MonkeyRants

Yep, that's it.

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:27:12 +0000

As previously posted, I've moved my blog to Wordpress.com. You can find me at www.richardmackinnon.net from now on. Sadly, Vox won't permit me to export my posts and take them with me, so it's all going to stay here.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you at the new site soon.

Ciao for now,
Richard

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So... I'm off.

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:24:26 +0000

Dear reader(s),

Looks like I'm also going to leave Vox (at least for the time being) just like a number of my neighbours have. I'm moving to Wordpress, for a host of reasons, but will leave this content here. Ah... the memories.

Anyhoo, if you're still interested in accessing my rants and poring over the minutae of my sad little life, you can do so at http://richardamackinnon.wordpress.com.

Take care - and thanks for reading.

Richard

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Testing

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:04:50 +0000

Testing testing.... please ignore

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It's not April 1st, is it?

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:24:13 +0000

Pope: Saving world from homosexuality like saving rainforests

You know, there's such a thing as carrying a metaphor too far...

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The heavy hand

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:19:59 +0000

This makes me really angry. Yes, Dell (and other US computer firms) have created a lot of jobs in Ireland in the last twenty years. But they have done so because it was advantageous to them - the Irish government offered foreign business a very attrctive low rate of corporation tax.

Now that the economy has taken a nose-dive, some of these US businesses are having second thoughts. That's fine, it's their right - it's a free market economy. However, when they start to impose heavy-handed tactics on their European employees, like they might try elsewhere (i.e. the US), I get annoyed:

Employees inside Dell's giant manufacturing plant in Limerick were not even allowed to listen to reports on local radio stations as rumours flew of an impending announcement of 2,000 job losses.
Normally, the company's workers can listen to the local radio station, Limerick's Live 95FM, which is broadcast throughout the factory in Raheen Industrial Estate.
However, the station was turned off yesterday morning as the cuts were discussed for over an hour on the 'Limerick Today' show with Ed Myers.
Fearful of possible repercussions from within the company, no workers were keen to go on the record.
"We don't have a union here, so there is nobody to speak for us. But management are afraid to speak also," the worker said.
In some cases, husbands and wives who met through their work in Dell are expecting to be made redundant.

The government also needs to realise that if your job creation strategy relies on foreign businesses, one day those businesses are going to pack up and leave. As for the Dell employees in Limerick - why don't you have a union?

Having once worked for a US-headquartered business that was incredibly insensitive to regional differences - a real one-size-fits-all mentality - I'll be honest and say I'll probably never work for another US firm again.

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An amazing life

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:22:45 +0000

Conor Cruise O'Brien

Conor Cruise O'Brien died last week. A scholar, journalist, government minister, diplomat and opponent of the IRA, he lived the most amazing life. Yes, I was a fan.

He was never afraid of saying the "wrong thing", as he did so often. He was a man of principle, unfortunately more often than not surrounded by cowardly politicians and lilly-livered diplomats. His obituary in the Telegraph was the best of the many I read.

Read the article in its entirety. It's inspirational.

It's what a life looks like when someone lives it according to their beliefs, not caring a jot for what others think of us. He wasn't a saint, he was far from perfect. I just wish there were a few more people with his standards in public office right now.

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It goes without saying...

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:53:08 +0000

...I'll be seeing this baby in 2009 too. Oh yes. I just hope it's the first in a series...

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It's Hugh Jackman-tacular

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:46:29 +0000

Can't wait for this to come out. I've been a massive X-Men fan since I was 8 years old... seeing them make it onto the silver screen has been a dream come true. I thought the three X-Men films were well-executed, though they tried to squeeze in too many characters. This could be different... and we all know I'll watch and enjoy it regardless.

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Christmas begins now... sort of

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:21:20 +0000

I've finally finished wrapping presents for my family. I'm about to check-in online for my flight to Edinburgh tomorrow. I have just a couple of work-related tasks to complete tomorrow, as well as a meeting with my manager. Only now am I feeling in the 'holiday spirit'. Up till now, it's been pretty stressful. This time tomorrow evening, I'll be sipping something cold in the departures lounge of the airport.

Relief.

And to think I had a go at my sister when she started talking about Christmas presents in early November. Unlike me, she was truly prepared and did most of her shopping online. I found myself in Canary Wharf yesterday afternoon, feverishly trying to track down those last few crucial gifts. I would say it'll be different next year, but I can't see me changing that much in just twelve months!

I probably won't have time to blog here again before leaving London (or while in Edinburgh) so I'll just take this opportunity to wish eveyone (both of you) who reads this blog a very Happy Christmas or whatever special holiday you're celebrating at this time of the year. Have fun, and I'll see you on the other side!

And for your delight and enjoyment, here's a festive piccie of my little Christmas tree, taken with my iPhone (sans gifts, which are piled up before bag-packing tonight).

Little Christmas Tree

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Some Work-Life Balance irony....

nobody@vox.com(PhonicsMonkey) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:51:25 +0000

I've neglected this blog for over a month now, due to overwhelming pressures in the other spheres of my life. Work has been very busy (though not overly so) and I've been spending a lot more time on my Doctorate. For this of you who don't know yet, I'm approximately half way through a doctoral course in Occupational Pychology, and my activity therein has seriously ramped up of late.

And so we come to the reason for this post...

For any blog readers out there who are interested, my online survey is up and running and can be access by clicking here. While you're at it, please feel free to pass on the URL to any friends, family or colleagues you think might like to take part (http://tinyurl.com/6m8k7o).

I'm going to send a summary of my findings to interested participants later in 2009, but you'l need to indicate your email address at the end of the survey to receive the report.

Feel free to send me a message or email if you'd like to learn more about the project. In a nutshell, the WLB literature has largely ignored the experience of employees who a) don't have children or b) are gay/lesbian. My project is seeking to redress this imbalance a little and find out what these employees think about WLB, how they manage their own balance, and how they differ (if at all) from their straight employees and those with children.

The survey is going to inform some qualitative research I'm going to undertake later in the year. The bottom line? Everyone is welcome to participate - the more the merrier.

And I thank you in advance for your time.

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