2010 May » MACinations

As we grow older, we are supposed to grow wiser. Many of the people I know are living proof of the wrongness of that assumption. Here are a few things I have learned over the last 51 years that all seem now to make sense.

This post is dedicated to them..:-)
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TRUTHS FOR MATURE HUMANS

1. Part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing hurts more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Google Maps really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection … again.
13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this — ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Bugger!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to an answering machine. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste!
17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my cell phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
20. I would rather try to carry ten over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take two trips to bring in my groceries.
21. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
22. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
23. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
24. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
25. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
26. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber and dumber every year?
27. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
28. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what my mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.
29. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
30. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from three feet away. In about 1.7 seconds. Eyes closed. First time, every time.

Catherine Deveny, erstwhile columnist for The Age in Melbourne, was sacked after her Tweets from The Logies were deemed “vulgar and inappropriate” by some media personalities (watch the video here from 3AW ) and even offensive by some. I’m not saying that I laughed at the comment about Rove McMannus – that one I thought a little crass.

But the one about Bindi Irwin ? I nearly pee’d myself laughing. It’s called a SENSE OF HUMOR people ! It was funny BECAUSE it was inappropriate, and ridiculous.

She wasn’t advocating child sex or paedophilia or anything, she was having a go at The Logies – one of THE most pointless exercises in television.

What happens at the after-party ? People get drunk, people get high, people get laid (get any Logie attendee to deny it, please !)

Apart from Catherine’s questionable sense of humor (which, strangely enough, parallels my own), it raises the interesting point of when is what you say on Twitter (or any social media or blog site) subject to employer scruitiny and when isn’t it ?

Leaving aside, for the moment, the actual content of the tweet (or Facebook posting, or blog posting or WHATEVER), consider these three scenarios;

1. You post on your own time, on your own computer or other device
2. You post on your own time, but use a company-supplied device (and this includes while at lunch, which is YOUR time, not the company’s)
3. You post on company time using a company supplied device.

Let’s examine each of these in turn;

1. Your time, your device. This is a no brainer. It’s NOTHING to do with the company / department / etc. Absolutely ZERO. Anything else is an unwarranted invasion of privacy. Any company that sacked you for this reason would leave themselves open to a really nasty Wrongful Dismissal lawsuit. Unless, of course, you say something libellous or defamatory, no matter how true it may be. If you do, then you deserve to be canned.

2. Your time, their device. A little grey. Does accessing that particular site / service contravene some anal Code of Conduct or Acceptable Internet Usage Policy that the company insists you adhere to ? Even when you are at lunch ? Even when you are using a company-supplied smartphone or laptop at home on your own internet connection ? I highly doubt the company could do anything about your actual posting other than censure you for breach of the aforementioned policies, and if you’re not accessing the ‘net through their network or VPN, then I can’t see it’s any of their business.

3. Their time, their gear. Another no-brainer. They pay you to work at whatever it is you do, not to post irrelevant stuff to the ‘net. They probably COULD use this as a basis for disciplinary action or dismissal, although under Australian law it would probably have to be as a breach of their policies, rather than the actual content of the post itself.

Of course, I’m open to discussion on these points and happy to be proven wrong..:-)

But what happens if you are, for example, in the Armed Forces ?

The Armed Forces in Australia (and probably elsewhere) have specific rules and regulations regarding the use of social media and, as you are “employed” 24/7 by them then it could be questionable whether or not you actually HAVE any time of your own. But you knew that going in, didn’t you ?

Comments please..

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