You Can't Coach That

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

The issue of leadership is very much in mind at the moment with the Federal election to be held within months and campaigning in full swing.

While discussing leadership in general today with a group of colleagues someone made the comment that “people get the leaders they deserve”. At first I found some merit in this comment but have since reflected further on it. While I am sure it is true under some circumstances, a documentary I watched yesterday put the issue into perspective. Said documentary followed an eye surgeon on a trip to North Korea to perform cataract surgery using techniques and equipment not available to the people in that country. He restored the sight of over 1000 people during his 10 day visit and trained local surgeons to perform the procedure after his departure.

The North Korean people cannot possibly deserve the brand of “leadership” that exists in their country. The Great Leader as he is known definitely has a Kangaroo or two loose in the top paddock.

The saddest thing about the story for me was the reaction of the patients after the bandages were removed and they could see for the first time in years. Every person shown on camera knelt down in front of their leader’s photograph and gave thanks for the return of their sight. Not one thanked the surgeon (or none that were shown on film anyway - propaganda can go both ways I suppose).

“You can’t coach that”

Sunday, April 29, 2007

My Dad brought this to my attention recently. He was having Heinz spaghetti on toast for breakfast from the small (130g) can. Thinking that the taste was not what he was used to he looked at the nutritional information printed on the label and compared it to the contents for the larger (420g) can. He was surprised to see that the small can had 38% more sugar and 27% more sodium than the larger can. On querying Heinz he was told that the cans were manufactured in different factories and the contents were sourced separately.

Could Heinz be taking advantage of children’s liking for all things sweet. After all the likely consumers of the small can of spaghetti may be children. In a time of growing childhood obesity this is not the sort of situation we need.

“You can’t coach that”

Monday, April 16, 2007

Queensland Health has just discovered that four foreign “doctors” have been employed without any form of checks into their qualifications. It also appears that they may have been working unsupervised as interns. This comes after the recent “doctor death” scandal which has still not been resolved - ie he still has not faced charges despite allegedly being responsible for some 87 deaths of patients under his care.

This is just not good enough. While I am happy that overseas trained doctors come to practice here in Australia we must ensure that the appropriate checks are put in place to ensure that these people are appropriately qualified. Better still we should be training enough doctors locally so that we do not have to really on importing overseas medical staff. How this is done is beyond my limited intelligence but there are supposedly smart people in charge of things who can work this stuff out. We also need our government to be accountable for situations like this. I am getting a little tired of hearing government ministers saying on television that “this is not good enough” or “I am upset and frustrated about this”. How about a bit of “the buck stops with me and I got it wrong” followed rapidly by “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”.

So want to be a doctor? Come to Queensland before someone sorts this mess out - no questions asked.

“You can’t coach that”

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Back in March I wrote about the the sleeping drug Stilnox and stupid criminals. As a follow up I can report the following from my local area.

Two former New South Wales policeman were recently jailed for a violent armed robbery at a Queensland tavern after using the widely publicised Stilnox as a defence. You see both these gentlemen were apparently taking this medication at the time they commited the armed robbery. It is not clear from the reports I have read whether they have claimed that they were asleep at the time but I doubt it somehow. The reports also indicate that the judge hearing the case noted that one of the men was suffering from “financial strain” at the time and the other was suffering from a major depressive order and post traumatic stress syndrome.

Suffering financial strain!? How on earth can this be mentioned by a judge when discussing a case of armed robbery. One can only assume that he has taken this into account when sentencing the pair. Come on - we all suffer financial strain to varying degrees and most people don’t resort to armed robbery.

It was also noted that the offender suffering from mental illness also was a substance abuser and this led to his impaired judgment displayed through the robbery. While I have all the sympathy in the world for anyone suffering a mental illness it is diminished somewhat when that person then abuses illegal drugs. It evaporates completely when that person then commits an armed robbery to support this habit (my interpretation).

Finally, the judge was reported as saying that the armed robbery was a serious example of it’s type. Ok, so we could expect once convicted that these individuals would be sentenced to a significant jail term. How does 12 months sound? Both were sentenced to four year terms to be suspended after 10 months and 12 months.

I feel so much better knowing that we will have two more criminals on the streets in a year ready to again commit a violent crime.

“You can’t coach that”

Friday, April 06, 2007

Australia is a nation of approximately 20 million people. Australia is approximately 7.2 million square kilometres in area compared to approximately 9.1 million square kilometres for the USA.

No you are not in a geography lesson. These facts provide the background to opinion on the state of the government in this country. Quite simply we are over governed. There are three levels of government in Australia - federal, state, and local. Naturally each level of government is responsible for different areas of running things. For example, defence is a federal responsibility (although some would argue that in this regards we are a very small branch of the US but more on that in another story), Education and health are state responsibilities and water and utilities are generally a local responsibility.

