Polo - Red

Taking on a new aftershave, I decided on Polo Red by Ralph Lauren as the spicy overtones really had a bit of bite - this turned out to be a great daily aftershave.

Checking the notes, I began to find out where the bite comes from, this was a far more complex fragrance than I expected. This eau de toilette from perfumer Olivier Gillotin opens with red grapefruit with notes of cranberry and Italian lemon. Red sage, red saffron and lavender form the base tapering off with red wood, hot amber and coffee beans - I'm happy I decided to pick up the new fragrance, it really is red hot.

The joy of banca diving

The outrigger style banca boat is common throughout the Philippines; I love diving from these boats with their outriggers lashed together with fishing line keeping the narrow hull stable. Landing on Apo Island after the first dive, we took our lunch on the banca before heading over to wander the beach and look around the village.

Diving in Anilao, the surface interval saw us come ashore after landing on the back beach to walk around to the main beach on the island, the scenic locations surrounding the dive sites make for a great day out.

Cruising around Pandan Island, the beautiful clear waters of this remote island provide great sloping dive environments. The banca would drop us off at the site and we would swim back to the shore following the bottom topography.

A larger style banca at Sogod Bay, Leyte carries us across the bay to the walls, this larger style banca is pretty stable and very powerful. The locals take an old diesel engine from a truck that has been scraped and bolt it in the hull transmission and all, they connect the drive to the propeller shaft and they have propulsion.

This small banca doesn't offer a whole lot of shade protecting us from the beautiful Filipino summer days, we were crammed under the shade before getting back in the water.

Bancas are built for their environment; the small propeller and shaft is mounted almost perpendicular to the keel, the small rudder makes steering difficult, these boats can navigate extremely shallow water, an essential trait in these high tidal areas.

2010 Leeuwin Estate shiraz

A winter's evening and Friday night, a good enough reason to stop off on the way from work, this was the first time at this bottle shop to purchase a bottle of wine; I immediately regretted turning off the road and walking into this place - this wasn't a great establishment to be purchasing top level wines.

The art series shiraz displays notes of cherry with mulberry layers on the foretaste with smooth oak notes holding the central palete together and dark chocolate providing complexity in the aftertaste. The tasting notes state violets, toasted brûlée with hints of mocha add elegance and sophistication - all in all, I thought this was a pretty good wine and I will purchasing more in the future.

Dames & knights - a thowback to a bygone era

What was Tony Abbott thinking? Abbott never consulted cabinet, yet he reintroduced monarchical titles that had been retracted since the Whitlam era. Had Abbott consulted cabinet, the answer would have been a resounding - NO.

Yet Abbott decided to push forward with knights and dames anyway. Now that Tony Abbott has been deposed as the third Prime Minister in five years through an internal vote. Will republican Malcolm Turnbull immediately repeal knighthoods? I can't see such a title remaining long in Turnbull's Prime Ministership. There is no need for such titles in the modern Australian society - what Gough Whitlam did was brush aside outdated ideals. Liberal Prime Ministers Malcolm Fraser and John Howard refused to reintroduce knighthoods; not only that, Tony Abbott not only reintroduces such an award, he then goes and knights Price Phillip for services to Australia - you have to be joking. When Joe Hockey informed us the age of entitlement was over, who would have guessed it would be replaced by the age of titlement.

A Parisian ending

Who in their right mind goes to Paris to break up? I do apparently. This was the sad end to the defining relationship in my life, how did it come to this? Well, I don't know exactly, I can only reflect on the events leading up to Paris.

Back track three months to Morcone Beach, Elba, Italy. We had been apart, I felt like I was now in exile, I had been bundled off from Zurich, never to return. My departure from Zurich bahnoff had been one of resignation, it looked like the end for us.

Yet after a month or so into my exile, a change of heart; she jumped in her dark green Mitsubishi Colt and driven south from Zurich to Elba. The reunion though wasn't as I had expected, I was understandably defensive and somewhat aloof.

So here we were, sitting on the rockface surrounding Morcone Beach, tears streaming down her swollen eyes shaded by sun glasses; her words rang out "I can't marry you." While I pointed out that before she can reject a marriage proposal, it is universally accepted that first, I actually have to propose. While that principle was largely ignored by her, I fully understood the ramifications.

So we entered into this pact, I would return to Zurich with her and we would not discuss this moment ever again, we would go about our relationship as if each day was the last. We would enjoy each moment for what it was; the Swiss are wonderfully pragmatic and less wonderfully so, dogmatic.

That was however if she didn't have a change of heart, our relationship officially had an end date, if she wanted, she could just say so and our relationship could move to the next level. I had a ticket departing from Charles de Gaul and when I left, that would be it.

I kept my end of the bargain, there was no relationship hassles, no awkward questions, no stress. I went about our business as if nothing had happened, I was sad but I wasn't going to express that emotion in front of her.

So here we were at Paris Orly, her departure was a day before mine, we had silently caught a bus together to the airport. I walked her to the departure gate and that is when the verbal assault erupted, "How could I be so unfeeling as to show no emotion?" and "Why didn't I discuss this relationship with her?"

