Copying Policy

The Federal Election is about a month away. For a number of reasons I will probably vote Labour. This is not only because of the Liberal's Work Choices legislation, but also because of things such as the Copyright Amendment Act or 2006, certain aspects of Telecommunications Policy and certain aspects of the Australia-USA Free Trade Agreement. It is also related to the fact that I believe that good government requires a good opposition, and the best way to ensure that is to ensure that the opposeition is in governement periodically.

With this in mind, I have a good friend who gave me a challenge. The challenge was to design a piece of clothing to support the Liberal Party - something that was all my own work. I was not permitted to copy it at all. How boring, but them there is the rules. The challenge was put in a way that I really did not have much choice but to accept.

I came up with a number of designed - the remainder of which are already on this Web Site. When I described the concepts to the challenger, there was one clear winner. It appears below. There is some context to this - when Kevin Rudd released his Taxation Policy, it was about 91.5% identical to the Liberal Party policy released days before. So I got thinking... What if there was some Liberal Party policy that Labour was able to copy without causing the Liberals any problems.

And I found one - the Liberal Party 'HOW TO VOTE' Card. Of course the example on the T-Shirt is a fake, but the concept is there. It contains a personal member to the leader of the Labour Party - STEAL THIS POLICY! I DARE YOU!

Right now I am pretty happy... Things are looking fairly good at the moment - everything just seems to be getting better at the moment. Of course spanners have a known perchant for getting thrown in the works, but frankly I can cope with the odd small spanner.

I was challenged by a friend to produce some pro-John Howard fashion for the 2007 election. I came up with two T-Shirts. The first is based on Hogan's Heroes from the 1970's, and the second is based on the Coalition's Kevin Rudd Debate Bingo. This first design is simple - black on white, with the list of cast members. I have changed one name - John Winston as Colonel John Howard. The others are real people with real parts. Colonel John Howard is obviously Colonel Robert E. Hogan.





This second T-Shirt has a subtle copy of the 'Kevin 07' slogan on the back, with the coalition's Bingo card on the front.

I stayed in the Holiday Inn Suva in October 2007 for a few nights on a holiday. Whilst I enjoyed the hotel there were a few issues that would have improved my stay.
One of the first things I looked for when I checked in was a guide to the hotel. Is hotels around the world you find a guide to the local attractions and services in a draw or on a table somewhere. It took me a day to find the guide to the hotel services. It was in the wallet that contained my room key. By ‘In the wallet’, I mean it was the wallet. There was not much information inside – it did not make mention of what hours the pool operated from, nor did it say what to do with towels. Certainly it did not say how to get to any of the local attractions.
When I had booked the room I chose the hotel because of the facilities that it offered – in terms of Internet access. The Web Site stated that Wifi was $0, and that there would be a charge of $5 for wired Internet. When I got here I found that the wired internet was $0.60 per minute, with a maximum of $36 per day. By ‘Maximum’, I mean it was $36 until you got to 30 Mbytes and then it was $0.40 per MByte. This is a bait and switch in the extreme.
I suspect that the Web Site is not accurate, but that is not my fault. I have since discovered that the same Web Site lists each room as having a PC. I somehow do not think that this is what they intended. This is not some two-bit company we are talking about here offering to book rooms. This is the OFFICIAL WEB SITE for the Hotel!
I have emailed two different email addresses, and also made an online complaint about this issue and I have heard nothing. Thankfully I am protected, since the Holiday Inn has a ‘Hospitality Promise’ which states that if I am not completely satisfied with anything it will be free. I am intending to use this ‘Promise’.
The pool at the hotel is nice, and the water is warm. Being on Suva Harbor there is no beach. The hotel butts onto the ocean, but the land was a former mangrove rather than a beach, meaning it is more suited to fishing than swimming.
There is no gift shop in the hotel – at least not that I could find. This is rather unique when it comes to hotels in my experience. Normally they are trying to stop you from going outside to discover the real world. Not here.
Another thing that is missing is the wall filled with self-serve brochures showing what is on where. There are a few at the tour desk, but that is all. The only way that I got a map was to visit the main desk and ask where the museum was. The person gave me a map that showed where the tourist centre was. Even the tourist centre was not really set up to handle tourists.