How on earth can we really need three levels of government for a country that in population terms is the size of New York State and only three times the size of New York city or London? We have seven police forces (one for each state or territory), seven health systems and seven education systems. 

Yes, seven education systems. As a teacher this is one area that is particularly of interest to me. We are in the middle of a debate on the need for a national curriculum. The federal Liberal government is pushing this agenda designed to ensure that all students in our country are educated to the same standard. Our state Labour government seems hell bent on pushing through its own ill-considered reforms so as to beat the federal government to the punch.  In my humble opinion the answer is a simple one - make education a federal responsibility. This would achieve all the goals a national curriculum could achieve under the current arrangements and more. I can’t even begin to imagine how many additional teachers could be employed with the funds saved through the abolition of 6 systems of bureaucracy.

These cost savings could be replicated throughout many governmental activities. Health is another case in point. Significant economies of scale would be achieved through bringing this under the federal umbrella and having a single government department stuffing things up running things rather than six or seven. Enormous hospital waiting lengths could be reduced with the employment of more doctors.

Some would argue that the sheer size of Australia prohibits this dream becoming a reality. However, I would argue this is not the case (I really wanted to say “this is bullshit” but this is a serious piece of writing). Cairns is in far north Queensland and as such is approximately 1800 kilometres from the capital, Brisbane.  I would suggest that when a city is already this far away from the centre of power and decision making, another thousand kilometres or so is not going to make a difference.

So, is any change in this regards likely? Of course not. There are too many people with a vested interest in keeping the status quo. The origins of the states as separate colonies of the British Empire seem to have an influence even today. More importantly though, what state politician is going to support such a change when it would entail the loss of their job and the hold on power that they currently enjoy.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Just read on the Digg front page that there is even more water on Mars in the polar ice cap than first thought. While this might indeed be exciting news for those in the science field and others interested in the area, I say big f***ing deal.

Mine may not be a particularly popular opinion and I admit that I am not particularly well educated in this area but how does this affect me? For that matter how does this affect anybody here on our rapidly filling world? Where I live we are in the middle of the worst drought on record. There are real threats to our supply of drinking water and we are being forced to make long overdue changes to the way we use water. Of course this is nothing compared to others in the third world (can one still use that term in the age of political correctness?) who are drinking contaminated water or have none at all.

So unless they can send a rocket to Mars and bring back some of that water held in the polar ice cap I don’t really give a stuff. I suggest that the money spent on finding out that there is water on Mars would be much better spent here on planet earth making the lives of some of the less fortunate a little better.

“You can’t coach that”

Monday, April 02, 2007

Much progress has been made in recent years in protecting those in our society who are in a position of vulnerability. For example, there are strict procedures in place to deal with allegations of abuse in the work place or in schools. These procedures are often mandatory and in the most serious cases require that the matter be referred to the police. I think that these measures are necessary and go a long way to ensuring that people in a position of power cannot misuse this power.

Here comes the but.....

It is my considered opinion that there is often a lack of balance in these matters. An allegation that is made and investigated can have one of two resolutions - either the allegation is found to have substance and the next stage of the process is commenced or the allegation is found to be baseless and ... well therein lies the problem as I see it.

In my experience (both personal and anecdotal) there is generally very little in the way of justice for someone against whom a false allegation is made. It seems that everyone is very relieved that they do not have to deal any further with what could be a difficult situation so the matter gets dropped quite quickly. This, often despite the fact that someone has had their reputation damaged, not mention been subjected to a degree of emotional turmoil.

Of course in the case of very serious allegations, the person who made the unfounded complaint would be dealt with in some way. I would argue however that in most cases this pales into insignificance compared to the impact of the investigation on the accused party. In cases which are prima facie less serious, there is often nothing done at all despite the fact that a reputation has still been damaged.

The bottom line is that mud sticks and people will remember that an accusation has been made against a person and some will wonder whether there was in fact something to the allegations. I would suggest that an groundless allegation would not follow the accuser to the same extent.

I am not saying for one minute that mandatory investigation or reporting should not take place or should be watered down in any way. This would not be good for anyone. I am saying however that specific measures need to be communicated regarding the consequences of a false accusation. Victims deserve to be protected regardless of what made them a victim.

Rant over.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

This may have been in the news for some time elsewhere but is being reported currently in the Land Downunder.

