Super Statistic needs Understanding

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70% : Proportion of Australians with retirement savings in default super funds (There's cause for optimism, The West, 31 Dec 2011)

Salaried employees are forced to put money into super funds. So what does a bricklayer know about investment? What does an engineer know about finance? What does an administrative clerk know about equity markets, the Chinese economy, international equities? Not to mention all those mysterious defensive stocks, derivatives and dead cat bounces...

How are typical employees expected to make informed decisions on the long-term investment options for their retirement savings?!

That's why we select financial "experts" to give us advice.

Unfortunately, as Nick Bruining reports, the financial experts know no more that anyone else.

"Most leading analysts [are] saying shares are undervalued..." Why? Presumably because all the experts are paying too little for them... because the buying (or non-buying) experts believe that the shares are not worth much. So who are these analysts who believe that shares are undervalued?

If you can sell a share for $10 then it is worth $10. That is its value.

These "leading analysts" are guessing the future, guessing that these $10 shares will -- at some indeterminate time in the future -- be worth $11. So they are, the experts claim, "undervalued".

So why are the shares selling at only $10? Because -- according to the actual market value -- they are worth just $10. Shares are valued, not undervalued.

Still, one analyst predicts that a key index will stay below this year's high. Which means, I guess, that at least one analyst believes that shares are currently overvalued. Which is, of course, just as false.

"There's cause for optimism", according to the headline. "The general mood (for 2012) is not a positive one," according to another expert, quoted at the end of the article.

So in one report we have gone from optimism to pessimism.

And this is just a review of the guesses of financial investment "experts".

How is the non-expert expected to know the financial future? We don't -- so we employ experts.

We are forced to pay money into super funds. We hope that the super funds will know what they are doing. That they will know more about investment -- their stated field of expertise -- than we do. That expertise is why we pay them some of our money.

Well, we're forced to pay someone. It may as well be a self-professed and hopefully qualified expert.

So why buy a dog and bark yourself?!

The government forces us to give money to large investment companies. We are provided with huge amounts of data... ranges of mysterious choices... wild and contradictory guesses provided by numerous "experts"... but no training.

The government wants us to take the blame for "our" forced investment plans.

Is anyone surprised that 70% of Australians take the default option?

Rather than being surprised, perhaps the government could act to protect our superannuation savings. We are forced to save. We have no investment expertise.

The government forces us to save. Super funds do their best -- we hope -- but we can't really know. 70% of super fund members do not know enough to attempt to better the "experts".

Time for the government to stop washing its hands of super fund responsibility.

We are forced to give money to super funds. We do not have the knowledge to try to outperform "experts" who manage investments for a living.

The government has a role -- a responsibility -- to govern the super funds. To protect the forced investments of the 70% of Australians who push money into a black hole of investment. And who hope to get something back when they really need it.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Magistrate bores on

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Okay, so some drongos drove down the highway with what looked like dangerous weapons. Scared a few other drivers. Should have known better.

Silly, eh.

According to the newspaper report, they "avoided serious punishment" ('Stupid' prank ends in court, The West, 31 Dec 2011). It's a bit sad that waving plastic guns around could even be considered as meriting serious punishment. Still, that's the way we are.

So anyway... These things that looked like dangerous weapons were Nerf guns. Plastic toys that fire foam darts. Toys for young children.

Painted black.

To look dangerous...

To look real.

Okay, they now look like dangerous weapons. Silly young men for waving them round in public. Something that earns them a "tsk, tsk," rather than punishment.

But that's not what caught my attention.

What caught my attention was the final paragraph of reporter Kate Campbell's story:

Magistrate Robert Young questioned the men's maturity by saying the toy guns were more appropriate for the under-10 market.

What sort of boring old ... person... do we have as magistrate?!

At what age did Young lose the urge to have fun? To play with toys?

Does he sit at his big desk all day and glower... just for practice?

Is this magistrate so absolutely boring that he cannot imagine the fun of just playing around?!

What does he do for entertainment? Collect photos of power poles?

I hope that I never become that boring.

Perhaps that's why I'm not a magistrate.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Children and the bus bureacrats

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A couple of kids were left on a school bus.

They forgot to get off at their kindergarten. The bus driver did not check that all children had left the bus. The kids were left in the bus all day, until the driver returned for his afternoon school run.

Bethany Hiatt, education editor for The West Australian, reported on the incident (School bus contracts must be child-proof, 28 Dec 2011). She wrote:

His [a parent's] point was simple: the policies are sound, the penalties in place seem adequate, but drivers do not seem to be aware of them.

I'm sure that the drivers do know of their responsibilities. What is lacking is the occasional reminder of what they need to do.

It doesn't happen often, that children are left, forgotten, on a school bus. Yet even not often is too often. So school bus services manager John Bailly wrote a reminder letter to all bus contractors.

And that is a key problem with the process.

Bailly wrote... well... a lot. I don't know how much he actually wrote. Hiatt's article quotes perhaps 8 column centimetres of Bailly's letter to contractors. Here is one extract, as quoted:

In all cases, these incidents would not have occurred if the driver had got out of his or her seat at the end of the school run and had actually walked up and down the bus aisle and checked all the seats.

Hiatt also reports that Bailly said -- presumably in his letter to bus contractors, that "leaving a young child on a school bus was viewed by the Government as a serious breach of contract, so errant operators would have to show why their school bus contract should not be terminated."

Are you with me so far?

Or have you fallen asleep due to the long-winded and boring extracts from Bailly's letter...

Imagine you are a school bus driver

Put yourself in the place of a school bus driver. Are you a child-molesting, psychotic sadist? Do you enjoy the power of locking small children into stifling hot enclosed spaces? Probably not.

I would imagine that most school bus drivers are reasonable human beings. They have a job to do and they do it. And, like everyone, they need a simple process that works -- and occasional reminders, to follow the process.

Some head office bureaucrat sees a possible problem in the bus driver process. He doesn't contact you, the bus driver. He sends a letter to your employer. Your employer has never driven a bus in his life. Certainly not a school bus.

The bureaucrat's letter is several pages long.

The letter begins with a series of past incidents. Your employer skims, thinks, never happened here...

The letter continues, with a statement that, "The number of incidents to date reflects that there is nearly one incident per year. This is unacceptable."

Yeah, yeah, thinks your employer, the bus run contractor, Of course it's unacceptable... Get to the point...

By the second page -- or perhaps by the third -- the bureaucrat gets, almost, to the point: "... show why their school bus contract should not be terminated."

Terminated?! thinks the contractor. That's serious. And so the contractor mentions the letter to a couple of the drivers. Or pins it up on a board in the office -- which no bus driver ever visits -- with a red circle round, "terminated".

A keen (and rich) contractor may copy the letter and post it to each of the bus drivers.

Which is where you -- the bus driver -- get back into the story...

You skim the letter.

Bureaucratic words, lots of them.

Convoluted sentences.

No clear point.

No idea what you're meant to do about it...

So you forget about it.

After all, you know that you are a careful bus driver.

What should be done?

Send a letter to the school bus contractor. Write simply, Please pass the attached to each of your bus drivers. (See? A simple letter, it's clear what is required, the required action can be done, quickly.)

The attached letter -- to be sent to each bus driver -- says: Remember, after each trip, walk down the bus and make sure that no children have been left behind. This letter is in large print. It can be read -- and understood -- quickly. It can even be pinned up in the bus -- by the driver, where the driver can see it -- as a regular reminder.

Keep the message simple.

No driver wants to leave children locked in their bus.

A simple reminder is needed.

Use just a few words. Few enough that they will be read. And understood.

I would bet that the drivers are happy to follow a simple and worthwhile step in their daily process. They may just need an occasional -- brief -- reminder.

