It's hot. The lady on the seat in front of me is fanning herself with a piece of paper because the air-conditioning unit on the bus is struggling to keep up with the heat and it's only 7am. There are bush-fires burning all around the city, billowing smoke in to the sky which in turn … Continue reading Dress for the job you want
Category: Work
Data Security
Data security is kind of a big deal. No, scrap that. No 'kind of' about it. Data security is really big fucking deal. Trust me. Not only do I whittle away the best hours of the best days of the best years of my life as a data analyst within a state government department but … Continue reading Data Security
Fire Drill
Greg stalked around the corner, back from his meeting, looking every bit a man ready for action. I watched as he strode past my desk without a second glance. His normal jovial demeanour was gone, replaced with a pursed mouth lurking under his greying ginger beard. He leaned over Rachel's cubicle wall and whispered something … Continue reading Fire Drill
One-on-One Combat
Thrust, parry. Thrust, parry. Thrust, parry. We retreat to our safe spaces and eye each other warily. My opponent is dangerous and obviously well trained in the nuances of one-on-one combat. They have the slight positional upper hand but so far they have not launched an all out attack. They have been happy to remain … Continue reading One-on-One Combat
Jerry’s Last Day
It’s Friday, the day after The Bad News, and you arrive to work a little bit early, naively hoping that everything will be alright today. 'Jerry’s in.' Matt says with a heaviness in his voice that tells you much more than words could ever do. 'How is he?' You ask but you already know the … Continue reading Jerry’s Last Day
MVP: Minimal Viable Performance
"Yes but what is the M-V-P here?" Carl drawled with only a half-hidden sense of a sneer lurking on his round but well manicured face. Oh no, he must have been on one of those government-funded training courses about agile project management where all the public servants aspiring for senior leadership go to schmooze and … Continue reading MVP: Minimal Viable Performance
Headphones of Social Immunity
Darkness had fallen early tonight, as though a great force of evil was slowly encroaching upon the day, consuming the last remaining rays of sun like a gluttonous monster before plunging the world in to a thick blackness. Jack, a young wizard, was bent over his forest campfire busily preparing a summoning spell of protective … Continue reading Headphones of Social Immunity
The Transition Team
Don't let the name fool you. The Transition Team is where people go to die. Metaphorically speaking at least. They don't actually kill them. That would be against the departmental code of conduct. The Transition Team is filled with people no-one wants. Some people call them 'poor performers'. I call them 'shit at their jobs'. … Continue reading The Transition Team
The need for moderation
The bus eased in to the station and I bolted out the door, forgetting to touch my card to cancel my trip but I had more important things on my mind than losing $10. I was about to lose my lunch all over the bus stop floor. And walls. The day had been like any … Continue reading The need for moderation
The problem with big numbers
"The site has been down for over an hour now. No new applications are coming through. What the fuck is happening over there with you ass clowns?" Good question. Although I would have preferred a more civilised and collaborative approach to the problem at hand. And it was a problem. the site was completely unusable. … Continue reading The problem with big numbers
Jack Brumby 