Stilnox, an apparently popular sleeping tablet is being blamed for a number of bizarre deaths and injuries. These include:

• a 37 year old walking off the balcony of his 12th story unit
• a man who rode his motorcycle half naked and without a helmet while asleep and was killed
• a women who committed a break and enter while half asleep
• a patient who gained 23 kilograms from “sleep eating” while taking the drug

I would have hoped that we had reached a stage of medical advancement where these sort of side effects constituted a reason why the drug would not be released.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Last month, Sanofi-Aventis’s Australia-New Zealand medical director, Gordon Hirsch, told ABC Radio hallucinations, memory loss and sleepwalking were known side effects of Stilnox and were highlighted in the product information leaflet.

“Hallucinations and memory loss, for example, are uncommon so they would occur in less than one in 1000 people taking the drug and sleepwalking, for example, is reported as rare, so that would occur in less than 1 per cent of patients,” Mr Hirsch said.

“And to date, the numbers of patients that have reported side effects while using Stilnox in Australia are well within these figures.”

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Jim at I’m forty-what? tagged me on the idea of Simply Successful Secrets or in other words:

“What little secrets do I have that have helped me to be successful?”

I am supposed to come up with 5 or 10 little gems, but there is probably one thing for me that overshadows everything else so I will offer only that (I know, a bit of a cop out).

Any success that I feel that I have had has evenutuated after I learned a very simple truth. My measure of success had to be something that was unique to me. Something that was real to me rather than what society, family, friends and the world at large considered to be necessary to be a “success”.

For years I ran on the corporate treadmill, sometimes at a flat out sprint. The rewards were substantial. I was successful according to many definitions. Plenty of money, plenty of long lunches to celebrate having plenty of money and plenty of prestige and status. Oh yeh, a signigicant dose of misery to go along with it (can you hear the violins playing).

Anyway, enough of that. My advice for what it is worth - to be a success, be true to yourself and don’t measure yourself by anyone else’s yardstick.

So I think I am supposed to call on some others to share their thoughts. How about it:

• Arnie
• Steli
• Anyone at twocentblog

(Tell me to get stuffed if you like)

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Now that tobacco sponsorship has been banned in Formula 1 racing, Honda have painted their car in an environmental theme and they are “racing to raise awareness of environmental issues”

That’s funny, I thought they raced to sell more cars - more cars sold, more pollution. Not to mention that motorsport would have to be one of the most environmentally unfriendly sports out there.

I am actually a big fan of Formula and all forms of motorsport but this does all seem a little hypocritical.

“You can’t coach that”

Friday, March 16, 2007

Dear Acme Corporation

It has been two months now since I ordered the “Amazing Acme Time Machine” from your summer catalogue and I still have not received the product. My need for this item is becoming more urgent by the day and I urge you to take immediate action. Allow me to provide some further details in support of my claim.

You see I am the father of two daughters. I feel blessed every day that I have been sent these angels but there is one significant problem and this is where your product is relevant.

They are growing up too damn fast. My 11 year old now insists on buying her own clothes (with my money of course) and insists that she must wear the latest fashions. The trouble is the “latest fashions” are those being modeled on MTV by the likes of Brit, Christina and Gwen (I like watching MTV too).

My 6 year old has just started school and frankly I am just not ready to have two children at school, especially when one of them appears to be trying to attract her potential husband already.

As you can appreciate, I therefore urgently need the “Amazing Acme Time Machine” so that I may make frequent use of its “stop time for 60 minutes” feature and therefore save what is left of my quickly disappearing sanity.

Please deal with this matter with the utmost promptitude otherwise I will be forced to send the roadrunner over and he will shove a rocket up your ..... (sorry, I told you I was losing my sanity)

Yours sincerely

Coach

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

This post is not intended to be a racial slur on Muslims or the Islamic religion. I also do not intend for these comments to be interpreted as being directed at the Muslim community in general. If you don’t believe me I don’t care!

As reported in “The Australian” newspaper and elsewhere, a minority of “hardline” clerics are urging their followers to cheat the tax system as paying taxes is contrary to Islamic law.  They are also alledgedly indicating that cheating the welfare system is also the way to go. This comes not long after Sheik Taj el Din al Hilali compared Australian women to plates of meat.

Australia was built on immigration and generally people who come to live in our great land appreciate the diversity that exists here. They are also quite willing to work hard and pay their share of taxes. This included I am sure most of the people of the Islamic faith who call Australia home.

It seems however that when such outrageous claims are made by an influential minority we are expected to turn the other cheek and say that everyone is entitled to their opinion. While this is true, I wonder what the reaction would be if I went to a Muslim country and suggested that it was not appropriate to pay zakat towards charitable causes as is required under sharia law. I would suggest that I would not be welcome in that particular country for very long.

Enough is enough. Racism is racism whether perpetrated by “whites”, “blacks” or any colour in between. It seems odd that Imams that make these outrageous claims are not branded as such.

Rant over.