---

Oh, and remember that Bailly's long letter included the threat to the contractor, "... show why their school bus contract should not be terminated"?

Well... the bus driver "was stood down".

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

New tactic to save the Swan

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The front page of today's (28 Dec 2011) West has the headline: New tactic to save the Swan: $100 river levy.

What a sad load of rubbish.

This "tactic" is to raise money. To take money from the general public. To do what? No idea... What sort of tactic is that?!

The newspaper article is based on "a draft strategy prepared by the Swan River Trust". Perhaps the "strategy" has some actual actions which have some relevance to saving the Swan River. Perhaps it is just that the reporters -- Jane Hammond and Yolanda Zaw -- were too lazy to read past the obvious headline item of a $100 levy.

All-in-all, it's a light-weight, meaningless article. An attempt to raise public ire, with a new levy... proposal... as its justification for front page placement. Plus a photo filler -- half a page -- of people having fun on a different river!

There is no worthwhile point to the newspaper story.

There is a very serious point to the strategy which the story pretends to report.

Can the Swan be saved?

I wonder why the Swan River is called the Swan River? Have you seen it lately? You'd be lucky to see a swan, anywhere near the Swan River.

Why have the swans left the Swan River?

Where do swans nest? In reed beds, scrub, swamps beside rivers and lakes. The first actions of Swan River Colony settlers was to fill in the swamps and dredge the river. Now the river is edged with walls, houses and roads.

Where can swans nest? Nowhere near the Swan River...

We have also covered the river with boats. Damaged river banks with the wash from boats. Run boats, ferries, river cruises up and down the river, to make sure that swans will have no peaceful sanctuary for swimming, eating, mating, breeding.

We fish from the river, with occasional complaints that there are less fish due to river pollution. Pollution?

We use the river as a drain and a tip. Muck and filth from industrial areas is washed down drains into the Swan. Fertiliser from farms and lawns and gardens is washed into the river. As we power our boats up and down the river we dump rubbish, broken bottles, plastic wrappers, leftover food... Waste of all kinds now floats and sinks in our river. To be covered by the oil and diesel that is a normal byproduct of powerboats.

What could possibly live in this rubbish tip of a river? By choice? Nothing. By the evidence? Very, very few swans.

The few swans that do live near the river will be hunted and killed. Original settlers would have eaten them. Now, the eating is left to the "domesticated" cats and dogs which are allowed to roam the river edges. There is a "benefit" to allowing building close to water: it's less distance for the cats to travel on their daily killing sprees.

So what are our plans to save our Swan River?

First, we will raise a heap of money. Not as much as is already being spent -- to little apparent effect.

Then we will build enormous office blocks on the edge of the river.

What?! More buildings?!

Yep, that's it. That's the Premier's big plan: to build more buildings... bigger buildings... right to the edge of our dying river.

So, while one hand of the government continues to destroy the river, what will the other hand be doing? The "river levy" "could raise $59 million a year". Which is less (by 18%) than is -- reportedly -- already being spent to "protect" the river system.

Here's my guess:

The government will pass 10% of the levy to the Swan River Trust. The Trust will employ more bureaucrats and more policy writers. 50% of the levy will be spent of publicity: brochures, leaflets, press releases. These will have no impact whatsoever. The rest of the "river levy" will simply disappear into general government spending...

Can we afford to save the Swan River? Not really.

As long as we focus on more money, more people, big projects, imitation of the rest of the world... the river will come a sad last. Saving a river costs money. Even preserving a river has a huge opportunity cost.

While we follow the policy of money and growth before all else -- we cannot afford to be sentimental. We cannot afford to have a clean river. We cannot afford to leave any "natural" environment unexploited...

Perhaps I did miss one possibility...

In my predictions, allow 1% to be dedicated to a museum exhibit. An exhibit of stuffed swans. So that our children can see what it was that we destroyed.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

If it's Legal, it's also Moral

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"For most, what is legal is a guide to morality." This is from a letter to The West. It appears to me to be true. It is very unfortunate.

The point of the letter is prostitution: if prostitution is legal then it will be seen to be moral. Is that the case with every law?

Lawyers look for loopholes. If I want to do something -- or I have already done something -- then I can hire a lawyer to look for a loophole which allows my action. Did I murder someone? The law says that that's okay -- as long as I was drunk or insane at the time.

Does that make murder "moral"?

The adjective moral is synonymous with "good" or "right." (Wikipedia, 9 Nov 11)

If I am drunk, or insane, does that mean that killing a person is "good" or "right"? Perhaps it does. "For most, what is legal is a guide to morality."

Why does Western Australia have so many laws? It is to allow people to do things which would otherwise be considered to be, not moral.

We may think that we live in a moral state. We don't. We live in a legal state.

Creativity is More than Art

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Western Australia has a Thinker in Residence. The theme for the 2011 program is, Unlocking Creativity. As the website says,

the program "will turn the spotlight on the role of creativity, culture and education... The residency will build on work to date in the areas of arts, innovation and education as tools to foster the skills and potential of younger West Australians." (9 Nov 11)

All very good. All very positive. Perhaps a bit limited.

Jonathan Holloway has an even more limited view of "creativity".

Holloway is the artistic director of the Perth International Arts Festival. In an article in The West, Holloway discusses his views of and involvement with the 2011 Thinker in Residence program (It all adds up if young ones love to imagine, The West, 8 Nov 11).

Holloway is involved in "the arts". He is entitled to a view that creativity is solely found in "the arts". That is his view.

Creativity is, however, far more than the ability to create music, sculpture, paintings and so on. Wikipedia offers a very broad view of creativity. It also attempts a very brief definition:

Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art, a novel, a joke, etc.) that has some kind of value. (Wikipedia, 9 Nov 11)

A new product -- an app on your iPhone, for example -- may be the result of creative thinking. The suggestion to decriminalise drugs may be a creative solution to problems of drug-related crime. Some very boring statistics may be the result of some very creative thinking.

A work of art is just one possible result of creativity...

Leadership, Management & Kipling

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When you don't know the answer -- avoid the question. When you don't know the exact words -- invent some. That's one way to survive as a management guru.

One way. Not a good way.

The reality is that leaders are also managers and managers are also leaders. What is the difference...? ... not a hell of a lot. (Rudyard Kipling's six wise tips for leaders, by Daniel Kehoe in The West, 2 Nov 11)

Which just goes to show how little Kehoe knows.

What's the difference between management and leadership?

Despite Kehoe, there is a difference. Quite a significant difference.

Management ... is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization ... or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. (Wikipedia, 7 Nov 11)

To put it another way: Your organisation gives you authority. You use that authority to plan, organise, direct and control allocated staff, in order to accomplish an organisationally-approved goal.

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". (Chemers M. (1997) An integrative theory of leadership. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. ISBN 9780805826791, quoted in Wikipedia, 7 Nov 11)

To put it another way: Leadership is the art of causing people to follow you.

Democracy Over-ruled

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We live in a democracy. You know, "a form of government in which all the people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives" (Wikipedia, 2 Nov 11). For the people, by the people, of the people... all that sort of nonsense.

Paul Murray lives somewhere else.

Of those polled, 73 per cent saw marine protection as very important, 75 per cent felt there was not enough marine protection in WA and almost 50 per cent called for protection to cover at least 30 per cent of the marine environment.

(a report quoted in, WA fisheries at mercy of US greenie charity, by Paul Murray, The West, 2 Nov 11)

Murray ignores the weakness of, "Of those polled"... He fails to ask, Who was polled? How many people were polled? How many responded? These are obvious weaknesses -- Murray is not interested.

