Yesterday night was the final meeting of the Ikan Bilis Drinking Team of the company I work for. 2 of the members are leaving, DVO for greener pastures, RJR was shit-canned after his stint in North Africa. RJR will, however, be entering a new contract with the mother company in Vienna, and hopefully will be back in North Africa shortly. And I may be joining him, assuming I can stick out my end of contract terms.
|W|P|108856415552920034|W|P|A Last Hurrah.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI'm back at work, after a week off. I'm looking at my desk, and the several piles of drawings, TIEs, SIRs and DCFs awaiting my attention. I also have several vendor meetings pending. My return to work started yesterday at full throttle. It was a mad rush of co-ordination discussions, phone calls, e-mails and documents. And one vendor meeting. Which gave me the shits. If you're going to represent an equipment manufacturer, make sure you know what you're doing you bald headed twat. Don't come back to me with a single sentence letter saying that you are unable to proceed with work because the pit is the wrong depth. We followed your drawing for the pit depth, and now you want it shallower. That ain't my fucking problem, don't make it so. And if I reject your drawing submissions 48 times, that should tell you something, shouldn't it? Don't go whining to the Project Director that I'm delaying the project. I'm not. You are. If you knew how to prepare a proper engineering drawing we wouldn't be in this situation.
And hospital food sucks. I've lost weight since I got back and have been trying to put the weight back on. It took me a lot of beer and peanuts to attain this fine figure, and I don't want to lose it. My back still hurts though. I've been avoiding the painkillers because I'm beginning to find them very addictive. The last thing I need on top of everything else is to have to go into rehab.
Just got out of another vendor meeting. If you have conjunctivitis, please stay at home and not come to see me. The meeting can always be re-scheduled, or you can send someone else. Some people are just idiots.
|W|P|108847862165320458|W|P|Painkillers.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI sent the Silver Lady in to the Bike Shop this afternoon for her to begin her makeover. It was nice getting one last ride in before she goes off the road for about 2 to 3 months. She'll be getting, amongst other things, a complete Sebimoto race fairing unit, probably an STM slipper clutch, Marchesini magnesium wheels, Ducati Performance bits and pieces, an engine overhaul and a new paint job. Quite possibly a 955 kit. The estimate quoted by the shop gave me a heart attack when it reached well into 5 figures. As someone said to me today, superbikes have super bills. I should have chosen a cheaper hobby, like burning money.
|W|P|108825681865223336|W|P|Makeover.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI knew I shouldn't have. I was told not to. But I did. I started the Silver Lady up this evening, and have just got back from a ride through town. And it was well worth the risk. I seperated the back protector from my Dainese body armour and used it as a back support when riding. Wore my softest riding jacket, and skipped the heavy boots I usually wear for road work.
220 km/h never felt so good in my entire life.
|W|P|108818399865604372|W|P|Flying the Silver Lady.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
Selected by a reader.|W|P|108813862498542571|W|P|Girl Friday|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comWe had x-rays and stuff yesterday. The orhtopedic specialist who was supposed to come and see me arrived 6 hours late. He gave an initial diagnosis of torn muscles in the back, but has scheduled for a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis. He also had strongly recommended that I lose a lot of excess weight and perhaps give up riding motorcycles for good, due to the shock that riding motorcycles imposes on the spine. Well, you might as well kill me now.
|W|P|108805551189376828|W|P|In Patient Day 2.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI am writing this from my room in the medical centre. I came in yesterday seeking some relief for the pain in my back, and the Sawbones said he wanted me to get some proper bed rest and have the specialist look at me tomorrow and get some imaging done. So I'm now stuck in this bed, unable to light up a ciggie, absolutely starving since I was admitted after dinner time, no farking room service, no newspapers, they haven't sent the TV up to my room yet, I'm now beginning to despise this place. And looking over it with a professional eye, considering what some of you know I do for a living, this place sucks donkey balls. I do not understand how anyone can build something and not take any pride in his work. The typical attitude of 'it's good enough'.
They've managed to wake me twice during the night. I actually had a nice night's sleep, in spite of the noise of the traffic 30 meters away from my 2 floor window. I don't understand why they need to check my temperature considering I'm in here for an orthopedic problem. And my morning b.p. was 120/80. And they drew blood this morning, and asked for a urine sample. I guess there might be an issue of unnecessary billing coming up. Because when I walked in the outpatient clinic yesterday, the nurse took my b.p. Right after I walked in. She takes my b.p. and she can't believe the reading. Of course my b.p. is going to be high you twit, I'm in pain, I can barely stand up straight and I just had to drive in get treatment and I haven't even sat down yet. And there is going to be charge for the b.p. test, even though it's given a spurious reading, and even the doctor isn't going to trust it.
