Tank Tales: A new blog by an amateur aquarist

I haven't been posting much here on RTFACM because I have been busy posting over there.

Over a year ago I was given a tropical fish. Since then I have developed MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome) and I am writing about my adventures* as an amateur aquarist.

You can check out Tank Tales on Blogger and Tumblr.

#tanktales

Enjoy!

*sounds more exciting than it actually is

Medicare is worth fighting for

We had a health scare in the family this afternoon and after I picked up my family member I debated whether to head to the public hospital emergency department or a doctor's clinic. The health scare was serious but didn't seem to be immediately life threatening so I called my local doctor.

They had no appointments, so I headed to the bulk billing clinic in Preston to see how long the waiting time was. There were 20 people with appointments to see 5 doctors and another 10 people who were waiting for the first available doctor. The receptionist took one look at my family member and decided to have her assessed by a nurse straight away.

Within 2 minutes (I'm not kidding) the nurse was with us and my family member was assessed. We were told a doctor would be with us shortly. Within 3 minutes (again, not kidding) the doctor arrived, conducted the examination, asked questions and diagnosed a severe allergic reaction.

10 minutes after we arrived we walked out with a diagnosis (and peace of mind), antihistamine and a doctor's certificate. We weren't charged for the assessment and diagnosis. We didn't take up a bed in an emergency department, we didn't take the doctor away from other patients for very long and we got the care we needed at no cost.

I know that it doesn't always work this way and sometimes it is just the luck of the draw, but to me this is a very clear sign that Medicare works.

If there had been a co-payment (as our govt wants to introduce) I am certain I would have gone straight to the hospital emergency department and would either still be sitting there waiting or, more importantly, we would be taking up a hospital bed unnecessarily.

Medicare works and it's worth fighting for.
http://www.savemedicare.org.au/

Can you lend some ass-istance?

My friend Anna is an awesome lady.

She runs Australia's premiere go-go academy and has taught thousands of Melbournians the greatest fad dances ever created. Anna's go-go classes are legendary and everyone who goes along walks away smiling, chock full of good vibes. There's a nice warm buzz from the exercise too!

Anna is a feminist and a music, fashion and culture connoisseur with a big heart. She's a woman with a quick wit, a sharp mind, an infectious laugh and the best hair you'll ever see in your life!

She is the Principal of Anna's Go-Go Academy, the creative and technical mastermind of extravaganzas like Thrill the World Melbourne and So You Drink, You Can Dance and she has taught tens of thousands of people the art of go-go dancing at The Falls Festival and White Night Melbourne.

And now, Anna's making a documentary about something that's close to all of us. Our bums!

It's called 'Does My Bum Look Big In This Documentary' and it's going to be amazing.

Anna is one of the most funny and insightful people I've ever met. She's got a terrific production team headed up by Rebekah Holt and the director is Jonathan Brough - he directed Time of Our Lives and It's A Date for ABC. The end product will be fabulous. Who doesn't love bums, right?

To make this film, Anna needs your help. And she needs it in the next couple of days.

So I am asking you to get behind The Bum Project.

You can contribute as little as $5 to receive Anna and Rebekah's heartfelt thanks.- every contribution helps! If you can contribute a little bit more there are perks on offer to thank you for your largesse.

Anything you can contribute will help get this show on the road, and on the air.

Check out The Bum Project on Indiegogo and Facebook, and watch this clip from the Today show.

Get cracking!

Get off the couch, go see a show

There is a fact that I must face: I am no spring chicken. This salient point has been demonstrated to me by the sheer physical and mental exhaustion I am experiencing after nightly sojourns to comedy shows.

I have spent most evenings in the last week or so sitting in dark rooms while friends and strangers have bared their own souls, and prodded me to discover (or rediscover) parts of mine. I have chuckled and I have winced, I have had my thoughts provoked and my fancy tickled. I have heard gags that made me laugh so much I thought I might stop breathing, and I have heard jokes so cheesy you could spread them on a cracker.