Nor is he interested enough to wonder, how close to 50% is "almost 50%"?

Murray dismisses the entire report. Largely, it seems, on the grounds that it is sponsored by an American charity. Oh dearie me, American! How terrible!

Having dropped that enormous clanger, Murray goes on to attack the emotive tricks which are used by "these groups".

Let's just step back a bit.

Our "democracy" allows 51% of the voting population to over-ride the wishes of the other 49%. That's the Australian implementation of democracy. So... What do 51% of our voting population want?

According to a poll sponsored by an American charity, "75 per cent felt there was not enough marine protection in WA". For Murray's benefit I will point out that 75% is more than 51%. By our democratic rules -- the 75% should have their wishes implemented.

Now if the poll were done amongst committed greenies, with loaded questions... Fine, ignore the results. But -- in a democracy -- if it were a valid poll then the wishes of the majority should be implemented. There should be more marine protection in WA.

Democratic decisions are made by people. In Australia, the majority should set the rules. The majority may be emotional. They may be biased. They may be wrong... but they are the majority. And the majority should set the rules.

The majority of people not the majority of money.

What else is wrong?

Murray has dismissed the report because it was sponsored by Pew Environmental Group, an American charity. He states that, "Pew and its greenie mates have got away with blue murder for too long." And the greenies use emotive statements?!

Then he quotes -- without question -- seven points provided by Recfishwest executive director Frank Prokop. Without question!

"Australia will have more sanctuaries than the rest of the world combined." "More" as in more area? more in number? Will we have more very small sanctuaries? "More" as a percentage of our surrounding oceans? Or just "more" as an emotive statement...

"Pew's claim that the South West bioregion had up to 80 per cent unique species (a blatant piece of green marketing) was wrong." Is Murray not interested in evidence that this is "wrong"? Or is he happy to simply accept that blatant piece of Recfishwest marketing as being gospel truth...

"It's time some politicians grew a spine and started questioning their spin..."

And it's time some opinion writers grew a spine and stopped publishing unsubstantiated bias.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Hypocrite

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Perth surgeon Michael Levitt is reported as saying that "the proposed changes [to superannuation fund rules] were preposterous, embarrassing, shameful and discriminatory" (Super rules paint collectors into corner, by Stephen Bevis, The West, 27 Oct 11).

The poor dear!

It seems that, from 1 July, personal super funds which collect art must collect it "as a genuine investment for retirement rather than as a way for members to indulge a hobby or gain a personal benefit from the items" (quoted from the article). The art investments must be documented, stored, insured against losses... not hung on the walls of the homes of family and friends. This rule has upset Levitt.

"Surely I am not the only person on the planet who thinks there is something wrong about being allowed to collect art but not look at it," he said.

Levitt wants to collect art. He wants to hang it on walls. He wants to admire it.

Levitt also wants to pay reduced tax on his investments, so he buys art through his own super fund.

Oh dear, he cries, if investment art cannot also be admired then the value of art will fall.

Oh my, he cries, what a great art lover I am!

Oh no, he cries, I'm certainly not going to buy art without a tax minimisation lurk. What sort of collector do you think I am?!

Oh crap, he cries, there's no way I'll buy art without a government subsidy through my super fund. What sort of pleb do you think I am?!

Hypocrite.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Litter Laws and Reserved Parking

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A few years ago I was walking through a city car park. A driver deliberately dropped a large piece of rubbish out his window, onto the ground. His car was in a queue, not moving. I picked up the litter, passed it back to the driver with the comment, "You dropped this mate." And walked on.

That was years ago.

Last week I was walking through the car park of the local shopping centre. A car drove in and parked in a space reserved for "Parents with Prams". The driver climbed out and walked away: no pram, no children, no excuse to park in a reserved space, except laziness. I walked on.

I watched a lazy drongo take a parking space reserved for parents with children and prams. And I did nothing. What is wrong with me?!

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Not that a healthy, unencumbered adult is "evil" for parking in a reserved parents' space. Nor is it "evil" to drop litter. These things are just stupid. They are examples of people who do not think. Who do not care.

And I did nothing.

There are fines for littering.

There are fines for parking in a space reserved for handicapped people.

There may even be fines for parking in a space reserved for parents with prams.

People still drop litter. And I grimace but walk on.

People park in spaces reserved for others who actually need that convenient space. And I mutter and grimace. But walk on.

Am I an idiot? I do not drop litter. I do not park in reserved spaces.

Nothing to do with the possibility of being fined. I just don't want to add to an ugly environment. I don't mind that I have to walk a bit further in a car park, parents with prams and children may need that tiny bit of ease in their lives. Cripples in wheelchairs need that extra bit of space to manoeuvre as they get in and out of their cars; I can walk a bit further.

Wouldn't it be nice if we did not need to fine people for being lazy, self-centred and unthinking?

"I won't park here because a real parent may actually need -- or at least appreciate -- the convenience of unloading active children close to the safety of the footpath."

"I'll take this rubbish to the nearest bin because I don't want the place to look ugly."

"I will remind that stranger that the space is reserved for others..." But I didn't.

Because I did nothing, another drongo still believes that the world is built purely for his own benefit. He believes that whatever he can do, he must be allowed to do. If he thinks at all, it along the lines of, "I think therefore I don't give a stuff about anyone else".

And I have done my little bit to support that self-centred idiot.

All that is necessary for the triumph of thoughtless stupidity is that those who care... do nothing.

Forget about fines.

Idiots rule the world because people like me let them get away with it.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

They said What?!

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Gone are the starting blocks that launched many a swimmer to glory. So, too, the water treaded by learner and professional swimmers.

"Treaded"?!

The water is covered by tyre treads?

Thank you to reporter Beatrice Thomas (Old Beatty Park pool consigned to history, The West, 25 Oct 2011) for that gem of dubious grammar.

"This has widened students' horizons, boosted their confidence and provided a powerful stimulus for learning in our school."

This is a school principal's comment, quoted by Michelle Scott, Commissioner for Children and Young People WA (Creative thinking is vital for young people, The West, 25 Oct 2011). Is Scott unable to recognise overblown jargon when she reads it?

Why pick a quote which is clearly pulled from the Desperate Principal's Book of Acceptable Educational Jargon? Did no-one write, "The kids had fun, they learnt a lot and the teachers will apply what we all learnt from the experience"?!

Target your audience... or you will lose them.

And now... for something completely different: Sculpture in the city.

There's a new sculpture outside Wesley Church. There's a photo in today's West (Sculpture outlines millennium goals for nations, 25 Oct 2011). The sculpture looks like a giant metal golf ball sitting on a tee.

More than that, it looks like a children's toy. You may have seen them: a plastic ball with holes in it. Holes with different shapes. The child learns to poke the square peg through the square hole... The ball pulls open, to remove the successfully inserted pegs.

So now, in the city, is a sculpture of a ball... with various shaped holes.

I just hope that the sculpture pulls open. How else will we remove the variously shaped pieces of rubbish which will be inserted through the variously shaped holes?

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

How to be Positively Ignored

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Here's a great way to be sure that your ideas will never be accepted:

• State your ideas, then
• Directly attack your audience
• Point out that previous ideas have failed
• Repeat your ideas with an added attack on the intelligence of your audience.

To see this approach in action, read "We must get away from failed political thinking" by Jim Morrison (The West, 18 Oct 2011).

• State your ideas

Morrison makes good points about Aboriginal youths, crime, and the Police Commissioner linking the two. Morrison's points can be summed up by the article's sub-header, "Invest in community initiatives before Aboriginal kids offend".

The key word is before.

The same day's paper has an article ("Remote cops build respect") about cops doing just that. There have been various stories about police, teachers, footballers and others helping Aboriginal and other children, before they get into crime.

