Observations

Hello.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Last update here was September 2007 and the last one before that was May 2007. So let’s call it a year all in, shall we?

Wow, I miss this blog. It was my first one, and although I’m present and correct on other parts of the Internet, The Levee Breaks was always a special place for me. We talked here. We pondered politics and the deeper issues of life. Sometimes we disagreed and bickered and other times we had a laugh.

But time moves on and we outgrow certain things.

Last June, I finally left the job that was causing me so much anguish. I won’t condemn the entire company, and even though I’d love to out them, I won’t. Northern Ireland’s such a small place, and I’d rather draw a line under that phase of my life and move on. This post is part of the process.

Oh, I could tell you all about it. Suffice to say it was a couple of years of drama that I’d rather forget. I had a friend/colleague whispering rumours and speculation in one ear, while I had a distinct feeling that the company wanted to outsource my job.

As my suspicions were raised, I wasn’t sure who to turn to. I decided to write down everything that was happening, as it happened. Reading over the log is eye opening - there’s evidence that the colleague I mentioned was a trouble-maker who had a history of causing discontent among staff. There’s also evidence that the company was planning to save money by dropping me and outsourcing my job.

This was backed up by the fact that when I finally handed in my notice, there was no attempt to retain my services. And yes, I would have expected that. So I finally had it out with my boss. Denials. And they were happy to crucify the colleague, except I wasn’t entirely convinced they were innocent.

Basically, I could have taken a formal route with the issue and had the situation drag on for ages after. Or I could draw a line in the sand and walk away. So I walked. Every so often I get a surge of resentment, and that’s when I’m tempted to name and shame the company who treated me so badly.

But I won’t. One therapeutic blog post later and I’m feeling so much better. I don’t know if I’ll post here again, but I’ve always loved the ability to post anonymously. There’s a tremendous freedom in that. Maybe.

Is there anyone still out there reading this?

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 // Observations

Picture the scene: we’re sitting in the departure lounge at Gatwick airport this afternoon waiting for the EasyJet flight back to Aldergrove. Over the tannoy the flight was announced, and before parents travelling with children or people with special needs, purchasers of EasyJet Speedy Boarding were called.

And a small handful of self-important looking business people shuffled to the desk.

I couldn’t help but glare at them. It’s not normally my nature, but how self-involved are these people, who need to sit their fat arses down on a plane before the rest of us? Or do they purchase this to qualify the fact that they’re flying low-cost?

Anyway, the other boarding groups were called and Mrs L and I discovered that we were two of the three people in boarding group “C”. So, we dutifully dandered down the stairs out to the….airport bus, where all the other passengers were waiting. Including those speedy-boarding twats who paid an extra fiver to sit on a bus.

Ha ha ha!

Needless to say, we all ended up arriving at the plane at the same time. Not only that, the speedy board suckers sort of ended up at the back because the later passengers like us were already at the doors. So we got on the plane first more or less!

What a stunning way for EasyJet to screw extra money out of customers who need to think they’re better than everyone else.

My Advice To Speedy Boarding Customers

Don’t be such an arsehole. Buying speedy boarding makes you look like a dick and sends out a clear message to your fellow passengers about you! You’re not that important that you need to sit on a plane ten minutes before everyone else.

Are you the same kind of person who stampedes out of your seat when the plane lands, only to stand bent double while they roll the stairs up to the plane?

Just remember: Levee’s watching you….

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 // Observations

I’m doing a bit of work on a website for someone I know which is hosted with UTV Internet.

I’ve hosted (commercially) with UTV Internet in the past, and I must say I’m not impressed. At all. I placed a call to their support team this evening at 6:30 and it took a full 8 minutes for someone to even answer the phone. When it was eventually answered, it was by a frighteningly unhelpful person who first claimed no knowledge of the problem, passed the buck to another department (but didn’t transfer the call) and then told me the person I needed to speak with was on the other line.

“Fine,” I replied. “please ask him to call me. Your support desk is open until 9:00pm and I’m calling from home, so he should be able to reach me when he’s available.”

Read the rest »

Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 // Observations

Ouch! I noticed the Google ads were displaying an advert at the top of the page tonight (I’m not allowed to click on them - part of the terms of service), saying “To Hell With Our Customers”. So, I took a note of the URL and followed it.

Somebody doesn’t like the Donnelly Cars dealership in Belfast!

The page I linked to above is a Wiki, a user-generated site that virtually anybody can edit, although I doubt they’ll be letting Donnelly Cars edit it any time soon! I particularly liked the “Ask for Paul for some free hot air!” offer - I might actually do that for a laugh!

But *ahem* on a serious note, this is a lawsuit just waiting to happen. Whoever is posting this page dislikes Donnelly’s enough to pay to advertise it - do the search and you’ll see sponsored links on the right hand side.

Just remember folks, the customer is King (or Queen).

Monday, January 22nd, 2007 // Observations

I’m no fan of organised religion at the best of times, but this article by Steve Pavlina gave me some food for thought. Musing on the wealth of the Catholic Church, Steve estimates that they have several billion dollars worth of gold alone:

According to United Nations World Magazine, the Church has several billion dollars in gold alone, and when you consider their massive worldwide real estate holdings, their artwork collection, and their tax exempt status, the amount of wealth controlled by the Catholic Church is staggering.