We are ten days in to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and I feel like I've seen a fair swag of shows already. By the end of this evening I will have seen 9 shows, but when you consider that this year's Festival features 430 shows, I have barely scratched the surface. There are plenty more shows on my “to see” list, but time, money and my dwindling pool of physical energy mean I will be lucky if I manage to see any more shows this festival. (Unless of course you're offering me a comp to your show, to which my answer is: hells yes!)

Some folks go hard and try to crack the funny tonne (100 shows in the space of a four week festival). Other folks will see one show only. Plenty more won't even bother to show up at all; and that is tragic.

Performers spend months writing, refining, rehearsing, funding and staging their shows, and most do all of this while holding down a day job so they can pay the rent. Plenty will take leave (often unpaid) to stage their show, and there will be some that don't make enough money for it to be worth their while – some may not even make their money back. There are considerable costs to stage a show – festival entry free, venue hire, ticketing agent fees, props, costumes, tech equipment hire, tech staff, publicity and other production costs. Every ticket sold increases the likelihood of a performer being paid for their time and effort.

So get off the couch, turn off the telly, leave the house and go see a live performance.

It doesn't have to be comedy, and it doesn't have to be during the Festival. Go to a music gig or a music festival. Go to a spoken word event or a poetry slam. Go and see dance, theatre, mime, or puppetry. See a performer that you love. See someone you've never heard of before. See anything. See everything. Just go.

And just in case your mind is already filling with reasons you can't go out, I have prepared a list of common excuses for not going out, and rebutted each one. Common, I hear you ask. Common to who? Well...me. Yes, I have invoked all of these excuses at one time or another. But if I can change my ways, so you can you!

Common excuses for not going to live performances

I'm tired

Aren't we all? But nothing will perk you up quicker than seeing a good live performance. It might feel like a struggle to get out the front door, but the reward will repay the effort tenfold. If the thought of rocking up to a show that starts at 10pm on a school night really does make your eyes roll back in your head, look for gigs scheduled early in the evening, or even during the day. And if the show you want to see is on late, well, it's only one night. You've got the rest of your life to catch up on sleep.

I can't afford it

I hear you, I really do. Ticket prices for some international acts, and music festivals, can take a large chunk out of your weekly budget. But considering a ticket to most comedy festival shows will set you back $22-$35, equivalent to a sum you probably spend on booze each week, it's really not too high a price to pay for a great experience.

There are plenty of ways of reducing the spend on tickets too. For expample, Comedy Festival offers cheap tickets for preview shows and on Tightarse Tuesdays. Keep your eye out for ticket giveaways, and get on mailing lists that offer cheap or free tickets. If there's a performer that you really like, get on their mailing list. Get on venue mailing lists, as well as festival mailing lists, so you don't miss out on special offers and previews.

Like the Comedy Festival on Facebook, and follow #micf on Twitter for last minute specials and giveaways. And sometimes, if you head out on the first couple of nights of Comedy Festival and just hang out at the venues, there's a chance that you may be offered a freebie or a 2 for 1 deal to see an unknown act, just to get your bum on their seat.

I can't find a babysitter for the kids

Granted, that is a tricky situation if your kids are babies or toddlers. But if they're school age, consider taking them with you! By avoiding venues that have strict over-18's only policy you can usually find a show that won't offend your offspring's delicate sensibilities. And if it does, so what? It's just another experience in the rich tapestry of life, and you'll be there to support them through it.

A recent survey revealed that an alarming number of school age kids don't know where food comes from - 27% believed yoghurt grows on trees. Would a survey on entertainment show that kids think performers live inside the TV? Don't let this happen to your child.

If you're already taking your children to see Play School concerts, Hi-5 or The Wiggles – congratulations, that's a great first step. Comedy Festival offers kids comedy shows that are fun for adults too. You can all have a laugh together, and it sure beats having Big Red Car stuck in your head.