Prevention is better than cure. Not as good at buying votes, perhaps. But an excellent idea.

Then...

• Directly attack your audience

Morrison attacks everyone-except-Aborigines... for colonising Australia. There's a lot of truth in his claim of "seven generations of compounding bad laws, a racially prejudiced Constitution and institutional and social racism."

Yet his attack is irrelevant to the here and now.

If a person has English heritage with one Italian grandparent -- that person is expected to make their own way to success. If a person has Italian heritage with one Chinese grandparent -- that person is expected to make their own way to success. If a person has Chinese heritage with one Aboriginal grandparent -- for some reason that person is totally unable to be at all successful, unless they are give government-funded support.

Morrison is attacking laws, Constitution, institutions and society. His "logic" is ridiculous. The only guarantee is that he will alienate any readers who support our laws, Constitution, institutions or society.

So we get angry. We prepare to defend against the emotional and illogical attack. We ignore -- or forget -- the good ideas which came earlier.

• Point out that previous ideas have failed

Sometimes this is a good idea. In Morrison's article it is simply a continuation of the attack on anyone-not-Aboriginal.

There are plenty of science fiction books set in a post-apocalyptic world. It's a standard setting for science fiction. One very average book provided an idea which -- in my opinion -- is excellent.

We -- people of every race, nationality and religion -- preserve our history. We preserve our history so that we can brag about how great we once were.

A side-effect of preserving history is that we also preserve the historic hatreds.

The rather average book presented a rather average post-apocalyptic world which had an above-average level of peaceful coexistence.

The secret? All records of the past were destroyed after ten years.

After ten years, the past is gone -- and forgotten.

No more bragging about how great we were. Only how great we are now.

No more hating strangers for ancient and possibly exaggerated wrongs. Past wrongs are gone and forgotten. Which leaves a lot more time to correct current wrongs.

No more blaming your neighbours for the actions of their remote ancestors, neighbours and rulers. More time for working with your neighbours to make today a better place to live.

• Repeat your ideas with an added attack on the intelligence of your audience.

Morrison began with a positive view and good ideas: focus on community initiatives rather than (post-crime) juvenile justice. He admits that these are not his own ideas; there's nothing wrong with that. Then he attacks the world for having done nothing to support those ideas.

Rather than coming up with positive actions, Morrison finds that it is easier to attack everyone else for not solving the problems. Then there is his concluding paragraph:

What do we have to lose in investing some of the resources spent on detention centres in community-based initiatives before Aboriginal kids start to offend -- or is this another "elephant in the room"?

Community-based initiatives are a good idea. Some are already in operation. Can you suggest any more?

Or is it easier to just suggest that the idiots (and racists?) in charge will continue to ignore the problem? Easier to insult the people that you need to convince? Easier to continue a fight than to stop one?

Far easier. And better. Unless you really do want to solve the problems.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Early Warning Signs: CEOs Moving Soon

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Police Chief set to Move

Here's a prediction: Top cop Karl O'Callaghan will move on. Within the next two years.

Over the years, O'Callaghan has made some contentious public statements. Many of these -- the more disagreeable ones -- seem to attack his own employees. Remember when he said -- publicly -- that too many police were too fat?

Now he's taken his public pronouncements a step further.

He pointed to the obvious, that Aboriginal youths are severely over-represented in crime. Oh dear, how non-PC. He would have been clearly identified as racist if he had not had the statistics to support his statement.

Worse yet, this top cop stated that the problem should be tackled as an issue of crime prevention. Yet his job is to catch criminals after the offence. Way out of line, to suggest that the problem is more than just a police problem.

Then he said that police would remove delinquent children from the streets. Even before they have committed a crime (for that night) these uncontrolled children will be removed from the streets. Worse yet, the police will attempt to get parents to come and take some responsibility for their own children.

Bad enough that the police have plans to encourage parents to take responsibility for their own children. Many of these children are already the responsibility of the Department of Youth Affairs. Since that department clearly is unable to manage these children, they have a clear right to be offended that they were not consulted. (No, I can't see the logic there either.)

Anyway...

All this points to a top cop who is planning to move on. Enough kowtowing, enough nodding and smiling as his political masters do nothing constructive. Enough agreeing and supporting the opportunists who gain money and power from troubled children.

Time to speak out. Time to state the obvious and take positive -- but unpopular -- action. These are the signs of a CEO who is about to retire. Or who wants to make his mark, as a precursor to a new job application.

Or... it's the actions which will lead to his sacking.

My prediction: Karl O'Callaghan will be out of the top cop position. Within two years.

Bankwest CEO to get the bum's rush

My prediction: Bankwest CEO Jon Sutton will be out the door within a year.

How can I be so sure? Because I watched Yes, Minister.

You can learn something every day... From any source.

In today's West Australian (18 Oct 2011) there is an article headlined, "Bankwest says CEO not going anywhere". The article is one sure sign that a proposed action has now been confirmed, secretly.

A few years back there was a company called GECITS, managing several outsourcing contracts in Perth. There were internal rumours that GECITS was about to be sold... Senior management quickly denied that a sale was being considered. The company was sold within six months.

When senior people -- people in the know -- begin to deny rumours -- it is a sure sign that the rumours are true.

In the article in The West Bankwest chair Harvey Collins is reported to have sent a memo to senior staff. In the memo, "Mr Collins insisted Mr Sutton 'will be continuing in his role as managing director'."

The denials have been made. It's a sure sign that Sutton is on the way out.

Anyone want a slightly-used bank CEO? Or a somewhat shop-soiled top cop? Available soon.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Missing the Obvious?

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Repeat year creates risk

(The West, 11 Oct 2011)

Journalists, eh. They don't train 'em like they used to. Probably never did, either.

Here's a press release. Summarise it, print it. No time to question it...

Students who repeat a school year are more likely to skip school, lose motivation and have low self-esteem, new research has found.

Did the research check the students' attendance, motivation and self-esteem in their first attempt at the repeated year? Did the repeat year cause the students' lower attendance, lower motivation and lower self-esteem? Or did the students fail to learn the first time because they did not attend, had poor motivation or low self-esteem?

The research -- as reported -- raises obvious questions of cause and effect. Was this covered in the research?

A "journalist" has written a brief report which raises more questions than it answers. Is this because the research was weak? Or is it just the weak reporting.

If the research was weak then a journalist with half a brain should have noted this. If the research covered the before and after aspects of cause and effect -- then the reporting still failed to provide a fair report.

Journalists, eh. If they had half a brain, they'd be dangerous.

A city ravaged by tower blocks

(The West, 11 Oct 2011)

Academics, eh. They don't train 'em like they used to. Probably never did, either.

Dr Linley Lutton has written an opinion piece, lamenting the ugly tower blocks replacing historic buildings in the City of Perth. Here's the last paragraph of his article:

Sadly, there are few gatekeepers to protect the City of Perth. The residential population in the city centre is so small and only a handful of these are owner-occupiers with any sense of belonging so there is no one to take up arms and protect the city. The barbarians have entered and now control the city and show none of the understanding or sophistication required to create a city for people.

At least you can tell that Lutton is really an academic. Just look at the length of those few sentences!

But...

Just look at the points made in that concluding paragraph:

1. The residential population of the city is small
2. There are very few owner-occupiers
3. Not many of the small city population want to protect the city
4. Barbarians now control the city
5. The barbarians will not create a city for people.

The gap in Lutton's logic is between points four and five. Just before the final point. The gap in the logic?

Lutton's final point assumes that the City of Perth should be for people!

Yet -- from the first few points -- very few people actually live in the city. Even fewer care about the city. So which "people" want a "city for people"?

