Unfortunately due to a high level of uncertainity at my work place I decided to look for another job - which I found.
So I handed my notice in today.
I'm not happy to be leaving my current role - actually I'm quite sad about it - but it was announced today that there was a major restructure being planned and I would be surprised if I had a job there in a month's time.
So anyway, off to new pastures. My role will be aimed at helping people increase their productivity using Microsoft Desktop Applications. I'm looking forward to this - similar to what I was doing during 2000 - 2005 - but more focused on one-on-one interactions rather than classroom training.
New job starts March 6th with a trip to Brisbane for inductions and to meet the team I'm working with.
Wonder how many people, from the new company, I can get to the range :)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Shooting, shooting and even more shooting
Yes, that is what I've been doing!
On Saturday I drove up to Shooting Buddy's place (400kms north) and after a cuppa or two we had a chat about what we were going to do that evening.
I suddenly remembered that the local Shotgun club meet on the third Saturday of the month, and as this was the third Saturday of the month we might be in luck. Shooting Buddy gave the secretary a call only to be told that there was no shooting on that night. Half an hour later he rang back to say that actually there was going to be some shooting on, commencing at 7.30pm.
So we heading across, sans guns - as Shooting Buddy's shotgun was still in storage in Perth - and got there about 7pm. The gate was open and the lights were on but we couldn't spot any people. So we parked in something that looked like a car park and waited. Another four wheel drive turned up and we introduced ourselves to the occupants only to discover that they too were visitors and had no idea of anything either.
Eventually we located some club members (they had been down at the range setting up) and after chatting for about 45mins (and troubleshooting one of the traps) the shoot was going to start.
I've not shot trap much before - couple of tries but never a match and never at night. However, one of the club members had a Beretta over and under 12GA shotgun that he was willing to lend me (and a shooting vest), he found me 100 shotgun shells so I thought I would give it a go.
Now, to set the scene, we're in the middle of salt lakes, at night, abit with lights, HIGH WIND and fluro traps being flung at high speed from FIVE different directions. Add to this FIVE shooting positions (you shoot at five clays from each shooting position). So all-in-all I sucked! Seriously! From the first 25 traps I got ONE. I did improve greatly by the second 25 when I got 5! However, it was at this point that I decided to gracefully bow out. I had shot 70 rounds and my shoulder was KILLING ME! So I just sat back (well stood - there weren't any seats) and observed the other shooters finishing off the match.
It was a lot of fun - even though I was so hopeless at it - so much fun in fact that I joined the club. I guess now I'll probably need to get a shotgun!
We left the club at about 10pm and decided that rather than return home and crash we'ld go out to the farm and see what animals were out and about. The farm was only 30kms up the road so not far. We had just pulled in the gate, got the spotlight set up and the guns organised when we spotted a large rabbit ... I got it! We then drove around and spotted 4 foxes - but they were all too far away to shoot at - then we came across another large rabbit - so took that one too. Another fox was spotted, which I actually took a shot at, but missed :( As it was now after midnight we decided to call it a night and head home.
I'm looking forward to getting back out there and getting some of those foxes!
Sunday morning saw us up relatively early to head to another gun club - pistol this time. The club shoots WAPA style shooting - standing still, 25m from the target and shooting 5 rounds in 5 mins!?! You repeat this four times. Not sure what was wrong with me (maybe a sore shoulder?) but I seriously sucked at this too! There were only three of us shooting and I came third! But it was good to get the pistol out and have a go.
It was then time to head back to Perth to put the guns back in the safe.
However, today at work I was surprised to see one of our branch managers there. We've spoken about shooting before but the timing has never worked. However, today when I asked him if he wanted to come up the range after work he was really interested.
Logistics was a bit of a challenge as Shooting Buddy had come back to Perth with me and had my car and of course my guns were at home etc etc. Anyway managed to short the issues out and ended up at the range at around 5pm.