It's too far

If a performer can travel to a gig night in night out then you can too. Most performers probably live further from the venue than you do. Listen to your favourite music on the way there and back to make your journey less arduous, and if you see something that moves you, entertains you or inspires you, then it will have been well worth the trip.

It's too cold

Harden up people. Wear a jacket, and a scarf. And don't forget that a great live performance can warm the cockles of your heart. Sitting in a packed small venue with heat radiating from the stage lights will warm you up pretty quickly too.

I've got no-one to go with

You'll only need to buy one ticket then – see, you're saving money already! It's hard to feel lonely when your sitting in an audience and the lights have gone down, because you are sharing the experience with a number of people. Most audience members are lovely - look for other people on their own, and sit next to them. Strike up a conversation with people in the bar before or after the show, or simply enjoy the fact that you don't need to be conscious of another person's reactions and can just respond to this experience in your own way. If you feel the need to connect with people that you know, well, that's what social media is for. Just make sure you turn your phone off while the show is on.

It's comfy here on the couch

That's true, and it's also true that seating in some venues leaves a lot to be desired. But you only have to endure an uncomfortable seat for a short stint and the couch will still be there when you get home. Some of life's best experiences happen when you step outside your comfort zone, or in this case, when you roll yourself off the couch.

Packed to the Rafters/Home and Away/My Kitchen Rules is on

Relax. Some channels have 'catch-up tv services' and if you have access to a DVD library or shop, or an internet connection, you won't miss anything on the telly. No amount of close-up filming can replicate the potency of flecks of spittle or sweat landing on or near your person courtesy of an enthusiastic performer enduring hot stage lighting. Nothing beats laughing along with a crowd, or brushing up against strangers at a packed concert, or belting out your favourite tunes along with the rest of the audience.

What if it's shit? What if I don't like it?

What if it is? What if you don't? Life's a gamble innit? Despite the fact that I have invoked these excuses, and therefore missed a lot of things, I have still managed to catch quite a few performances over the years. Very few of them could be described as shit, and you get something out of the experience even if it is a shit one. I can only think of one show that was a complete and utter waste of everyone's time. It was staged during Melbourne Fringe Festival a few years ago, and it was truly awful. It was a family show (as in a whole family appeared on stage), so not only did the adults make absolute arses of themselves, but they dragged their wee kiddies into the mire as well. It was the longest hour and twenty minutes (to add insult to injury it went over time) of my life, and when it was over, my ever-discerning children scowled at me and declared that it was “terrible” and the “worst show ever.” I wholeheartedly agreed, and we managed to laugh about it. As far as I can tell, this act has never made another appearance, indicating that the shit suff usually gets weeded out pretty swiftly. If you really want to avoid questionable acts, do your homework. Look for reviews (both international and Australian) and get word of mouth recommendations.

Convinced? Book tix for Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows here.

What have I seen so far? (and what did I think)

Laurence Leung – Beginning, Middle End, Trades Hall (3.5 stars)
Denise Scott – Regrets, Comedy Theatre (4 stars)
Geraldine Hickey – Turns Out I Do Like Sun Dried Tomatoes, Portland Hotel (3.5 stars)
Asher Treleaven – Troubadour, Melbourne Town Hall (3 stars)
Carl-Einer Hackner – Handluggage, Melbourne Town Hall (4 stars)
Felicity Ward – The Hedgehog Dilemma, Victoria Hotel (5 stars)
Fiona Harris & Mike McLeish – Plus One, Trades Hall (4 stars)
Dead Cat Bounce – Howl of the She-Leopard, Trades Hall (2.5 stars)

What am I going to see?

Die Roten Punkte – Eurosmash, The Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre Melbourne

What would I like to see?