Or do I mean, For which people should the city be designed?! Either way...

Lutton's logic has stated that the City of Perth is not for people. No people live there, no people care to fight for a people-friendly city.

Lutton has presented an argument -- then shot it down. Which is a pity, really, because I agree with the general direction of the argument. But the obvious fallacy spoils the point.

Academics, eh. If they had half a brain, they'd be dangerous.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Coles & Woolworths, Cat Food & Choice

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For quite a few years we have been regular buyers of tinned cat food. Everyone who knows cats knows that cats are fussy eaters. Our cat would barely touch its tinned cat food. We were buying Coles home brand cat food.

I took a closer look at the cat food.

The tin contained some chunks of fish. It also contained jelly. In fact... most of the contents of each tin was jelly. Jelly is a lot cheaper than fish.

Perhaps our cat did not like flavoured, thickened water... ie jelly. Perhaps the fish itself tasted bad. Not being a cat -- nor an analytical chemist -- I could not tell. All I knew was, our cat would not eat Coles home brand tinned cat food.

So we bought tins of high-profile, widely advertised, long-established brands of cat food.

These more expensive brands contained more fish. Less jelly. In fact, no noticeable jelly at all... no cheap filler. Our cat did not object to the taste of the fish, either.

The Role of the Parent

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Imagine that you have three children who are always fighting. They are just old enough to be left at home. Except, every time they are left at home without adult supervision -- they fight.

What do you do?

You already work long hours. There's no way you can spend time at home supervising the children. Your work is important to you. Your hard work provides food and shelter for your family.

When you are not at work, you just want to relax. You see enough fighting at work. When you're home you just wish that the kids would shut up and leave you alone.

Your partner has more time to manage the kids.

Your partner works but at a less important job. They have plenty of time -- and energy -- to manage the kids.

Your partner works eight hours a day. Their income provides jam on the bread: extra money for life's little luxuries. Your partner earned enough last year to buy a new tv. This year, your partner's wages will pay for a family holiday.

Bloody hell... Who would want to take a family holiday with those three monsters?!

The monsters -- your three kids -- are old enough to take care of themselves. The youngest spends most of the day at child care anyway. The other two spend most of their day at school. It's only a few hours each day when they are in the house by themselves.

Your oldest kid has taken to roaming the streets. Why can't the older kid take care of the two younger kids?! What the hell is wrong with kids today?!

Harvey Norman: Ripoff, or Clever Marketing?

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An interesting full page ad in The West (24 Sep 2011) from Harvey Norman:

It looks like an ad for Microsoft Office.

Just after the last words, "1 USER" is footnote "*2": "for non-commercial use only. Available to personal and educational users, i.e. kindergarten to Year 12 and higher education students, faculty and staff. Conditions apply. See in store for details.

It looks like a good deal for educational students, faculty and staff.

It looks as though you can buy MS Office for $88.

The truth is in the fine print... As long as you understand what the fine print actually means. Can you read the fine print? See it, just under the words "Product Key Card"? Okay, in the newspaper ad it is readable: perhaps 8 point font. Here's what it says:

Designed for purchase with a new PC preloaded with Microsoft Office 2010

But what does this really mean?

Speed of Light -- Never a Limit

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The weekend's newspaper provided a little bit of very late scientific news:

The science world was left in shock when workers at the world's biggest physics laboratory announced they had recorded subatomic particles travelling faster than the speed of light -- a feat that Einstein said was impossible.

... The West, "Doubts over Einstein Theory", 24 Sep 2011

So what's new? Here's an even older story:

"Nothing can go that fast..."
"Einstein’s Theory is still a theory... And theories are modified to fit facts. Hokay."

... The Skylark of Space, E.E. "Doc" Smith, 1928

... Following which discussion, our heroes blithely accelerate their spaceship -- the Skylark -- to travel faster than the speed of light.

The newly reported "doubts" have been anticipated and tested, long before "workers at the world's biggest physics laboratory" even began to suspect that Einstein's theory is, in fact, only a theory.

Hokay?

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Avoid Congestion - Travel by Bus !?

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In the last twenty years, Perth traffic has slowed down. According to The West (Peak-hour pain grows and 'likely to get worse', 22 Sep 2011), reporting on statistics from Main Roads WA. From the article, driving a car from the suburbs to the city will take between 50% and 75% longer today than it did twenty years ago.

So what should we do?

Take public transport, I hear you reply...

According to Google Maps, I could get from home to the city -- if I left now -- in 75 minutes. If I travelled by bus. Take the car and I can be there in 17 minutes.

Comparison 1: Travel by car: 17 minutes. Travel by the best available public transport: 75 minutes -- including a 25 minute wait for the next available bus.

Truth to tell, I'm writing this at 10 pm. The car time will be about right -- with not much traffic. Buses are less frequent at night -- if I wait at home for 68 minutes I can catch a closer bus and have only 37 minutes travel. Of course I will arrive in the city 30 minutes later. And 87 minutes later than if I'd driven my car.

Public transport at night? You have to be kidding!

Please Give Generously

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It's only when it's close to home that the truth really hits you: There are people starving in our world. And they need our help. Take a look at pages 4 and 5 of today's West (22 Sep 2011).

It's so sad.

How can we sit back and enjoy ourselves, while women are starving -- in our own city. How can we pretend to any sensitivity -- any pretence at humanity -- when our daily newspaper shows pictures of skeletal women -- in our own city.

Please give generously to prevent starvation.

These people need our help.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Fire & Fury Fails to Impress

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Have you ever tried to fight a fire? No? Why not?

Because it's dangerous. Difficult. A job for professional firefighters.

So why do we put bureaucrats in charge of Western Australia's fire-fighters?!

Last year, we had a major bushfire in the hills beyond Kelmscott. Houses were destroyed. Was anyone killed? I can't remember... The facts of the disaster have been swallowed by the mud-slinging, fault-finding and blame-allocation that has followed.

Let's look at rule one of "quality management": Blame the process not the people. Rule two is: So fix the process.

To fix the process you first have to understand the process. The West Australian is having great fun tearing apart Mick Keelty's "fact finding" report into the people and processes involved in fighting a major bushfire.

"Serious questions have been raised about the accuracy of the document..." writes Ben Harvey, State Political Editor (The West, 3 Sep 11).

Further:

Sunday Times employs Journalist !

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Don't get me wrong: there is a place for the Sunday Times. For one thing, it provides something to read on a Sunday morning. It's not a newspaper though.

For a few months, Sunday Times tried to be a "news"paper. Thank goodness they are now back to their standard, no matter how low that standard.

Then, this weekend, the Sunday paper provided a surprise: an actual story! Possibly written by a real journalist!

Gerry, the star maker

What a great article! Thank you to Entertainment Editor David Craddock!

Here's a paid promotional opportunity: "Perth boy" Rove McManus is launching a new TV show... give it some publicity... on a page clearly marked as being "NEWS". (Sunday Times, 4 Sep 2011 page 18). TV show promotion is typical of the "news" in this light-weight paper.

Craddock took the press release -- and found a real story.

McManus took time to thank Gerry Atkinson for the influence of his childhood drama coach and mentor. Craddock took this and created a story about Gerry Atkinson. A story with human interest. A story specific to Perth. An interesting story. Much more than the standard press release pre-packaged pap.

An amazing effort!

Thank you, David Craddock!

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com

Communication Breakdown

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Does your organisation encourage communication up, down and across? Do senior managers have an open door policy -- that really works?

Is a bearer of bad news welcome in the executive sanctum sanctorum?

Would you like to be the firefighter who disturbed Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan at the cricket?

