Twenty20 cricket & premier leagues

Twenty20 cricket is the new cash cow; the Indian Premier League is the clear leader, to use the term commercial success is an understatement. Estimates of slightly over $3 billion brand value are attributed to the IPL; international players are purchased via auction, who wouldn't want to be part of the action?

Former test players Kevin Pieterson and Andrew Flintoff were paid $1.7 million in 2009, Sachin Tendulkar was paid $2 million in 2011, Shane Warne got $2 million in 2011, Brett Lee was paid $1 million in 2008 and Adam Gilchrist was paid $1 million in 2011. Apparently giving away international test cricket for lucrative IPL contracts lessens the pain when test careers end. Indian crowds are happy to see former international stars of the game in action and are willing to pay handsomely for it.

Despite playing his last test in 2009, Andrew Flintoff still gets a game in Australia's Big Bash League, Kevin Pieterson gets a gig for the Melbourne Stars and some guest commentary appearances and Brett Lee is still bowling express pace at age 38; his last test match was against the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the MCG in 2008. The BBL attracts current international players too, Lasith Malinga has been bowling express pace in the BBL for a number of years.

The Caribbean Premier League was renamed after tournament sponsor Allen Stanford was arrested for fraud, originally a private competition, the West Indies Cricket Board now runs the show. While less international players flock to CPL, renowned spin wiz Muttiah Muralitharan among others play during the season, he also consults as a spin coach for the Australian Cricket Board.

The Sri Lankan Premier League is still having a number of organisational issues, naturally, Twenty20 instigators England have a strong league as do other test playing nations with countries such as Nepal, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Bermuda all sporting teams. Twenty20 cricket is fast building an international reputation with huge player salaries funded by broadcast rights and immense consumer interest.

The long black

The long black is prepared by pouring a double-shot of espresso or sometimes ristretto over hot water with the water heated by the espresso machine. Unlike the Americano that is prepared by adding hot water to the espresso shot, a long black retains the crema and is less voluminous and therefore more strongly flavoured.

The long black has been my choice of coffee in Australia, its strong and robust flavour provides a long lasting coffee. I struggle to find a long black when travelling in South East Asia; I can't stand that watery Americano rubbish so a double espresso is usually the choice of beverage, its just unfortunate to drink an espresso when you aren't in a rush and want to just take a seat and relax.

Working for free in the recreational diving industry

The recreational diving industry is a relatively low paid industry; yet a large number of professionals inhabit the industry and work with an immense amount of pride. As a former dive centre manager; I was constantly approached by divemasters, assistant instructors and scuba instructors offering their services for free diving. This action undermines the whole recreational dive industry, drives down wages, service and conditions - I refused to hire anyone who offered their services for free.

Generally these people offering their services are on holiday; usually they either have two weeks, three months or six months away from home. So, they take their holidays, work for free, in their mind they get free dives and then leave after eroding local conditions. The local divemasters and instructors; that is those who live in that area who are struggling to make a living, support families and pay bills - it is their pay and conditions that have been traded for free dives.      

That being said, I wholeheartedly support internships for divemaster trainees; the greater exposure to actual diving operations, guiding certified divers, assisting entry-level diver programs, guiding divers on continuing education, retail sales and boat operations all build divemaster competency. But keep in mind, the divemaster trainee pays their course fee and are a customer of the dive shop, if they work out, they may be offered a job in the future.     

If your services are offered for free - that is generally what they are worth.

Leeuwin Estate Riesling on a hot summer afternoon

A summer afternoon, it was thirty plus degrees after knocking off work late. So it was time to grab a bottle of Leeuwin Estate Riesling and head around for a drink with my old man. Exquisite floral flavours punctuate this wine with citrus overtures of lemon sorbet and lime; despite my general lack of interest in Riesling, I found the wine to be pretty refreshing on a hot February afternoon.

I was actually pretty happy with my choice this afternoon after I thought it could go either way, this is a great bottle of wine and will star in a few more Friday afternoon drinks.

Vanessa Mae and Dizzy up the Girl

I had an amazing girlfriend living in Perth on a short term student visa who had to return to Switzerland for not only Christmas but forever, leaving me hanging in Perth - this was for all intense purposes the end of our oh so short and passionate relationship. Reluctantly, I had been searching music stores for one particular CD; much to chagrin, this CD couldn't be found anywhere - damn.

So dropping her at Perth International Airport; the check-in line for Singapore Airlines was long, I decided to wander around and burn up some time, this was a fairly miserable day for me; better to be doing something - anything to take my mind off our final farewell.

Meeting her at the Dome Cafe near the departures entrance, it was a fairly solemn occasion, not many words were exchanged, the mood was somber and body language awkward and subdued. This was the moment I had been dreading; I felt like I was not far away from flicking the switch on the life support system and waiting for the heartbeat to flatline. She reached into her hand luggage and looking away handed me a CD of The Four Seasons by Vanessa Mae, she knows I love the work of Vivaldi and a violin concerto.