Celia Pacquola – Delayed
Andrew McLelland, Asher Treleaven, Celia Pacqola & Sammy J – Tie Her To The Tracks
Tim Ferguson – Carry A Big Stick
Judith Lucy – Nothing Fancy
Kate McLennan – Homeward Bound
Justin Hamilton – The Goodbye Guy
Daniel Kitson
Bob Franklin & Stephen Gates – Stubborn Monkey Disorder
Adam Richard & Justin Hamilton – The Shelf
Anyone for Tennis?
Bedroom Philosopher's The High Schoool Assembly
Cal Wilson is All Ears
Contact!
Wanda Sykes
Paul Foot – Still Life
Political Asylum's Late Night Riot
Josh Earl is XXX
and the list goes on and on and on.

Taking up the fight

Worker and community advocate Veronica Black has had her fair share of battles.

The fight for worker’s health and safety at ANZ bank bought Veronica Black and husband Matt Goodwin together.

“Our eyes met across a strategy meeting table and that was it.”

Working for rival state branches of the Finance Sector Union, they kept their blossoming relationship under wraps until deciding to live together.

The pair settled in Sydney's Newtown where they live with their three children, and ten years later 36 year old Veronica is Director of Organising in the union's NSW/ACT branch.

Veronica's interest in community activism was sparked at Southern Cross University in Lismore where she answered a student newspaper advertisement for volunteer mediators. Veronica completed the training, but didn't enjoy mediation.

“I prefer to pick a side and fight, rather than be a balanced adjudicator.”

Veronica became active on the student representative council and sat on the university's academic board.

“Few union organisers made the trip to Lismore, so people in the community often called me for industrial help. My passion for union organising grew from that experience.”

An Organising Works traineeship led to a placement with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union.

With a growing reputation for fighting for others, at the age of 20 Veronica was in a fight for her own life. In the 1995 state election Veronica ran for the seat of Ballina. At the time she was the youngest woman to win pre-selection for a NSW seat. While on route to an ALP campaign training session, the car Veronica and her campaign director were travelling in left the road at high speed, and slammed into a tree.

As the front seat passenger, Veronica bore the brunt of the collision and sustained multiple serious injuries. A broken leg, multiple stitches, damaged liver and collapsed lung kept Veronica in hospital for months, however it took another year before the full extent of her injuries was known.

“I broke my back in three places, needing spine fusion surgery to prevent spinal cord damage.”

Doctors told Veronica she would never work fulltime again. She dutifully followed the doctors’ orders, but eleven years ago she reached a turning point. After fighting for her life and recovering from injury, Veronica had one more fight ahead of her.

“I couldn’t listen any more. I decided I would do the things I wanted to do. I would have a life and make a contribution, and just deal with the pain rather than sitting at home feeling miserable.”

Veronica continues to experience chronic pain and back problems but is working, and enjoying life with Matt, and children Zac, Jake and Kate. Her passion for art and reading helps sustain her.

By combining political activism with a love of photography Veronica has amassed a vast collection of social movement images, urban landscapes and portraits, and she collects Booker Prize nominated books.

“I keep old nominee lists in my handbag, so I can search second-hand bookshops. I will read them all eventually.”

“The accident helped me gain a longer term perspective. Things take time, and some things are completely out of my control. I can't fight that.”

This profile was written as an assignment from a course I am undertaking with the Sydney Writers Centre and was published with the permission of Veronica Black.

Yammer

It started with the gender pay gap in Australia. Nationally it's 17%, in the finance sector it's 28%.

The union I work for, the FSU, tries to address this by conducting joint pay equity audits and projects in Australian finance sector companies.

At a meeting with one of these companies we started fleshing out the joint communications strategy, including internal comms.

With around 180 staff in my organisation, I planned to communicate with colleagues via email and the fortnightly internal e-news. The finance sector company, with around 20,000 employees, said they plan to use Yammer.

I had no idea what they were talking about.

After the meeting I went straight back to my desk and looked up Yammer. This is what the home page said:

Connect with your coworkers
Yammer is the free private social network for your company
Enter your work email. Sign up.