Getting Employees to Perform

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What do we know about motivating our employees? A good way to learn is to see what other organisations are doing. Let's look at two good examples from The West Australian of 20 Aug 2011:

• State power chiefs pick up $2m in bonus pay... Executives employed by Verve Energy, Horizon Power and Western Power received bonuses for meeting work targets.
  
• Buses 'forced to speed'... Public transport bus drivers who are running behind schedule are reprimanded and could lose their jobs.
  

Do these motivational techniques work? Apparently so... These are simply examples of common and commonly accepted practice. So why do they work?

First, executives and senior managers are employed and paid to simply turn up and sit at a desk. There is no expectation that they will do any work which will support their employer. If they are required to actually do work -- they must be paid a bonus.

At the lower end of the pay spectrum, bus drivers (in this example) are employed to do work. It is expected that they will do the work and that they will do it to targets set -- without consultation -- by the employer. There is no need to pay a bus driver more than the minimum allowable rate, to get that bus driver to do satisfactory work.

An executive is rather stupid.

Qantas CEO Missed Marketing 101

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Way, way back, Michael Porter identified three potentially successful strategies for marketing: Segmentation, Differentiation or Cost Leadership. That was in 1980. The three strategies are still mentioned -- and generally accepted -- in beginners' courses in business, marketing and strategy.

Why have Porter's strategic alternatives lasted so long? Because they are simple to state, reasonably easy to understand -- and they still seem to work.

I am refreshing my memory from -- of course -- Wikipedia. For those who dismiss Wikipedia as being of doubtful value, here is a summary:

• Segmentation involves a focus on selling to just one small section -- or segment -- of a market. Find out what just a few people want, give them exactly what they want, convince those few people that yours is the exact product or service that suits their exact requirements.
  
• A Differentiation strategy involves a focus on the ways in which your product is different from -- and therefore superior to -- competing products. Your customers are those who are willing -- or able to be convinced -- that your product offers worthwhile features that are not available from competing products.

Weak Laws Miss the Mark

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Kronic appeared and was quickly banned. Rather, certain substances within Kronic were banned. So what happened? Obviously...

Kronic manufacturers replaced banned substances with not-yet-banned substances.

Is this a surprise? Not really... As I wrote when Kronic first appeared: Laws Create Loopholes. That is, laws are not passed to stop something... Laws are passed in order to allow us to do anything at all which is not specifically banned.

We continue to pass laws which simply define how far we may go without being actually criminal. What we want to do -- I hope! -- is to protect people from harm which is caused by others. (And from

An-census-try

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Question 18 on the recent Australian Census is, "What is the person's ancestry?" Sounds simple?

The online help information explains:

For each person provide a maximum of two ancestries with which they most closely identify, if possible. Consider the origins of the person’s parents and grandparents for example. If the person is a Pacific Islander please report their ancestry as accurately as possible, for example, Samoan, Tongan or Cook Islander. If the person is a descendant of South Sea Islanders brought to Australia as indentured labourers at the turn of the twentieth century, please answer ‘Australian South Sea Islander’.

The key words here are, ancestries with which they most closely identify.

I considered several options...

Cycle Lane Chaos -- Solved

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Today, I drove into the cycle lane. So what? There were no cyclists in sight... So it's against the law, that's what.

How often do you notice that metre or so of road which is painted a different colour and marked off with a white line? I mean the cycle-way; the space set aside for people on pushbikes.

Do you assiduously avoid -- in your car -- crossing into the cycle-way? Or do you simply treat it as an extra part of "your" traffic lane...

There's a cycle-way along Herdsman Parade. When a car ahead stops to turn right, you just pop into the cycle-way -- after looking out for cyclists, of course -- to get around.

Just before Jon Sanders Drive -- as you are approaching the traffic lights -- Herdsman Parade splits into two lanes. Just before the split, traffic starts to separate into two lanes. To do this, the left-hand car goes into the cycle-way.

So what? There are no bikes in sight...

How Bad are Perth Drivers?

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Perth drivers are notoriously bad. According to whingers, whiners and self-appointed experts.

Perhaps those people just don't understand. And are unable to adapt.

Take lane-changing, for example...

West Australian drivers do not indicate before changing lanes... so the whingers will whine. We -- West Australian drivers -- simply start to change lanes... and flick on the indicator as we do it.

So what? Think it through:

For a couple of weeks I drove in Canada. The drivers there are soooo polite -- I couldn't stand it. If a pedestrian were to so much as look at a crosswalk -- the Canadian drivers would slow down, prepare to stop and let you cross. I soon learnt to keep well clear of crossings, so as to not slow down the so-polite traffic.

Wicked Marketing Lies

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Do you often go to see a stage musical? If you do, perhaps you would not be as confused as I am...

Earlier this week we went to see Wicked -- the live, stage musical -- at Burswood. It was almost a full house. We spoke briefly to a staff member; he told us that there had already been a Sunday show. Plus a matinee on the day that we were there.

Imagine our surprise at the front page of The West Australian the next day:

Perth-born actress Lucy Durack, 28, marks her triumphant return home tonight as the star of Broadway musical Wicked, which opens at Burswood Theatre.

Let me highlight the words which surprised me:

... tonight ... Wicked ... opens

Wicked opens tonight?! But what about the three performances which had already happened? Were they just dress rehearsals?!?

Where are our discounts for watching the practice run of a musical which is not yet ready to open?!

What a load of rubbish.

Speaking of rubbish...

What Service does a Hospital Provide?

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What service does a hospital provide?

We recently had an experience with a hospital. A large, expensive, private hospital: St John of God in Subiaco. According to Wikipedia, "A hospital, in the modern sense, is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often, but not always providing for longer-term patient stays."

I think of a hospital as a place to go when you're sick because they will look after you. My imagination begins with health care, doctors and nurses. My imagination includes service and organisation.

To me, a hospital is a one-stop shop for treatment of sick people.

Wrong.

A hospital -- judging from our recent experience -- is a cross between a strata-titled office block and a hotel.

Rapturous Reception

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Judgment Day has come and gone. And wasn't it a lot of fun?!

An american prophet correctly predicted the End of the World, for May 21. He also predicted the same End of the World for twenty or more years ago. His predictions were greeted with sarcasm and cynicism... and some quick prayers, just in case.

On Judgment Day -- 21 May 2011 -- "the good would be taken to Heaven".

So why the laughter? It happened!

All the good people went to Heaven.

Did you see them go? No? Oh... Why not?

Well, you see... the God of this particular Apocalypse looked for all the good people.

And found no-one.

Apocalypse two. Good people zero.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

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Thank Goodness for Honesty and Trust!

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Gosh, it's nice to be reassured that there is no possibility of bribery in the health services. Right there, on the front page of The West ($745,000 in gifts to health officials, 25 May 11):

Health director-general Kim Snowball yesterday said the companies paying for trips signed a letter acknowledging that the trip did not place any obligations on doctors or the health service.

What a relief!

Yeah, right. As if.

Is Snowball stupid? Or ridiculously naive? Or does he believe that readers of The West are simpletons.

Weasel words?

In the same article we are given several examples of freebies provided to state health officials by major companies. One example is -- by implication -- perfectly alright because the company has "no existing relationship with the department":

Three North Metropolitan Health Service employees each accepted return business-class flights and three nights accommodation in Los Angeles worth a total of $28,488. It was paid for by health-care conglomerate Abbott Australasia, which has no existing relationship with the department. [my emphasis]

Have a look at Table 1 from a research paper published online:

War Memorial Debate is Half Baked

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The SAS regiment is based in WA. Should dead SAS soldiers have their names engraved on the WA state war memorial? Not according to the RSL... And people are jumping up and down as a result of this ruling.

