do with the rest of my life? We all do things that give us pleasure. That is the big driver. Stimulating the old pleasure centre. Whether it is bringing up a family in the knowledge that you have reproduced yourself and your genes and performed you primal life task that is the most deep down, most pleasing thing one can do. Or simply doing a hobby or a pastime, propping up a bar or watching TV and switching off after a day's work. Who was it said 'we are too busy earning a living to make any money' for the average working person, for the modern day serf I think this is very true.
It is not necessary to be 'doing good' all the time to please others. There is nothing wrong with a little self indulgence and self gratification (no dirty thoughts please).

Before I go to bed I would just like to get something off My chest.
I am really pissed off with my employer. I feel like having a really good rant. In fact I have written what I think but I don't have the bottle to post it. Bit of a block like e in fact.
I suppose I am a little paranoid and feel that someone in the company may read my little tirade and decide that it was time that little pipsqueak was put in his place.
There again if I can't say what I feel in my personal blog then where can I ?
Should I say what I want and vent my spleen or not ??

I have just run spellcheck on my posting page on blogger. It doesn't recognize the word blog or blogger!!

Thank goodness for e-mail

Thanks to Blue Witch for mentioning blogging via e-mail.
I think its very convenient and much easier than the web site. The only thing I am not sure about is adding hyperlinks.

Well today is Friday and the weekend will soon be upon us. The round patio in front of the summerhouse is nearly finished. It looks like a wedding cake because there is a fountain on a pedestal in the middle.
Then I can move on to the electrics. I have already run an armoured cable up the garden from the shed to the greenhouse and from the greenhouse to the summerhouse. I have a waterproof socket to go into the greenhouse. This is mainly for an electric heater when required. The summerhouse is going to have a cluster of four spotlights on the ceiling and an up lighter in the corner and a few power sockets.

Nose ache

I still have the virus infection. The thing will just not go away. At least now my teeth are not aching - just my nose, face and head. I am getting the point where I might consider a trip to the doctors. The problem is I am pretty sure that there is nothing they can do with a virus infection - Its simply a case of sit it out.

There's things happening at work. The company are managing to create an atmosphere without realising what they are doing. There again to any of these big companies really know what they are doing ??

How self aware are animals?

Cows know when its time for milking, they form an orderly queue, afterwards they amble back to the appropriate field. They soon fall into a routine.
Our dog also knows routine. She lets us know when she is hungry by looking at her dish and barking at us. She lets us know when she is feeling playful and want’s to play. When she is ill she looks miserable. When she’s pleased she runs around and is full of joy. She tries to boss us and tell us to come in out of the garden and sit and watch TV whilst she curls up next to us. If we go out and leave her she cries and is miserable. A few weeks back she fell down the stairs. Thankfully she was ok, but since then she will not come down the stairs. How’s that for a quick lesson. Obviously she found it very traumatic and will not risk that again. If that ain’t logical reasoning then what is?
The cat we used to have was very independent. He would turn up his nose and snub us when it suited. If we had been away for a week or more he would meow at us and tell us off for leaving him. Then he would have a sulk and ignore us for a few days.
Once at a slaughterhouse for pigs. I saw a pig that had escaped and was trying to get away. As it ran around the car park I could see the look of absolute terror on its face. It knew what was happening.

If we can recognise these things in animals, then there must be some common thread, some common genetic pool that we all originate from. Surely then, animals must have feelings like we do, maybe to a lesser extent, maybe not as self aware as us, but what do we know of how they think and feel?

Today I am feeling rough
On Friday evening my front teeth at the top started aching. On Saturday as the day went on and I became more tired it started again. On Sunday they were aching as soon as I woke up, but the base of my nose was very tender and sore and I was generally feeling lethargic and unwell. Over the weekend this virus seems to have been taking a hold and getting worse.
Today (Monday) I feel totally knackered. Although I has a good night sleep I feel as if I had been up all night. My nose is still swollen and sore and my teeth and head are aching. I feel as if I have been punched in the face and all my energy sucked out by a vampire.
Time for some co-codamol I think

Building Blocks and Sim City

Next door to the office where I work there was on old Victorian mill and a small factory with a yard.
Over the last 2 years they have been vacated, demolished, the land cleaned of all the rubble, flattened and raised a few feet.
The builders have moved in and 3 massive blocks of student/key worker accommodation are in the process of being built.
The first thing they did was lay the foundations and then the steel was erected. Next the concrete floors were installed then all the buildings were surrounded in scaffold and the walls and brickwork erected.
Now it appears that the buildings are just sat there surrounded by scaffold with a huge hive of activity. Nothing to see as all the construction is now on the inside.
Very reminiscent of Sim City.
Life reflecting art you might say.
I don’t really run the Sim City much these days. At first I thought it was really amazing but now the novelty has worn off. I think that the programmers have tried to make it interesting with lots of things to do, but this is really the undoing of it, as after a while it makes the thing just too boring, too demanding. Sometimes it would be nice to just let it run, but if I do that it just runs itself into the ground.
Maybe they should have added an automatic mode ??