Breakfast just got served. 2 half boiled eggs, jam and toast. And some DIY Milo. Hospital food sucks. Why can't they serve real food, like bacon, and sausages, and hash browns, and french toast dripping in honey.
|W|P|108805542807406123|W|P|In Patient.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI first saw Pink Floyd perform live in Wembley Arena in 1986. It was 'A delicate sound of thunder' World Tour. There were about 70,000 people there, and the atmosphere was electric. Well, not electric, more like there was a hash haze floating above the crowd. Floyd came on and went through a series of old and new songs. I can't remember the playlist now, it's been too many years, but one thing that stuck in my mind were the intro bars to 'Doctor Who' being melded into 'One of these days'.
Pink FLoyd has remained one of my favourite listens over the years, and I bought their recent re-release of 'The Dark Side of the Moon', easily their best album in a list of good sounds. The 'Dark Side of the Moon' album holds the record for the longest duration in the Billboard 100 Albums.
|W|P|108754504381740275|W|P|Skating on thin ice.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
|W|P|108752035926275734|W|P|Girl Friday|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comAih...tech support liddat wan la....if you're doing tech support, everybody are idiots.
*Ring ring*
*Ring ring*
D (22 years old at the time) : [Company name], good morning, can I help you?
Client's secretary : D, you know that printer you installed yesterday? It's not working. My boss needs an urgent report and he's angry.
D : It was working when I left your office yesterday...
CS : Yah, but now not working, you come and see quick!
D : (Do I look like I give a f**k? I have a hangover from last night's tani session in Betelnut) But your office is on the other side of the city...what time do you expect me to be there?
CS : Please come and see lah...the boss is really upset.
D : I'm busy this morning, maybe after lunch. (If you pay our invoices on time you might get better service b*tch)
CS : Please lah D, I'll really appreciate it. Wait! Wait! Hold on ah!
CS : He wants to talk to you. Please come lah....
Client (Dato something or other, you've seen his building, even if you don't know his name) : [Barking tone] D! What the hell is this? The printer you installed yesterday isn't working!
D : Yes sir.
Dato C : Come over and sort it out immediately. *Bangs phone down*
D : Niameh, wtf do you think you are marn? *flings receiver across cubicle*
Boss : What's wrong?
D : Client says something wrong with the printer I installed yesterday, wants me to go and sort it out.
B : Are you busy this morning?
D : (I'm hungover you twit, I don't want to go out of the air conditioned office) Not really.
B : I suppose you'd better go and see it, but don't waste too much time. That customer always refuses to pay on time.
D : (Tell me something I don't know moron)
*goes down the lift, enters carpark, fires up 136hp motorcycle straight up to redline*
*walks in client's office*
CS : Ah D, thank you for coming so fast...please hurry...
Dato C : [Barking tone] Ah, there you are! Wtf took you so long?
D : *just taking off helmet and gloves* *wipes sweaty face* What seems to be the problem?
CS : The printer won't print.
D : Any error messages?
CS : No.
D : (WTF do you mean no?) *sits down at PC, Dato C tapping his foot, glaring*
D : *print c:\file.txt /c /d:lpt1*
Computer : *Blank*
D : (WTF?) *scratch head*
D : *Looks around at printer* (Dato C fuming like volcano)
D : *reaches over and switches printer on*
|W|P|108745785232406361|W|P|Tech Support.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI looked in my calendar today, and realise it is just 6 months till my current contract ends. I am a little worried, because I'm at that stage of my career where I'm balanced between getting the title Senior, and just being a plain old spanner monkey. And getting a new job will not be easy. If there are new projects starting up, then I will have the advantage. But considering the rather specialised field I work in, and the press comments made by the current Health Minister, the likelyhood of me having continued employment in this country is slim.
So, I'm considering my options. One will be a lateral transfer within the group local operations to another project. The other would be to seek employment within another local company. Or leave the country. Which is beginning to become a very attractive option. I would be paid in Euros for one thing. And be placed in a position of real responsibility. Probably in a project site located in the back of beyond. Which would be good, simply because living in a backwater project site for a couple of years with no opportunity to spend money would give me the chance to save a shit load of cash. Might suck if the Internet access is poor though. No more Girl Fridays.
