The totally off-topic thread

[whatmeworry]

Have you seen the Scottish team's uniform?
View attachment 32460

It's perhaps a slight improvement on the uniform for the KL games in '98
View attachment 32461

Oh God my eyes are burning!

 

[whatmeworry]

Prices are over $200 for a brand name, and I need the capacity for my iTunes library when travelling.

For that money you could get a cheaper portable hard drive with 2TB.

 

[Wozz]

For that money you could get a cheaper portable hard drive with 2TB.

I bought a 2TB WD passport portable drive for about $140 the other day.

Keep an eye out on MSY for specials - you can sometimes pick up stuff at pretty good value

 

[Major]

For those who are visiting DXB you might keep an eye out for these

http://www.youtube.com/v/tjPUGMJ86

 

[whatmeworry]

Aussie Lawn bowler lost 63 kg.] to win Gold.
Matthew Flapper, the Australian lawn bowler who lost 63kg to chase gold medal

 

[samh004]

Got my EEG results. Doctor noted some abnormal activity spikes but all were under a second. Dee-Anne says when I'm asleep they last in the seconds up to minutes of convulsions.

Dosage increased from 800mg/day to 1400mg/day with another EEG and blood test in August.

All this medical activity has seen me hit my medicare threshold for the year!

 

[medhead]

Doing a job application declaration form. This question seems ok:

Have you ever been dismissed from a job?

But the next question is a complete WTF moment:

How you ever resigned from any previous employment including by retirement?

No, I like to just disappear and keep them guessing. or perhaps No, I've always left my previous jobs by dying. Seriously if you haven't been sacked how the hell else do you leave a job if not by resigning.

 

[whatmeworry]

Doing a job application declaration form. This question seems ok:

Have you ever been dismissed from a job?

But the next question is a complete WTF moment:

How you ever resigned from any previous employment including by retirement?

No, I like to just disappear and keep them guessing. or perhaps No, I've always left my previous jobs by dying. Seriously if you haven't been sacked how the hell else do you leave a job if not by resigning.

Seems both questions are delving into the realms of privacy issues.

I know that potential employers are not allowed to contact former employers unless you authorise them or they could be breaching your privacy. So it seems both questions, in a bit of an underhanded way are trying to get you to disclose private information.

 

[markis10]

Went to the funeral today of my great Auntie Norma, a long term QF employee long since retired. I remember going to see her in Chiffley Square, and getting my first Golden Roo Pin, as a kid it was priceless and no doubt helped to put aviation in my blood, be it as a passenger or pilot or ATC. I do hope the bean counters remember the spirit of the Qantas.

 

[markis10]

Doing a job application declaration form. This question seems ok:

Have you ever been dismissed from a job?

But the next question is a complete WTF moment:

How you ever resigned from any previous employment including by retirement?

No, I like to just disappear and keep them guessing. or perhaps No, I've always left my previous jobs by dying. Seriously if you haven't been sacked how the hell else do you leave a job if not by resigning.

I suppose you can retire due to ill health, which si what I suspect they are looking for, although its probably not a legal question.

 

[medhead]

Seems both questions are delving into the realms of privacy issues.

I know that potential employers are not allowed to contact former employers unless you authorise them or they could be breaching your privacy. So it seems both questions, in a bit of an underhanded way are trying to get you to disclose private information.

There are some other good ones there as well. Criminal convictions including road traffic act. Are camera detected offenses criminal? But having only 4 since I started driving in 1988 made it easy to give up the info.

I suppose you can retire due to ill health, which si what I suspect they are looking for, although its probably not a legal question.

And they asked about illnesses as well.

Just a game.

 

[anat0l]

For the job which I am taking up in five weeks time in Switzerland, one of the questions I was asked was my marital status.

I believe this answer has some tax implications.

 

[medhead]

I think I've caught something from JohnK. Usual situation of having the only person in a middle seat in about the first 5 rows of economy next to me tonight. Boarded rather late to see someone sitting in my seat. Then realised that 3C, including shadow, was empty. Ok, who am I to argue. Then about 20 minutes after take off, smell! The gaseous emissions continued for the whole flight. Pretty sure it wasn't me, as there was no smell when I went for an extended slow walk to the back.


In other news VA has now broken their record of consistent service (for me) tonight. The cabin supervisor was rude and outright lied to me about all overheads in business being full. Sent my bag down the back somewhere. So I got to sit there while the whole aircraft disembarked including at least 4 or 5 people around me collecting bags from business overheads. Got to notice at least 2 whole empty sections in business overheads. Found out that the pilot/s had decided to stash their luggage and take half an overhead over row 3. And the best bit, hearing them discussing why I was just sitting there waiting for everyone to get off the plane. I don't mind being treated like everyone else on the plane, but lying and rudeness is unacceptable. /rant

 

[anat0l]

In other news VA has now broken their record of consistent service (for me) tonight. The cabin supervisor was rude and outright lied to me ...

See for me this is slightly ambiguous. When you say "broke a record" does that mean that you had a good record for a while and now with this incident your good run has stopped, or does it mean you've had a bad record for a while and it is now even longer than you've had in a period of time?

VA can be a mixed bag (pun intended) as to whether the FAs get quite defensive about guarding the J overheads only for J, even if J is nowhere near capacity. It would likely be more pragmatic if, as doors are shut and manifest signed, if there is space in the J overheads then to at least move crew bags which may have been occupying Y overheads into any vacant J overheads, if possible.

And of course, given that row 3 (and exit rows) has no choice but to put bags up, this is even more crucial.

 

[JohnM]

For the job which I am taking up in five weeks time in Switzerland

Your first post-doc anat0l​?

 

[anat0l]

Your first post-doc anat0l​?

Affirmative

 

[JohnM]

Affirmative

Care to say where? Switzerland sounds like a pretty high-level place to score a post-doc, so congrats.

 

[Hvr]

For the job which I am taking up in five weeks time in Switzerland, one of the questions I was asked was my marital status.

I believe this answer has some tax implications.

I wont stay neutral and will say congrats and all the best. You can work out some good OneWorld mileage runs for us to take when we're there.

Maybe the question about marital status was for visa purposes?

 

[anat0l]

Care to say where? Switzerland sounds like a pretty high-level place to score a post-doc, so congrats.

Lausanne. No specific desire to work in Switzerland, but given it's somewhere which is not home in a climate where postdocs are a tad scarce (or any fruitful job for that matter), I'll take it!

But honestly, Switzerland sounds like a great place to go work, let alone visit.

I wont stay neutral and will say congrats and all the best. You can work out some good OneWorld mileage runs for us to take when we're there.

Maybe the question about marital status was for visa purposes?

I believe you're right about the marital status having some effect on the visa (or rather ability to get one, which has implications for both me and my employer).

We'll see about the mileage runs....my status / mileage strategy might drastically change over there, not in the least also considering differences in my time availability, as well as positioning from my new home town. Historically and likely still now, BA have some decent runs in J and also popular "discounted" premium long haul fares (if you're prepared to part with that kind of money). Or people just get a cheapie across the Atlantic and use the well known techniques we are familiar with here.....

 

[Flashback]

We'll see about the mileage runs....my status / mileage strategy might drastically change over there, not in the least also considering differences in my time availability, as well as positioning from my new home town. Historically and likely still now, BA have some decent runs in J and also popular "discounted" premium long haul fares (if you're prepared to part with that kind of money). Or people just get a cheapie across the Atlantic and use the well known techniques we are familiar with here.....

Yep, that's pretty much spot on.