The staff at the hotel were all friendly, wanting to open doors for you and help you when they could. Sometimes this was a bit pointless, such as when I got a soft drink at the bar and was taking it to a seat 5m away. After 2m the waiter insisted on taking the drink and carrying it to my seat. Still, service was good.
Outside the hotel I found some good restaurants. One Chinese establishment offered a Rum Steak for $7.45, including salad and chips. I got two pieces of steak, adding up to about 300-400 grams I would guess. They were rough cut and seasoned, making them tender and juicy. Cheaper than a club meal in Oz, and not subsidized either.
The hotel is on the southern outskirts of the commercial district, meaning that some walking is needed to get to all the shops. Or a Taxi Ride. Suva is a strange collection of one way streets and alleys. I went looking for a set of shops that I had visited the day before. And I could not find it. I did find the garment and fabric district but not the shops I was looking for. And I found Dick Smith Electronics too, the story above the Gloria Jean’s coffee shop. I knew Dick Smith needed to be nearby since I had seen a reference to it in the listing for an arcade a few streets away.
Once more I have no idea if the Hotel has a minibus, as they do not have a guide for the hotel. But given the price and availability of taxis, I am guessing that they are not really needed.

I am sorry to tell you that this first photo was taken just after breakfast this morning, just before I went for a swim. The water was beautiful, and just look at the view!!!


I actually took this next phot last night looking out towards the bay. The photo does not do the scene justice.



I suppose that this next sign sums up part of the world. It is one that I would expect to see on The Simpsons.



I am not quite sure what this is, but it appears to be some type of boiler or something similar. It is hidden next to the hotel.



One of the local churches. It looks like a concrete castle, parapits and all. The problem is that concrete discolours in this climate making it look a bit run-down.



This is the clock tower next to the museum.

This photo is taken from the Hotel a few minutes ago. I am not enjoying this place and I want to go home.


Yeah, sure! And this is a photo of my hotel room. I guess you can say it is acceptable.



This is of the Vodafone Stadium in Suva from the air. Not a bad flight...


And this is Nadi, or one of the suburbs of Nadi...



Of course I had a few issues getting from Nadi to Suva. This is a view from my seat in the plane, looking forward. The view was just as good in the air!


Thankfully the flight to Nadi from Sydney was a bit bigger...


And this is a view of the basic conditions in last nights hotel.

7-October-2007
I have made it to Nadi. I am pretty sure that this is Nadi, but it really is hard to tell, given that it is most definitely night time. The flight across the Pacific from Sydney was relatively uneventful. The boarding of the 747 consisted of :-
Would all business class passengers, and passengers with children under 10 like to begin boarding
Would all other passengers like to board the plane.
Obviously this is not how this sort of thing normally happens. What tends to ensure is a massive fight as people try to firstly get onto the plane, and then those at the front of the plane stop those at the back getting on. This is what happened.

The meal service was a bit interesting, with the options being fish or chicken. The chicken was actually a chicken and sweet chilli stir fry, but I can assure everyone that this was not hot in either sense of the word. It was warm in temperature, and did not tang my taste buds at all. AirPacific seems to ply alcohol like Qantas plies Coffee. They were even giving out cans of beer, and kept going around the cabin with bottles of wine. Us poor people who do not drink Alcohol were left a little short changed.
Back in Sydney I changed some money, getting about $420 Fiji dollars for $350 Australian dollars. I have yet to find out if this is a good deal or not.