Whatever the true figure, the fact remains that the Catholic Church is unimaginably wealthy. Do these riches sit untouched, hoarded somewhere while people are starving, destitute and in despair all around the world?

Maybe I’m missing a major piece of the jigsaw here, but surely some of this unholy treasure could be sold off and used to assist developing countries in a real way? I’d be interested to hear some of your thoughts.

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 // Observations

OK, so I went a bit quiet after my vasectomy a few weeks ago. Rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated (thanks Aileen and Parnell) and I’m still standing.

It’s actually been a busy few weeks, so me and my sore plums just had to keep on moving with little time to rest. Most notably we were shipped to Amsterdam for a couple of days courtesy of the sister-in-law.

My reactions to Amsterdam are mixed. As a red-blooded guy, the legends of the Red Light District and the er…liberal attitudes appealed to me. On the flight across, we read about how the legalisation of the area had led to a safer place for punters and prostitutes alike.

I wondered how this would play out in real life, and was disappointed to discover a seedy dive with crowds of youths lingering around the area - not at all the enlightened sexual mecca I’d been imagining! Think Gresham Street in Belfast with a few sex shows thrown in for good measure.

Now, believe it or not, I didn’t understand the reason behind the name “Red Light Area” until last week. If you’re a greenhorn like me, read on:

Basically, as you walk through the area, you’ll see buildings with red neon lights in the windows. And in each window, provocatively dressed babes try and tempt you in for a bit of paid-for nookie. Now, in fairness to them, (most) were very good looking girls, not the clapped-out hags you might expect to see Wayne Rooney ‘knocking’ around with.

Mrs L was surprised too, and indulged a spot of me eyeing up hookers for about five minutes. It’s one thing looking at semi-nude babes in a magazine, but hard to ogle when they’re staring right back at you.

Anyway, stray away from the red light bits and Amsterdam’s quite a nice place. Walking down the main thoroughfares with all their gift shops reminded me of O’Connell Street, but with dope and sex motifs instead of shamrocks and leprechauns! Restaurants were of generally good quality and we ate well for reasonable prices.

So there you go, nothing sinister happened, thanks for your concern! I’ll try and dig out some of the photos we managed to take later on.

Monday, December 4th, 2006 // Observations

Mrs L wrote about PostSecret back in September. It’s a site we keep going back to, partly because it’s an open door into people’s innermost secrets.

In public, people tend to conform to societal norms. Don’t they? But while many people give the impression of normality, there are often thoughts or emotions that they leave repressed for fear of looking stupid or weird.

PostSecret allows people to lay out their unconventional side for all the world to see. Of course, each ’secret’ is posted anonymously, which means people have no fear of reprisals or ridicule from friends/family/co-workers. Basically, you create a home-made postcard with pictures and words and express what you’re feeling. Often the people who submit these make fantastic pieces of art - PostSecret seems to encourage artistic, emotive pieces from everyone.

The subjects range from relationships to isolation to hopes and fears. Some PostSecrets will make you smile and others will bring tears to your eyes. Others will have you nodding your head in recognition! Here’s one that touched me:

The most recent posts appear on the PostSecret website, and you can also check for pictures tagged PostSecret on Flickr.

Monday, October 16th, 2006 // Observations

You know how it is, you’re out for the night with a hot girl and you end up back in her bedroom. Did you remember to bring protection?

How long before this sort of thing becomes a reality?

Link leads to a video which may or may not be worksafe. It just depends on whether your employer has a sense of humor!

Thursday, October 5th, 2006 // Observations

What’s up with the sudden disappearance of Northern Irish bloggers?

JoBlog has disappeared overnight, Paul at the Northern Irish Magyar has shut up shop and now Mr Jimmy Porter at Desolate Row has disappeared. All have been replaced with the finest in blog spam now and I’m not sure why.

What happened? Anyone know? Is this some kind of conspiracy against NI bloggers? Am I next?

Sunday, September 24th, 2006 // Observations

I came across this list of 10,000 reasons civilisation is doomed. It seems to be an open list of all the reasons people think civilization (as we know it) is on the rocks. Among the contenders:

• Overpopulation - over time, larger population v non-renewable resources. Seems like a no-brainer, but no-one’s stepping in on this issue. Why not?
• Capitilism - because profit isn’t the purpose of life. Everybody trying to make a quick buck at the expense of everybody else - amateur property developers, suing your friends and neighbours, etc.
• Avarice in the hearts of apathetic consumers who feast on fried fat, luxury cars, and infinite unnecessary gadgets when millions die annually from malnutrition, murder, and disease. How can one purchase thirty pairs of shoes, $100 meals, and diamond rings when so many suffer from a want of basic necessities?
• Rape is not punishable by castration.

Anyway, my contender for the list is that people (as a group) are just too stupid. Human beings are dumb. Let me cite Northern Ireland to you as an example of how a group of people can endure years of bitter conflict and continue to vote for the idiots who caused the problem in the first place. At the expense of parties who just might help to create employment and opportunities for their doomed-to-be-idiot offspring.

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 // Observations