I was in disbelief, I did what she asked, her anger had now boiled over and then more disbelief, she was waiting for me to discuss with her our relationship, she didn't want this relationship to end after all.

I should have picked up before that, she pointed out that when we first arrived in Paris and stood on a bridge viewing the Eiffel Tower, she started to cry. Well yeah, I noticed her crying but I quickly dismissed it out of hand, she is difficult to understand, we were already in Paris by this stage and she had given no indication before that.

So in scenes reminiscent in my mind of the ending of Casablanca, she headed towards the boarding lounge and I was left to round up the usual suspects. We had however put on quite a show, this wasn't our first airport scene and I had the feeling this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

So ok, there was no fog, no guns drawn and I didn't view the whole scene in black & white - I still think this scene was noteworthy. We were back on, that's all that mattered.

The day after, I headed off to Charles de Gaulle airport, I had to be back in Perth for the wedding of my brother and his soon to be wonderful wife on the banks of the Swan River at midday, there was plenty happening for me to take my mind off this unusual encounter.

Delayed again

Singapore Airlines has done it again, we have gone past our departure time, no announcements - nothing. The Singapore Airlines staff are all huddled up the end of the departure lounge joking and laughing - what about some customer service and tell us what is going on?

We look out of the glass of the departure lounge and we can see the aircraft parked at the loading area. We can see doors open and activity going on, we know the aircraft isn't delayed - it is there in front of us.

I have connecting flights and pick-ups arranged; the connections are tight, delays mean I miss connections and I will have to cancel pick-ups from the destination airport. I have to be at work tomorrow; this affects my employment too, they don't seem to understand that. As passengers, we understand that delays take place from time to time; how about treating your customers with respect and let them know what is going on.

This is becoming typical arrogant Singapore Airlines behaviour; people are wandering up to the counter to find out what is going on, we are 30 minutes past our departure time, not boarding time and we still don't know what is going on. This is not a budget airline, this is a full service airline, this is what you pay for yet you are treated as a budget airline customer.

Dive Bali

While not universally known for its diving, Bali has plenty to offer the travelling diver. While the majority of divers are in Bali on stop overs for more exciting locations throughout the Indonesian archipelago, a number of sites offer some interesting areas of diversity.

Heading up to Tulamben is well worth the drive for the fabulous Liberty wreck, likewise, just nearby is Tulamben Wall. Not far from Tulumben is Amed, a great place to stay with plenty of dive opportunities, small guest houses and accommodation and great restaurants. For me, my favourite choice of dive sits is Menjangan Island on Bali's north west coast, less frequently dived due to its long trip from Kuta, this excellent site is mostly overlooked by the crowds.

A boat trip allows divers to access the waters around Nusa Penida, this area is known for drift diving due to its ripping currents, Mola Mola are sighted in this area during distinctive seasons and well worth a look. I don't care much for diving around Nusa Dua, this shallow water region is located close to the five star resorts of Bali and is outrageously expensive for a mediocre dive in warm water - best to avoid.

OpenOffice

What a great open source office suite this software program is; OpenOffice is based on StarOffice software purchased by Sun Microsystems for internal use. Naturally, OpenOffice software is a competitor for Microsoft's Office Suite and I hope more businesses get on board to support the product.

The program is good, whilst compatibility issues are still present one hopes businesses are willing to take the program on board and run with it. Microsoft have traditionally held the absolute market share, new entrants to the market have the opportunity to erode the market dominance of Microsoft. It is not that I am a Microsoft hater, I just want to see competition in the market, in fact, I am a huge fan of what the Bill Gates Foundation has achieved in regards to philanthropy and social justice.
  

I like the program, it is simple, reliable and works well. Not only that, it creates competition in the market and whilst I envision big businesses maintaining Microsoft products, the real driver could be small to medium businesses driving the program support.  

Core values of the Australian Liberal Party

The Liberal Party is a centre right political party founded in 1944 by Sir Robert Menzies, the longest serving Australian Prime Minister from 1949 to 1966. The Liberal Party first rose to power in 1949 after the initial election loss in 1946 and remained in office until 1972, a period of 23 years - the longest unbroken run in Australian political history. The political party was named Liberal for its associations with progressive nineteenth century free enterprise and social equality ideals.

The ideological framework and core values of the Liberal party is built on the foundations of freedom, choice and enterprise. There has been a narrative presented that the Liberal party is the party of big business, this could not be further from the truth as all major political parties deal with large business, the Liberal party represents small to medium business encouraging entrepreneurship and free enterprise. 

The Liberal party represents the middle class of Australia deemed then as the forgotten people, although a narrative has been put forward that the party represents the upper classes, this is simply not true. During formation, party leadership shared a common belief that Australians should be given greater personal freedom and choice than that what was offered under post world war two socialist plans. Robert Menzies believed the time was right for a new political force in Australia - one which fought for the freedom of the individual and produced enlightened liberal policies.