“Free? Private?” I thought. “Yeah right.”

Then I figured, what the hell, I can sign up, have a play, and shut down the account if it's bogus right?

That was a month ago.

On the first day I read the FAQs, the privacy policy, and googled the company and the board members. The CEO is the guy who set up PayPal. There's a former Facebook exec on the board. All the others looked legit. The testimonials looked legit.

By the end of the first day I had invited a couple of people I'm close to at work to join Yammer. We had fun for a while chatting online, and then we got bored and got on with our work.

On the second day I logged on and discovered the Yammer population had doubled. Everyone had invited another co-worker to join. Even members of the leadership team joined in. We had fun for a while, chatting online, and then we got bored and got on with our work.

We were all really busy because our biennial National Conference was coming up and there was lots of preparatory work to be done, so Yammer was quiet on the third day and the fourth day. And the fifth and the sixth. On the seventh day I posted an update. “Not much yammering going on.”

A colleague responded quickly. “Too busy to be yammering.” And then my colleague mentioned the things she was working on, giving me insight into her working day.

I started thinking about other ways we could use Yammer. What could we possibly talk about that we couldn't get covered with emails and phone calls? Was it just a time-waster? A superfluous tool?

It was on my mind while we filmed interviews with conference delegates. They talked about the power of connecting people.

We decided to use Yammer to connect our own people with the conference that would determine their work priorities for at least the next two years.

We sent an email to all staff telling them we would be providing live updates from Conference via Yammer. We would also be publishing daily email updates, and they would receive those, but only people on Yammer would receive regular updates, as well as photos.

Our Yammer population increased dramatically, 80 staff signed up in 24 hours.

It was around that time that I had an email from Aaron, a San Francisco based Yammer account executive. He'd noticed an increase in our Yammer population, and wondered if he could be of assistance. He attached a case study guide to the email which talked about the sort of companies using Yammer (around 100,000 worldwide) and some examples of how some of those companies are using it.

Colleagues from all around the country are now connecting with each other using the in-house micro-blogging service that allows users to post updates and exchange private messages with each other. Yammer assumes you are talking about work by posing the question “What are you working on? “ in the status update field.

Over the four day conference we provided live coverage of the presentations, discussions and resolutions of conference. We posted over 700 updates, posting every few minutes during some sessions. Verbatim statements, as well as photos and links to the conference videos were published on Yammer. We even posted photos of the food.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Colleagues have said it almost felt like they were present at the conference, others said it made them feel included. They were able to ask questions, and make comments, and staff who couldn't follow the live feed were able to catch up at a time that was more convenient.

There were some grumbles about the volume of updates, particularly from people who had been out on the road for four days, but by using Yammer they could make their thoughts known and I was able to provide a short summary of what they'd missed.

So our first big Yammer experience has been a good one, and many of us are now talking about how we can best use Yammer in future.

And while we work those things out some useful discussions are occurring on Yammer, about how we should behave toward one another online, and the different things that we are working on. These insights can lead us to think about ways we might help our colleagues or contribute to their projects, or how what they're doing may help you and your work.

We are having conversations online that we wouldn't be having otherwise – how often do you ring a colleague just to ask them what they're working on? And if you don't know what colleagues are working on, how can you possibly link up, and share information?

When you publish on the company feed on Yammer you are talking to everyone in your organisation. It's an enormous opportunity that also comes with risks. It is incredibly important to think about how others may perceive you and the things you say when you post an update on Yammer. Like with any social media, rigorous care should be taken in order to protect your reputation. Choose your words carefully.

At the moment Yammer is providing us with the ability to work collaboratively, and stay in touch with colleagues that are not geographically close, and I'm enjoying getting to know them better. I am also excited about learning what other things Yammer can enable us to do.

Yammering

artbylea

This is what comes from having time on your hands...

I now have an online gallery of some of the visual art I have produced over the last ten years.

Enjoy.