Back in the business

I got my first assignment today - building a nephelometer. Not quite as involved as an interferometer, but still an interesting and challenging bit of equipment.

I guess I'm back in the 'ometer business.

First day at work

My first day on the job went well. It appears that engineering is a universal trait, in that my fellow engineers seemed less Aussie than Engineer, so we spoke a common language, despite the inability to specify certain food groups (i.e. biscuits).

I did get a lot of laughs with my Dumb American jokes. Fortunately, that is an inexhaustible resource. They agreed with me that Australia does not actually have politics, at least in the American psycho-circus infotainment sense of the word.

Let's try this again

OK, I've accepted another job. I think this one will stick; it's not just a guy in a warehouse this time. And the boss has been very straight-forward and responsive, so no flaky crumbs here.

I'm glad to get this job. Not only does it sound like fun, but I think it's good for my karma points. I will be building ecological equipment (mechanical canaries for the planet, as my father-in-law observed) instead of, you know, bombs. That's gotta count for something, somewhere.

Heartening signs

It is with hope and joy that I witness the many public protests for fair and honest democracy breaking out around the world in the wake of the successful Egyptian "re-alignment" (revolution is perhaps too strong of a word).

Look at what is happening in down-trodden places ruled by corrupt, selfish plutocrats, like Tunisia, Libya, and Wisconsin.

Police showing solidarity
Senate Dems aren’t too worried about the police tracking them down. The police are showing solidarity, including handing out bratwurst to the protesters.

And we have reports of the revolt spreading to Ohio:

Protests spreading to Ohio
Wisconsin is just where this fight is starting, but it does not end here. In Ohio, 5,000 protesters are descending on the state Capitol in building in Columbus to fight against a bill that would wipe out their collective bargaining rights. Newly elected Republican Governors and legislatures are trying to break unions in several states:

Our hopes and dreams are with you, freedom fighters! Those of us living in civilized countries cannot wait to welcome your nations to the community of the free and the just!

One bright spot in this inhospitable land

A lucky break! I found corn tortillas at my local grocery store (the house brand, no less).

Combined with the contents of my care package, I was able to make this:



At least I won't starve!

:D

Care Package

My sister has sent a care package from the Southwest:



Much appreciated; sadly, the one thing that is impossible to get are corn tortillas. You can't ship corn products into the country, and although they grow the stuff, they don't know how to make tortillas out of it.

I haven't really considered trying to make my own, as tortilla-making is a special art.

Financial Primitivism

In regards to the crossed check issue, it's apparently a non-issue anymore, since no existing Australian bank will cash a check for cash these days. Everything has at 5-day waiting period.

But in the process of researching this, I discovered that Australia and New Zealand are the only 2 (out of 30) members of the OECD that do not have government deposit insurance.

That's right: if an Aussie bank decides to gamble all your money on a coin toss, and loses, you don't get anything. All of your money - every penny you put into your bank account - is just gone, and no one will give it back.

I've seen lots of libertarian-style arguments that deposit insurance only creates moral hazard, as in the banks will then do foolish things since they know they are protected, so it's up to the consumers to prudently pick their banks. This is akin to the libertarian ideal that we don't need meat regulation, because if you buy tainted meat and die from it, you'll never make that mistake again and the seller will go out of business. I've seen a few arguments that, you know, every other civilized country has it and maybe we should join them.

And of course the argument that Australia doesn't need it because it's banking system is "special." Apparently banks are expected to keep half their deposits in cash (instead of the 10 or 20% in the US), so I guess you might only lose half your money.

This place is ripe for the picking. I predict 3-5 years before Wall Street swoops in, bankrupts the entire nation with some hare-brained Ponzi scheme, and then sails off laughing at the rubes in their yachts' rear-view mirrors.

If this is socialism, it's socialism as done by amateurs.