Has anyone considered the reasons for this RSL ruling?

Soldier X enlists in NSW. He transfers to the SAS in WA. His family follows him. Soldier X dies in action. His name will be engraved on the NSW state war memorial... where his WA-based family will hardly ever see it.

Is this an example of entrenched stupidity based on narrow-minded adherence to tradition?

Or... are there many sensible reasons behind the ruling... Reasons which widows, journalists and other opinion-staters have failed to consider.

I'm only guessing. To me, my guesses are reasonable. At least I'm trying to consider the 80-year-old reasons for the current "tradition".

Before we try to force the RSL into change, let's look at the complexities around a "simple" decision...

Laws Create Loopholes

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What is the purpose of a law? The whole purpose is, to create loopholes.

But wait! you cry, Surely a law is written to ban something!?

Wrong.

In The West Australian of 14 Apr 11 Kim MacDonald writes about the new drug, Kronic.

Kronic is, apparently, a synthetic cannabis. It mimics the physical and psychoactive effects of cannabis. According to ChemCentre forensic toxicologist Robert Hansson, it is "more potent than cannabis and sent users into an inattentive stupor, sometimes with hallucinations."

But Kronic is not banned... so it is selling like hot-cakes.

Better yet -- for Kronic users -- it cannot be detected by the standard industrial-site drug tests. You can turn up at work , stoned out of your mind, and happily fall into a stupor while operating heavy machinery. Oh dear. What can we do?

Well, naturally, there are suggestions that Kronic should be banned. Which brings me to my main point: Laws are passed in order to create legal loopholes.

Supply and Demand

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It's a funny thing. Even economists understand "supply & demand". Yet no-one uses the concept when it does not support their own arguments. Even business managers claim to support "quality processes". Yet they ignore page one of the quality manual.

WA's resources sector must find an extra 33,000 skilled workers by the end of next year or face time and budget blowouts that could harm its international reputation as a competitive mining market. (WA needs extra 33,000 workers, by Gareth Parker, The West Australian, 14 Apr 2011)

Page 1 of the quality manual says, Do not commit to work unless you have the resources to do the work. WA's resources sector does not have the resources -- it is short by 33,000 workers -- so why is it committing to the work? Are they all idiots? Or is it pure greed...

Years ago, I worked for a company which tendered for a document management project. We didn't have the staff to do the work -- there were just four people in our office -- but that made no difference. If we had won the contract we would have hired the staff. From somewhere.

Other companies put forward similar bids. They also did not have the staff. Whoever won the contract would have hired the staff. Really?

No Surprise as Guggenheim Loses Money

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In today's (11 Apr 2011) West Australian, reporter Gareth Parker writes of "revelations its [Art Gallery of WA] Peggy Guggenheim exhibition attracted barely half as many visitors as the target set in its business case" (Art show failed to bring in crowds).

Is anyone surprised?

The Peggy Guggenheim collection is famous. It is also rubbish.

The exhibition at the gallery was not trying to attract "visitors". It was trying to attract paying customers. Why would anyone pay to see rubbish? You could visit your local primary school open day and see better art. And it would be free.

Have a look at a review by someone who paid money to see the exhibition. Or just read one paragraph:

For example... Have a look at the Enchanted Forest... It's by Australia's favourite scam-artist, Jackson Pollock. "In Enchanted Forest Pollock opens up the more dense construction of layered color ... by allowing large areas of white to breathe..." And he, "reduces his palette to a restrained selection of gold, black, red, and white." Why not just say, "He was running short of paint and time so he spread the paint quickly and thinly."

Big Bureaucracy Hides Responsibility

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I've just had a brief involvement with a rather large bureaucracy. A huge bureaucracy, in fact. And a private company.

I remember reading -- years ago, when I was a fresh and callow MBA student -- about the GM decision-making process. It was claimed that GM would take six months to reach a decision to do... nothing. A decision to actually do something would possibly take longer.

I know nothing of the decision-making process of today's bureaucracy-of-interest. But I did notice an interesting method of avoiding responsibility.

Avoiding responsibility

I was looking at processes and at project recommendations. These are documents which are either put into use, or used as the basis for further work.

Old Boys and One Old Girl

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Oh dear. Quentin Bryce is worried that there are not enough women on the boards of major companies. "I believe the old boys' network is a powerful one." Ms Bryce told the Age newspaper ('Luvvies' sex quota, The West, Paul Murray, 12 Mar 11).

Quentin Bryce -- for those who don't follow politics -- is the current Australian governor general, and female, and a former sex discrimination commissioner. Add international women's day and getting more women amongst the overpaid industrial fat cats is an obvious topic for dodgy declarations.

Has anyone counted the number of non-white fat cats? Or non-white G-Gs, for that matter. What about gay and lesbian fat cats? Or fat cats in wheel chairs, or blind, or illiterate? Surely all of these marginalised minorities deserve their place at the trough.

Does Bryce really think that the old boys sit round and say, "All right... we'll give some power to the niggers and the chinks. But we don't want the women!" (with apologies to Blazing Saddles -- and to anyone else who is offended).

Safety and Silence: Sold

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I can't quite follow the logic in the letter by Dudley Smith (Obvious solution, The West, 4 Mar 2011). Perhaps he is very, very young. Or has a very short memory.

He seems to be saying that we should -- many years ago -- have planned to place Perth airport where it would not interfere with people and houses and open spaces. Here's some news: we did.

Perth airport was way out of the city. It was surrounded by empty, open spaces.

Then land developers saw the opportunity to make a quick quid.

The West, the One and the Many

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It's surprising, really, how much happier you can be if you avoid the news.

I've been missing the paper -- and not watching TV -- for most of the last week and a half. And I find that I have no strong urge to Rant nor to Rage nor to Rave. Mind you, I still have the urge to Ramble... So...

Many years ago I read a story of the great Fleet Street newspaper strike of... whatever year it was.

Australia Day: A Movable Feast?

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Another Australia Day has come and gone.

Do you remember when Australia Day was a public holiday? A day on which Australians sat around enjoying themselves, perhaps having a barbie with friends, perhaps just extending a long weekend?

That was when Australia was a great place to live -- and we all knew it.

Now, we're not so sure...

Is it un-Australian to just be Australian?

Is Australia still "the lucky country"? Have we finally understood that the reference to Australia as "the lucky country" was sarcasm? For years, we -- the uneducated masses -- really believed that we did live in the lucky country...

We believed it, because it matched our own enjoyment of all that made Australia lucky.

Now, thank goodness, we realise that Australia is really a miserable place to live.

So, once a year, every Australia Day, we have to be reminded to stand around in huge crowds and shout, Australia is sort of okay as long as you're rich and employed and part of the mob mentality which believes that we all have to be seen being happy before we can be truly happy!

Just One Eye Wide Shut

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A typical day for letter-writers in The West... A series of one-eyed rants which ignore the possibility of an alternate viewpoint...

(In this blog I am willing to rant from both sides or either side of the argument. Whichever needs more support.)

Take, for example, the two letters which the Editor has placed under the common heading of, "We Disagree":

Taking Coal from Margaret River

Article Flags False Premises

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In a post-Australia day article reporter Andrew Tillett writes about the annual "flag debate" (McKeon backs republic, PM stands by flag, The West, 27 Jan 2011). The article contains an obviously false statement:

Fifteen former Australians of the Year launched a campaign yesterday to coincide with Australia Day to demand a new flag.

One or two days earlier there was a report which presented a different version of "the truth": The Change the Flag Committee (or whatever it's called) asked every (past & present) Australian of the Year if they would support the move for a new Australian flag. Most of them said, Yes.