After speaking with 2 of my colleagues, one of whom is leaving at the end of this month, a clearer picture of what I need to do is forming in my mind. Buying a yacht and sailing off to the South China Sea, whilst attractive, is no longer an option. Besides, yachting has been likened to standing in a cold shower running at full blast whilst tearing $50 bills in two.
|W|P|108737532357879556|W|P|Job Hunting.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
Saw this as I was walking to the lobby of the condo where I stay this evening. To the best of my recollection, the car had been parked there for the last 48 hours. I don't know if the owner is not around, or has decided to leave the car there. If nothing happens at the end of the week, I think I'll take the tow ropes out of the truck and drag it away to be sold as scrap. And I'll throw a party for my readers with the proceeds.
|W|P|108730301938966857|W|P|It could happen to you.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comOtherwise known as "100 mph tape". Beloved of racers of all classes, duct tape is a known life saver. Usually sold in a roll about 2 inches wide, duct tape was originally intended for just that, taping ducts. Air conditioning ducts need sealing at the joints to prevent conditioned air from escaping, and duct tape fulfilled that need. Until someone noticed that the glue on the tape, which was formulated to hold air pressure in, would also hold up to a high speed wind blast.
And thus an entire industry came to rely on duct tape to hold vital pieces of equipment together. I have used duct tape to keep fairings on, lights, seats, fuel tanks, pipes and various other components in place, form impromptu race numbers, seal beer coolers against theiving hands, cover up torn pants, seats and crotches, blank off speedometers to minimise the 'oh fuck!' factor, and many other uses too numerous to mention, including restraining recalcitrant pets and small children. In my twenty some years of riding, I have never ever seen a single racing motorcycle without a piece of duct tape somewhere on the machine. Or the rider.
Another good waste of duct tape is one of seeing how many rolls it takes to suspend someone from a vertical surface, like a wall. Typically, for a person weighing 150 lbs, 4-6 rolls of tape are used. Please note that removing duct tape from body hair is an extremely painful process, potentially resulting in the loss of friendship and the requirement for skin grafts.
Duct tape comes in many widths and colours, but the the best, and original, tape comes in a 2 inch width, and is a grey silver colour. The backing is a fibrous cloth, which is easy to tear width wise, but resists stretching and tearing in a longitudinal direction. Properly applied, duct tape will stay on in 100 mph plus wind, and will easily hold weights above 200 lbs.
The most famous iteration of duct tape was a serious of articles by Ed Hertfelder, which first appeared in the pages of 'Cycle' magazine in the 70s. Ed wrote about his adventures in motorcycling, notably off road riding, and the various characters which inhabited that wonderful world. He was notorious for including the 'pornographic' paragraph, which was intended to be edited out before printing, but gave the editorial staff some light relief. In one case, the editor managed to miss the paragraph, and the article was actually at the printers before some called to ask if this article was meant to be included in that month's printing. I once wrote a letter to Ed, when I was a young and new rider, and he was kind enough to send me a reply, which gave me encouragment to pursue my interest in this hobby.
Duct tape. Don't leave home without it.
|W|P|108727931592983278|W|P|Duct Tape.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comA week or so ago, I posted about 4 riders being forced to race at the track with shagged tyres because of a 'misinterpretation' of the rules. Shortly after, the track managers received the following letter. This letter was shown to the rider's committee, and I managed to obtain a copy from msportbike.com.