Getting to Nadi airport was not too bad. Imigration was fairly quick. Surprisingly I heard my name called in the crowd by one of the other passengers. It was a woman who I had worked with at Pacific Power, and whose daughter had been one of the subjects of mum’s Doctoral thesis. And I had mentioned her to a couple of people in the last couple of weeks - so actually seeing her again, IN FIJI was surprising.
Collecting my bag seemed to take an eternity, but was probably only 15 minutes or so. There were bags on the carousel, but it appeared that they were unable to put more bags on until people had removed their bags. And people needed to clear immigration to get their bags. And that was the holdup.
Finding the shuttle to the hotel was a bit hard, and I waited for about 10 minutes on a minivan before the hotel decided to send me and three others by a Taxi. Not sure why that happened. Just the mysteries of the universe I guess. The taxi seemed to have had far better days, but given that it was a Toyota I am guessing that it will last a lot longer before needing replacing.
The journey to the hotel was uneventful. It seemed like a bit more than five minutes but not much more. The countryside reminds me of the road about 30 minutes outside Bangkok.

The hotel is not what I would call five star. I only needed something for one night, and it was cheap and offered a shuttle from the airport. My room is fine, but has no guidebook of the services of the hotel or the local area. The shower recess does not really have concealed pluming, and there are not enough power points. Right now I have unplugged the TV so I can have the laptop connected on the desk. I would have placed the Laptop on the beside table, but the alarm clock is firmly attached to the table. I am guessing that they don’t want anyone stealing it.
But the hotel suits my purposes. Tomorrow I fly to Suva and then stay at the more up market Holiday Inn.

October 8, 2007
I didn’t sleep particularly well last night, so I am a bit tired right now. I organized a wakeup call for 6:00, on the advice of the hotel. They gave me to the wakeup call early, at 5:45, and then the Bus to the airport came just before 7am. Not bad for a 8am flight. Arrived at the airport about 7 minutes later, and walked straight to checkin. Too easy. Then grabbed some breakfast.
Unfortunately soon an announcement came saying the flight would be delayed. And delayed again. This time they told us to go to the cafeteria to get whatever we wanted for food and drink. Then they came and said the plane would be leaving in 20 minutes or so. They forgot to say it was leaving Suva then. We eventually boarded about 10:30 or so.
But not before being asked to go back to the checkin counter with our hand luggage and stand on the scales! They wrote our weights on our boarding passes and then allowed us to board without passes. The plane had been changed to a Twin Otter which was much smaller than they plane we were going to fly on. I must say it is interesting to see safety cards with the different exits highlighted by the callsign of the plane!
We were allowed to sit anywhere, and I chose a seat up the front next to a window and with a view of the cockpit. I will upload my photos later, but it was sort of cool. The flight was uneventful, and so was getting into downtown SUVA. The hotel looks really nice

There is something rather civilised about the Qantas Club. For me it is a business expense as it is an office whenever I am on the road. I guess you could also call it a fringe benefit that makes flying more enjoyable.

Right now I am sitting in the Qantas Club in the International Airport. I have a seat with power and phone line, and a panoramic window overlooking the Sydney CBD. I have taken a photo with my camera phone, but I dont think I have a cable to download it the photo with me.

Right now, apart from writing this message, I am having a snack - some fruit juice with gormet sandwhiches, fruit and cheese. The seat is comforatble, and there is no problem leaving a bag unattended to go to the bar, or to get a coffee. In essence, it is quiet but not too quiet. Internet is available here either through the computer room or via WiFi. Wifi is not free though. Thanks to my vodafone card I have no problem with internet access anyway.

In a moment I am going to watch some DVD's on my laptop whilst I wait for the phone. Life is good.

International Space Station

I contacted the International Space Satation today from my car on the way in. The log is below, so is the location of where i was when I did this. Two way text messaging too. This was so fun! And today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik too!