So the truth appears to be that an established group which wants to change the flag has recruited fifteen new supporters. These new supporters are speaking in favour of an existing campaign -- a campaign being run by a long-established group -- to have the flag changed.

These new recruits have not "launched a new campaign". They have supported an existing and long-running campaign.

"Added their support" is true. "Launched a new campaign" is not true.

Is this a case of sloppy reporting by Tillett? Or is it "spin" -- false claims -- by the Change the Flag Committee?

Either way... read the newspaper with a pinch of salt.

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Try Not to be Confused by Drugs

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There seem to be two camps in the drug legalisation debate: Those who want addicts treated, and those who want criminals punished.

That's not very clear, is it.

Those who want addicts treated will say, addicts are only "criminals" because drug use is a "crime". Which is true. But misses the point.

Those who want criminals punished point to violence, theft and robbery which are perpetrated by drug addicts who need money for their fix. Which is true. But misses the point.

Make drug use -- any drug use -- legal. Violence, theft and robbery are still crimes. Punish the criminals. Treat the addicts. Addicts who commit crimes -- other than simple use of drugs -- are still criminals.

A drug addict may also be a criminal. A non drug addict may also be a criminal. Both should be treated as criminals.

Make drug use legal. A drug user is not a criminal just for using drugs. They may need treatment. They do not need punishment.

There is only one point of view in the drug legalisation debate: Those who do not want either drug users or non drug users to commit crimes against other people.

What remains for debate is "self harm". As long as it does not affect anyone else, should "self harm" be a criminal act?

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems by Agamedes Consulting. Support for your thought: email nick leth at gmail dot com

CHOGM Legal Challenge

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It seems that our current legal system is not enough to protect CHOGM delegates:

"Police need greater powers of stop and search so that they can head off any potential trouble or danger before we have a serious incident." That's the WA Police Union president Russell Armstrong, reported in The West, "Stop, search law in for CHOGM", 24 Jan 2011.

In the same article, Police Minister Rob Johnson is reported as saying that new legislation will be introduced including "the right to randomly stop and search people in designated security areas". That's the reporters' words, not necessarily the minister's. Shadow police minister Margaret Quirk would support the new laws, "provided they were limited to CHOGM" (reporters' words) and were not more general stop and search laws introduced by stealth.

So what is it about CHOGM that necessitates new laws?

Are all the CHsOG law breakers?

Apparently not. It seems that CHOGM brings lots of protesters and troublemakers to Perth. "There will be lots of protesters and troublemakers that will be coming to Perth to try and create some headaches." That's Armstrong again.

CHOGM logic failure

Down below, I'm going to throw in a simple solution to the CHOGM law enforcement problems. But that was not what set my Bad Logic Alarm clanging...

We have laws which are adequate for public safety. So we are told. So why does CHOGM require more laws? Are existing laws suddenly inadequate?

Companies Argue so Workers Miss Pay

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Is it true that contracted payments are optional when they are between an employer and an employee? That's the clear implication of an article in today's newspaper...

In the article Daniel Emerson writes that, "builder [P1] claimed it had paid contractor [P2], which claimed the opposite, with the result that workers had not been paid" (Workers angry over pay confusion, The West, 18 Jan 2011). Let's get that straight:

Justice is Blind but has a Strong Bias

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There's something rather odd about an inquest report written by Georgia Loney (Jail law call for careless drivers, The West, 18 Jan 2011). Loney reports that State Coroner Alastair Hope made an "open finding" as to whether a pedestrian died due to "unlawful homicide [caused by the driver of the car that hit him] or as a result of an accident".

The report also says that, "Mr Hope said two possibilities were that [the driver] was either looking out of his car's rear-view mirror or had fallen asleep before the collision." The coroner recommends that the law be changed to allow the driver to be charged with "causing death".

Let's get this straight.

Housing Choice beyond Giant Boxes of Ticky-tack

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"Housing choice needed". That's a headline in today's editorial in The West (14 Jan 11). The story begins, "Housing Perth's growing population has for years meant more big homes on big blocks."

Where does the editor live?!

Decades ago, the standard Perth suburban block was a "quarter acre", just over 1000 square metres. Today, if you own 1000 m2 you will be subdividing... Dividing the block into two or possibly more blocks And each of those smaller blocks will soon hold a McMansion.

In Subiaco, for example, from the list of houses for sale or recently sold:

Ivory Tower Ignorance

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Bob Birrell is, "a reader in sociology and a member of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University." According to Birrell, "Opinion in WA is firm that the State needs more migrants." With that as an opener, why would you trust the rest of his article? (Cut permanent migration to east cost, says academic, The West, 13 Jan 2011)

Oh, but we need more people to work in the WA mining boom, claim the money-before-everything mega-rich mining companies.

In the same edition of The West, Retail trade beats mining as biggest driver of jobs, reports Nick Butterly. So tell me again why "the mining boom" needs more people for its workforce?

Big business, in paid publicity releases, cries for more people. A steady trickle of letters to the editor point out that WA is -- along with the rest of the world -- already past its sustainable level of population.

If you're rich, you can buy your own island. And destroy a bit more of the natural environment, while protecting your own standard of living.

Much Ado about Marketing

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Sucked in by Harvey Norman

There's been a bit of fuss and bother lately about online shopping. It seems that major retailers -- having successfully squeezed out smaller retailers -- are now upset by the perceived competition from online retailers. Times are tough, so it's time to attack the competition.

Now here's an interesting memory... No facts, but a memory from ten or twenty years ago. A memory that stuck in my mind. A reason for my continuing reluctance to buy anything from Harvey Norman...

Air Con Fusing

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Naturally enough, as a modern household with environmentally destructive aspirations, we have a reverse cycle air con. Air con? For those in a colder climate, that's an air conditioning unit. Reverse cycle? Means that it both heats and cools.

So we want the room temperature to be at a constant twenty three degrees celsius. When I say "we" I mean, my wife likes 23 and I'm happy to wear more or less clothes to suit.

What happens if the room temperature starts at 28 degrees? The air con has to cool the air. What happens if the room temperature starts at 18 degrees? The air con needs to warm the air.

Is that so very difficult?

Well, it must be a very difficult concept for someone.

Alinta Gas and Other Hot Air

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Lead’s Lessons Lost

According to the Editorial in The West of 4 Jan 2011: “One of those lessons [for the Barnett government] must surely be the importance of assuring the public that strict control is being maintained over the export of lead through WA ports.”

I would hope for an even more important lesson:

Actually maintain strict control.

Theatre of the Absurd

Bill Proude of Mt Lawley wrote to The West: “How can a bloke take a girl to the theatre without being able to offer her a drink during the intervals?” (4 Jan 2011)

How, indeed?

How can you expect to get laid, if you can’t get her pissed at the play? Poor Bill Proude.

All Animals are Equal, but... only in your dreams

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Unexciting factoid: “The median ATAR for students who used one stage 2 course in their admission rank was 68” (Bethany Hiatt reporting in The West, 4 Jan 2011). This -- according to Hiatt’s headline -- is evidence that Easy courses shatter uni hopes.

Let’s have a look at the logic:

• A student may study for the regular exam which is tailored for university entrance. Or they may choose to study an easier course with an easier exam.
  
• Students studying the regular course were given a 15-point bonus. Which means, at a guess, that the regular course was considered to be 15% tougher than the easier course. In other words, a student who could achieve a 60% result in the regular course would be expected to achieve 75% (ie 60+15) in the easier course. So the 15-point “bonus” is, in fact, an equaliser.
  
• With the equaliser, students can study either course -- regular or easier -- and expect to get the same final percent.
  

Except -- and here’s where Hiatt comes in -- students choosing to study the easier course are getting final marks that are lower than students studying the regular course.