I reached around my produced from the back on my pants Dizzy up the Girl by the Goo Goo Dolls, the alternate American rock band I really love. She produced a walkman from her hand luggage, this scene occurred more than a decade ago so portable CD players were still in vogue.

I told her to select track 11 and immediately Iris sprang to life, in my view the greatest pop song written. This is the point, the cracks in her facade formed, her face started to contort and then the tears suddenly flowed freely. In one last desperate attempt while waiting for her to check-in, I had a look through the music selection alongside Dome Cafe and the album that had eluded me for weeks suddenly materialised. This was the point I knew the relationship would survive, this wasn't the end, this was the beginning.

She finally departed with a tortured face and beaten demeanor; she still had to leave but now with red eyes, tear tracks etched in her face and a look of total resignation. She told me later the immigration official took one look at her and inquired "why are you leaving?" and between sobs she replied "I don't know."

So six weeks later, I am back at Perth International Airport this time full of hope and anticipation. The words of Johnny Rzeznik's "You're the closest to heaven that I've ever been and I don't want to go home right now" followed by "When everything is made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am" rang true and loud, this was the moment she decided to return, this was the penultimate point in our relationship - this was the rebirth.

The Jayakarta Bali

Sitting on my deckchair overlooking Kuta Beach at the Jayakarta Bali, I felt the cool breeze on my face punctuated by the rhythmic sounds of rolling surf, this was relaxing - this was living.

The odd motorbike broke the solitude, there wasn't much traffic then, we were a week or so off the high season, people were still at work and preparing for their Christmas holidays. My holidays started two weeks before Christmas, my roster allowed me to end the year early and I feel fortunate to be in Bali before the rush.

My time out the front enjoying the conditions was drawing to a close, dark clouds massed on the horizon, the delicate breeze that was providing me cool relief from the ravages of the tropical sun have substantially increased.

The perimeter flag cracks from the rapid increase in wind strength, I now no longer have a faint covering of fresh sweat on my body, I could feel the moisture in the air.

It was time to move, I didn't mind walking back I the rain, it is February now and back in the work mode, Perth in summer is hot and dry, my pre-Christmas Bali break is a just distant memory now.

Corporate universities

A growing trend is the emergence of the corporate university; this strategic tool in organisational learning achieves its goals by fostering individual and organisational learning targeting highly specific outcomes applicable to their particular business.

Known as the Harvard of the fast food business, McDonald's Illinois based Hamburger University opened in 1961 by McDonalds' founder Ray Kroc. Training is aligned to specific career paths for outlet staff (I just can't force myself to use the term restaurant), facility managers, mid-managers and executives. The use of classroom instruction, eLearning, practical activities and goal based scenarios allows flexible modes of delivery receiving college credits from the American Council of Education.

The Caterpillar University, also Illinois based opened in 2001, aligns training for dealers, suppliers and employees targeting the operational areas of safety, operator training and machine service and repair. I know first hand, the quality of their training materials is very high with the obvious specific focus on the Caterpillar range of machinery.

Seeking to increase innovation and productivity, the leader in Six Sigma business productivity utilising eLearning delivery methodology. The Singaporean government increased investment with coaching and mentoring strategies for Six Sigma, lean management and business process re-engineering at the Motorola University.

The growing influence of the corporate university will accelerate; however, the term university seems to be a misdemeanor, these focused learning institutions generally meet the requirements of in-house training in vocational education and training offering training and development opportunities to corporations and their employees boosting productivity.   

The study of business ethics

I'm not sure if the study of business ethics extends to sitting on a Balinese deckchair on a warm tropical afternoon with a cool sea breeze offering relief. After all, the resorts of Bali were built on the exploitation of local the Balinese inhabitants and other Indonesian people - their forced labour has long been forgotten.

Yet, you have to appreciate the flexibility of online education and its effectiveness can't be denied. Sure, I still have to sit through recorded video lectures, links to short youtube videos, read academic presentation notes, Adobe Connect sessions and of course the textbook. The global nature of business ethics is reflected in the textbook, Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization from Oxford University Press.

There is still academic papers to be written, joining online discussion tutorials, a number of short online tests and a two and a quarter hour written examination at the end. But with a half decent internet connection, most coursework is performed on my tablet. The best part is, this and other courses are offered on-campus full-time, part-time or off-campus and we just watch and listen to recordings of the actual lecture.

With the exception of the written examination where I actually have to show up at on-campus or a designated examination centre, ironically at my college of employment, all coursework is done off-campus. As long as you learn the concepts, why burn up your time in lecture halls forgoing fulltime employment income when you learn the concepts and then apply the principles in the workplace the next day. I'm taking a short break to write this blog post, oh well back to the textbook and time to distinguish the difference between egoism and utiltarianism.