04/10/2007 07:09:52 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAR,VK8ZMA-0:>ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:13:52 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAo,VK6MJ:>ARISS - International Space
Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:15:53 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:>ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:16:07 VK2TDS-1>SST5U2,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'OZul
6K\]"53}
04/10/2007 07:16:38
VK2TDS-1>SST5U0,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'OZ}mplK\]"58}
04/10/2007 07:16:58 VK4TEC>APU25N,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK2TDS-1
:Hello via ISS{55
04/10/2007 07:17:41
VK2TDS-1>SST5T4,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O[AnfiK\]"52}
04/10/2007 07:17:52 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:>ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:17:57 VK2TDS-1>SST5T2,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O[Ln
iK\]"5*}
04/10/2007 07:18:04 VK4HW>CQ,RS0ISS-4*,qAo,VK3JTM-5:=2735.26S\15245.29ES73'
>From VK4HW Via ISS Satellite {UISS51}
04/10/2007 07:18:23 VK4TEC>APU25N,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK2TDS-1
:Hello via ISS{55
04/10/2007 07:18:27
VK2TDS-1>SST5T1,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O[Wl>rK\]"5&}
04/10/2007 07:18:58
VK2TDS-1>SST5T1,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O[an\K\]"5%}
04/10/2007 07:19:08 VK4TEC>APU25N,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK2TDS-1
:Hello via ISS{55
04/10/2007 07:19:41 VK4TEC>APU25N,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK2TDS-1
:Hello via ISS{55
04/10/2007 07:19:46 VK2TDS-1>SST5U9,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:'O\
m+;K\]"4u}
04/10/2007 07:19:52 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:>ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:19:53 VK2TDS-1>SST5U9,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:'O\
m+;K\]"4u}
04/10/2007 07:19:53 VK2TDS-1>APK101,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK4TEC
:hi{2
04/10/2007 07:19:53 VK2TDS-1>SST5U9,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:'O\
m+;K\]"4u}
04/10/2007 07:20:16 VK4TEC>APU25N,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK2TDS-1
:Hello via ISS{55
04/10/2007 07:20:19 VK2TDS-1>APK101,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5::VK4TEC
:ack55
04/10/2007 07:20:22
VK2TDS-1>SST5V7,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:'O\.m?0K\]"4s}
04/10/2007 07:20:54
VK2TDS-1>SST5V9,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O\3l{'K\]"4r}
04/10/2007 07:21:04 VK4HW>CQ,RS0ISS-4*,qAO,VK4TEC:=2735.26S\15245.29ES73'
>From VK4HW Via ISS Satellite {UISS51}
04/10/2007 07:21:25
VK2TDS-1>SST5W1,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:'O\;l\}K\]"4q}
04/10/2007 07:21:52 RS0ISS-4>CQ,SGATE,qAO,VK4TEC:>ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
04/10/2007 07:21:56
VK2TDS-1>SST5W2,RS0ISS-4*,SGATE,qAo,VK3JTM-5:'O\Hn4{K\]"4p}

Rack Cabinet

I have designed a Rack Cabinet for my servers. Unlike common installations I have designed the cabinet so that it will not need Air Conditioning. It is located in a cool area with a large thermal mass that is at room temperature, and will be rather hard to heat up.

The cabinet is designed to allow for natural seperation of air. Most computer racks pull cold air from the front and push it to the back. So I have designed the air to come into the rack from the front, right at the bottom. The exhaust air is at the back at the top. This means that hot air will rise helping cooling. I have baffles front and back to assist with the segregation, and I have ensured that the rack is full. Not with equipment, but with panels.

This seems to be working really well, although I have just been looking at the rack now that things are starting to warm up. I have had some heat building up at the top of the front of the rack. Opening up one of the vents helped this, and significantly reduced the temperature of the rack metal. At the back I only have two 4"x6" exhaust vents, and these are not connected to anything but natural ventelation. I have just found that this is not providing the cooling I need - so I have put a 4" fan on one of the outlets. I will see how that goes over the next few hours. I expect that this will help a lot.

I have included insulation inside the cabinet for noise, but this is insulating from heat too. I might need to monitor things over Summer, but given the thermal mass I doubt that I will have too many issues. Worst case I will wheel the rack into an air conditioned area.