Citing Robert Menzies, Senator George Brandis stated at the Alfred Deakin lecture at the University of Melbourne "As the etymology of our name 'Liberal' indicates, we have stood for freedom. We have realised that men and women are not just ciphers in a calculation, but are individual human beings whose individual welfare and development must be the main concern of government ... We have learned that the right answer is to set the individual free, to aim at equality of opportunity, to protect the individual against oppression, to create a society in which rights and duties are recognised and made effective."

The Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party with the stated objectives of the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange. In short, the Australian Labor Party seeks to eliminate exploitation and other perceived anti-social features of capitalism. The Australian Labor Party is a centre/left political persuasion forming the political wing of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Immediately following the aftermath of the first world war and the Russian Revolution; support for socialism grew in trade union ranks with the formalisation of the socialist objective in Australia. Originally registered in 1908 as the Australian Labour Party inspiring trade union representation of the division of labour, the name was changed to the American spelling of labor in 1912 signifying the influence of the American trade union movement.

Incumbent Labor governments have not attempted the democratic socialisation of any industry after the Chifley government spectacularly failed to nationalise private banks immediately in the aftermath of the second world war. Not only did the Chifley government lose government, the Australian Labor Party remained in the political wilderness until 1972, a period of 23 years.

The highly competent Hawke government of the 1980s and early 1990s implemented the Campbell report into the Australian Financial System floating the Australian dollar, deregulation of the financial system that saw foreign banks established in Australia, further opening up the tariff system, ended government subsidation of loss making government industries and privatisation of government departments and assets. 

The irony of the Hawke government position saw government deregulation and a number of high profile privatisations of government assets including the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas directly opposing Labor party doctrine - yet, the Hawke government was the most successful Labor government.

Overlooked for promotion

You ask yourself, how could this happen to me? You did everything right, you worked harder than everyone else producing excellent results - you are a workplace leader. You know deep down, you challenge the manager's authority and you suspect this is the reason why you were overlooked for the promotion despite the fact that you act as the team leader and spokesperson in an unofficial role.

Looking to get leaped over by those less technically competent is difficult to fathom, especially when my manager has absolutely no idea what is actually going on in the workplace. They are the number cruncher, the paper shuffler but you are the leader, the motivator, the technically proficient driver of change. We all know workplaces are driven by interpersonal relationships - how did it come down to this?

Your manager doesn't like your brash outspoken persona, when they try to unload their responsibilities on you, it is a simple process to check their job description and point out in no uncertain terms that they need to do their job so you can do yours. Or maybe they need to rewrite your job description with the necessary increase in salary; maybe they need to explain to their boss why this is so, one suspects their salary won't be reduced accordingly.

Unlike most people, you look forward to your performance review as you know the real reason for such a review is to see what the manager has to do for you to perform your job efficiently. This is your opportunity to control the review, not to sit idly by whilst criticism flows freely and you and forced to defend your actions. Turn the situation around, you control the meeting and all of a sudden they have to defend their decisions and conduct. To be sure, you had better be well prepared.

But at the end of the day, you know the manager likes the other guy better than you; really, the manager doesn't like you at all, if it was legal to run you down in the carpark, they probably would. Even though you have not come out and said it, they suspect that you don't respect them yet you work with them in a professional manner. Do you need to call their professionalism into question? Are you able to lodge a formal grievance? It has been said, people don't leave jobs, they leave managers - how true this is.

Diving with a snorkel

I hate snorkels, I don't think I have dived with one in 20 years. When I started scuba diving; like most new participants I had one mounted on my mask until I worked out how much it annoyed me.

I don't recall the point I took the snorkel off my mask, there was no defining moment for me. I had started out, like all new divers following the rules that had been laid out in my open water course, blindly following what I was told to do.

The snorkel has entanglement issues, this has the potential to break the seal on the mask causing flooding, I have seen time and time again freshly minted divers confuse their snorkel with their inflator - a serious buoyancy issue. Yet why do scuba certification agencies such as PADI maintain as a requirement that divers in training must wear snorkels?

Corporate finance - will I ever really use this?

Writing about my MBA experience, I try to reflect on what I have done and what I am attempting to achieve. Somehow I managed to fumble my way through the corporate finance unit, I even received a 65% credit; yet, I would feel less than comfortable in working in a actual finance environment. 

I get the feeling this is one of the units I have to get through and in my case; hopefully to never to use this skill set again. Sure I have utilised finance principles in my personal business dealings, doing this for someone else is a whole new ball game for me.

This is by far the hardest unit I have undertaken; I am relieved this ordeal is over and I hope I don't have to undertake anything like this in the future. As I seek to relaunch my management career from the private sector to the state government payroll, I am wondering if I will ever use such skills as a mid-level manager. 

I have gained a new respect for corporate finance practitioners; this would be a tough full-time role with tons of analysts packed in offices working diligently for the large stockbroking, banking and finance companies.

In many respects, I am glad I am way too old to break into this industry; I am just hoping be am able to hold my own in meetings in the future and not embarrass myself too much.