|W|P|108691904382931153|W|P|War of the Words.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comDear Sir, Re:Opposition to Verbal Regulations and Rider Ban by SIC for Pirelli Championships-Malaysian Superseries. With reference to the above mentioned race series, we would like to highlight to you an experience that we have encountered last weekend at Sepang. The 1st matter is that of tire usage. It was not stated in the SR or ASR of any 1 tire policy for Races 1& 2 however the COC Jeff Amin insisted that it was said in the rider’s briefing. We do not agree to this as it is not in specified anywhere in the official regulations and many riders including us did not hear about the above mentioned “verbal” regulations. Most of us since were not aware of that and kept on using the tires which we used for free practice qualifying and Race 1.By Race 2 the tires have been worn out. This raises another concern like safety not only for the rider but others as well in the sense that the rider has a higher chance of crashing due to tires inability to perform and thus endangering other riders as well as increasing the chance of the track being viable to oil spillages .etc. The 2nd issue is a verbal ban issued by Jeff Amin to our SMSA rider Matt Patterson based on his experience racing in the FIM Asian GP in 1995 which was 8 years ago! This is absolutely a non credible reason at all and not even stated in the SR which I attach with this letter. How is it possible for a rider to be banned when he is fast? Besides this there are a lot of other riders that are racing in the FIM Asian GP barely 2-3 years ago and now still racing in the series who are also competing in this such as Kenny Lee, Rod Scott and Ahmad Fuad Baharudin etc. This can be confirmed with Mr. Ron Hogg from Two Wheels Sdn Bhd the organizers for AARC. An excerpt from the Malaysian Superseries websites says in its aims for the series, “Promote healthier values & professinalsm in motorsports. Expand races regionally. Establish an infrastructure for professional training and evolution programs to produce world class racers Influnce changes in policies and regulations for motorsports advancement” -History,Malaysian Superseries Website This is absolute bullshit! Jeff Amin also requested that Matt ask everyone for their signature to say he is allowed to race is absolutely not right. I mean, if that was the way it worked in every level of racing, or sport then Valentino Rossi would be stopped from riding in MotoGP, Schumacher would have to stop F1 and Manchester United would have to stop playing football. All because they're better than the rest. What an invalid argument. Maybe they do not want the Championship to be anything other than a few Malaysians wobbling around. Strange. Imagine if they banned foreign riders from riding in the British Superbikes. It will go from being the best National Championship in the world, to just a local race with local guys. No TV, no exposure and no money. The organisers are wrong and their arguments are pathetic. Their made up on the sport regulations are going to kill the sport we love. No wonder they do not have any riders in GP's because they do not want to let the Championship grow. I hope SMSA will officially follow up on this and have a written reply instead of all “verbal” instructions and replies. This will be a demand to SIC otherwise we hope SMSA will go to higher level. Thank you. Regards, Anour Ramli Manager One RacingAnd this was Jeff Amin's reply...
9th June 2004 Miss Janet Lim Administrative Officer Singapore Motor Sports Association Fax: 03-6227 0911 Dear Janet, COMPLAINT FROM EN. ANOUR RAMLI Thank you for your fax and complaint letter from the above captioned person. I would first of all like to point out that the gentleman in question has no standing in the MSS series as he is not an entrant for Matthew Patterson. I would, however, like to clear the air on his grouses for the benefit of the sport as this letter is publicized in some web pages. 1. I have had the privilege of attending Formula 1 briefing at Sepang and whatever is discussed and agreed upon verbally is honoured. Mr. Peter Tan was taken to AAM Stewards by me to confirm that the rule applied. 2. Mathew Patterson has lived and worked in Thailand as a professional rider for my friend Collin Marshal. He raced a TZ racing bike (not production) in the UK before that. I spoke to Matt directly as he had no entrant (see attached entry form) and told him that this series was from inception meant for amateur riders and unfortunately I know his history. He did not object but requested to run in the round that coincides with our MotoGP. I turned him down. Non-sponsored riders who enter 1 or 2 rounds of the Asian Road Racing Championship does not constitute professional status. Anyway as En. Anour is not a bonafide entrant in our series, he has no business writing nasty letters. His derogatory remarks about SIC and Malaysian riders can be termed “Acts detrimental to Motorsports” in the National Competition Rules of AAM and can merit banning from races held in Malaysia if he chose to participate in future. In conclusion, for the sake of promotion and not destruction of motorsports, I suggest that En. Anour supports Matt Patterson in racing during the Malaysian Round of the Asian Road Racing Championship where he truly belongs. I am willing to help in any way I can on this matter for the sake of the sport. Yours Sincerely, JEFF AMIN Clerk of the Course Malaysian Super Series 2004 Copy: Mr. Ahmad Mustafa -General Manager, SIC Mr. S. N. Nanthan - AAM Mr. Peter Tan – SMSAWhat does all this mean? Well, what we have been trying very hard to avoid was a schism between the guys down south and us. They guys down south have it good, because they have access to duty free performance parts, duty free race machines and cheap tyres. Which puts the local riders at a disadvantage because we more or less pay double for everything. However, all of us at the track want to improve, and in racing, to improve, you have to be pushed, and hard, by someone who is faster and better. We do not mind 'pro' riders coming in. As was suggested by Nageb, perhaps a special category could be created for riders who are or were 'pro', in order that everyone has a more or less even chance of bringing home a tin cup. The field in all classes this year have increased tremendously, and this is good for everyone, riders, bike shops, the track, the sponsors...we need more riders. The more interest generated, the better it is. Racing is a game fueled by cubic dollars. And race teams can never get enough of it.
|W|P|108691678146657029|W|P|Girl Friday|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comGot this from Michael Ooi's, Hanyi's & auyong's blog.
1) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
[4. 6.35. 0.250. 5.89. 0.232 ]
2) Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
[ A tin of Aik Cheong Coffee]
3) What is the last thing you watched on TV?
[ The Dennis Rodman Story ]
4) WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:
[ 12.20 p.m.]
5) Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
[ 12.22 p.m. (it's a little fast) ]
6) With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
[ The office cleaner cleaning the floor, stoopid secretary making squealing sounds talking on the phone to her boyfriend in Tamil]
7) When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
[About 20 minutes ago for a cigarette ]
8) Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
[ The Forum ]
9) What are you wearing?
[ Dockers, work boots and golf shirt]
10) Did you dream last night?
[ Probably]
11) When did you last laugh?
[ About an hour ago, reading the Forum]
12) What is on the walls of the room you are in?
[ White drywall ]
13) Seen anything weird lately?
[ Definitely ]
14) What do you think of this quiz?
[ I'm amazed someone took the time to think this up, and I'm stupider for taking the time to fill it in]
15) What is the last film you saw?
[ The Matrix Revolutions ]
16) If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
[A 998RS ]
17) Tell me something about you that I don't know.
[ I have broken the speed limit in more countries that I care to count]
18) If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
[ Take away the power of speech from women]
19) Do you like to dance?
[ Do you tango? ]
20) George Bush: is he a power-crazy nutcase or some one who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?
[ I will not insult retards. ]
21 a) Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
[ Angel ]
21 b) Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
[ Richard (I didn't have a say in the matter) ]
22) Would you ever consider living abroad?
[ Consider? I have lived abroad. Oxymoronic question this. ]
|W|P|108685184501805285|W|P|Time Fillers.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
For Tharyn.|W|P|108668810039515648|W|P|Repost.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comTerribly sorry about the lack of an update. I've been trying to sort out several aspects of my life, not the least of which I only have access to this blog during office hours. And for some fucking reason work keeps getting in the way. Also the forum. And the List. And various chats happening at odd hours of the day. And that's what goes on on my terribly stressed out, very slow, POS laptop provided to me by this fucked up company who cannot tell who the valuable employees are and who are the time wasters and oxygen thieves.
I've just been tasked with yet another POS job, which resulted from the negligence of the 2 super-duper bubblehead consultants working here, who are un-qualified and incompetent. They were supposed to be checking the positions of the power supplies for the cabinets, but after examination, it appears that the power sockets are all over the fucking place. Some are too high, others too low, and some are just right. And if you're expecting the Three Bears, all I can give you is one very pissed off bear with a sore head and wonky knees.
The walkie talkie on my belt has been bleating the whole day. Non-stop. Because we have several installations running at the moment, 2 of which I am responsible for. But does anybody care? Nooooo. Because I now have to find the time to traipse across a building containing 6000 rooms, looking for 41 specific rooms, and 41 specific power sockets. And after determining if they are in the correct position, I have to see if they can be hooked into the Essential Services grid. Which, I've been reliably informed by Santos, is overloaded by a factor of 32% as this is being typed.
I had a fairly enjoyable weekend, some of which involved meeting up with friends. I met up with some of the bikers from another group that I hang around with, and we watched the Mugello GP on outdoor big screen TV, while chomping on satay and such. Very thrilling race indeed, and the rain coming down certainly put a twist on things. It was good seeing some of the faces I hadn't been in touch with for a while. Mike brought his girlfriend. He has earlier informed us via the website that we were not to disclose the true price of his motorcycle, or discuss the actual price of any performance gear, or tyres or anything. This was to preserve the peace in his household, and we all complied by not discussing anything motorcycle related in front of her. She must have thought we were weird, a bunch of bikers sitting down and talking about anything except bikes. She is very sweet though, and good looking, but somehow the idea of her and bikes doesn't seem to gel.
I am expecting a large heavy package from Fedex within the next week. Which will contain elements of a race engine, and other things needed for the silver lady. Oh joy! Oh happy day! Which will mean that a certain 955 will have to look out. Some people are going to get their arses kicked from here to turn 9.
|W|P|108667278178826677|W|P|Feather Dusters.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
To remind you what a 999R is.|W|P|108657955751382287|W|P|Race Faces.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com
|W|P|108631501672227424|W|P|Girl Friday|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI have the unfortunate privilege of working in an open plan office. I share the office with 5 other people. There are times when I wish that they would be more courteous and considerate of the other people. Things like personal phone calls can be very disruptive and distracting, especially the person speaking has no idea about volume control. I have absolutely no desire to learn that your aunt's maid ran away with the family jewels. And that the new secretary in the office downstairs might be fucking the boss' brains out. And playing music on your PC during office hours. Hey, you might like that ethnic shit that's playing on your machine, but I don't. If I were to start playing Metallica on my PC then you might understand what it feels like to me.
I have noticed that manners and consideration for others are traits that seem to have fallen by the wayside for many of us. We have grown so into that 'looking out for number one' thing that we have become selfish creatures, and only consider ourselves, and not spare a thought for our fellow man.
Is it really necessary to have a discussion with the colleague next to you at the top of your voice? Do I really want to see 50,000 koala bears balanced on the edge of your cubicle? Do you have to talk to your mother in your mother tongue when people around you are trying to have discussions and work? Do you have to set you fucking cell phone with its fucking polyphonic ring tone capability at full fucking volume when you're in the office? Do you really have to bring pungent, spicy, smelly food to your desk?
Work is trying and stressful enough at the best of times. Being selfish and inconsiderate only makes a tough job harder.
|W|P|108624850972717923|W|P|Cubicle Country.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comThe weekend was a mad rush. We managed a decent 5th place. Which resulted from a bike which is too heavy and slow, a rider not hanging his arse off the bike, and a field which suddenly grew exponentially. Several of the new riders are good, very good. And they have sponsorship, that holy grail of racing teams. A good sponsor allows you concentrate on racing. And developing your skills. Rather than worrying if you have enough money to buy a fresh set of tyres.
There was a small altercation on the weekend. The rules state that one set of tyres is to be used for the weekend. This is to ensure that costs are kept at a reasonable level, and that no one has a real advantage over the others based on tyres. There is only one make and type of tyres allowed, Pirelli Supercorsas in SC2 compound. Which are provided at a subsidised price by the maufacturer.
What happened was that 4 riders had used the set of tyres from the previous weekend for qualifying and race 1, and were about to install a fresh set of tyres for race 2. Which would effectively mean that they had the advantage of 2 sets of tyres for the weekend. The Clerk of Course called for a Rider's meeting, and asked whether the 4 riders would be allowed to run a fresh set of tyres, and the unanimous decision was that 'rules are rules', and the 4 riders would have run on very shagged tyres, with the attendant risk of sliding out and crashing.
The temperature on the track was extremely unforgiving, and the tyres were being consumed at a furious pace. I pitied the 4, because it meant that they would have ride very conservatively indeed. But, that's racing.
"If you drop it, I'll kill you."
|W|P|108606266657580309|W|P|Hot, hot, hot.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.comI was reading the papers over the weekend, and I came across an article about professional accountability at ministerial level. Which got me thinking. Because the article pointed several instances of ministers and heads of departments in other countries being held accountable for the mistakes made by their subordinates and others under their area of responsibility. And which caused them to resign their position. I believe the head of the BBC was also made to resign some time ago (I'm not sure, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm too fucking lazy to do the research, yadda, yadda, yadda), after a fuck up of some sort by one of the divisions in the BBC.
I rarely see that happening here. Ministers in our government hold themselves to be above the law, and will never, ever, be responsible for the mishaps that are directly caused by their ministries, departments or subordinates. They don't mind hanging the poor subordinate out to dry, but they themselves remain inviolate. Whatever happened to the notion of being held accountable and responsible?
In the armed forces, should a mistake be committed by a front line soldier in the performance of an order issued by his commanding officer, the officer who issued the order is held accountable for the mistake, provided that the order was properly issued and legal. The defence of "I was just following orders" is no longer held to be valid after Nurenberg, and any soldier, provided he knows that such orders are valid, legal and issued by the proper authority, is obliged to follow them, with the provisio that the soldier knows that provided he executes the orders to the best of his ability, the officer who issued the order is responsible for them.
Responsibility is a lesson taught repeatedly to officers intending to command a body of men. The fact that you, and you alone, are responsible for the well being, care, feeding, health, morale, training, everything, for a group of men who are looking to you for direction and leadership, is not easy to learn and accept. Respect is something that is earned. And if an officer should betray the men under his command, the very least that would happen is the officer being relieved of duties, at the worse, being cashiered.
I'd like to see the same rules being applied to fat arse politicians who think that the world owes them a living.
|W|P|108605442630497892|W|P|Accountability.|W|P|Desmosedici@gmail.com