He had never shot before - never even seen a real live gun - so we started with my Ruger 22/45, progressed to my 9mm and then another member who was up there practising let him have a go of his .38 race gun! ... And he also demoed a IPSC style stage to the newbie. I then brought the Tuffy out (.410) and he LOVED that. So much so that he shot off most of a box of ammo (I think he'll be another one with a sore shoulder tomorrow). He then finished off the 80 rounds of 9mm ammo I had and the 80 rounds of .22.
I think he had fun!
So now I've got to do some gun cleaning and reloading in preparation for heading to the range again on Friday for some seriously needed practise!
On Saturday I drove up to Shooting Buddy's place (400kms north) and after a cuppa or two we had a chat about what we were going to do that evening.
I suddenly remembered that the local Shotgun club meet on the third Saturday of the month, and as this was the third Saturday of the month we might be in luck. Shooting Buddy gave the secretary a call only to be told that there was no shooting on that night. Half an hour later he rang back to say that actually there was going to be some shooting on, commencing at 7.30pm.
So we heading across, sans guns - as Shooting Buddy's shotgun was still in storage in Perth - and got there about 7pm. The gate was open and the lights were on but we couldn't spot any people. So we parked in something that looked like a car park and waited. Another four wheel drive turned up and we introduced ourselves to the occupants only to discover that they too were visitors and had no idea of anything either.
Eventually we located some club members (they had been down at the range setting up) and after chatting for about 45mins (and troubleshooting one of the traps) the shoot was going to start.
I've not shot trap much before - couple of tries but never a match and never at night. However, one of the club members had a Beretta over and under 12GA shotgun that he was willing to lend me (and a shooting vest), he found me 100 shotgun shells so I thought I would give it a go.
Now, to set the scene, we're in the middle of salt lakes, at night, abit with lights, HIGH WIND and fluro traps being flung at high speed from FIVE different directions. Add to this FIVE shooting positions (you shoot at five clays from each shooting position). So all-in-all I sucked! Seriously! From the first 25 traps I got ONE. I did improve greatly by the second 25 when I got 5! However, it was at this point that I decided to gracefully bow out. I had shot 70 rounds and my shoulder was KILLING ME! So I just sat back (well stood - there weren't any seats) and observed the other shooters finishing off the match.
It was a lot of fun - even though I was so hopeless at it - so much fun in fact that I joined the club. I guess now I'll probably need to get a shotgun!
We left the club at about 10pm and decided that rather than return home and crash we'ld go out to the farm and see what animals were out and about. The farm was only 30kms up the road so not far. We had just pulled in the gate, got the spotlight set up and the guns organised when we spotted a large rabbit ... I got it! We then drove around and spotted 4 foxes - but they were all too far away to shoot at - then we came across another large rabbit - so took that one too. Another fox was spotted, which I actually took a shot at, but missed :( As it was now after midnight we decided to call it a night and head home.
I'm looking forward to getting back out there and getting some of those foxes!
Sunday morning saw us up relatively early to head to another gun club - pistol this time. The club shoots WAPA style shooting - standing still, 25m from the target and shooting 5 rounds in 5 mins!?! You repeat this four times. Not sure what was wrong with me (maybe a sore shoulder?) but I seriously sucked at this too! There were only three of us shooting and I came third! But it was good to get the pistol out and have a go.
It was then time to head back to Perth to put the guns back in the safe.
However, today at work I was surprised to see one of our branch managers there. We've spoken about shooting before but the timing has never worked. However, today when I asked him if he wanted to come up the range after work he was really interested.
Logistics was a bit of a challenge as Shooting Buddy had come back to Perth with me and had my car and of course my guns were at home etc etc. Anyway managed to short the issues out and ended up at the range at around 5pm.
He had never shot before - never even seen a real live gun - so we started with my Ruger 22/45, progressed to my 9mm and then another member who was up there practising let him have a go of his .38 race gun! ... And he also demoed a IPSC style stage to the newbie. I then brought the Tuffy out (.410) and he LOVED that. So much so that he shot off most of a box of ammo (I think he'll be another one with a sore shoulder tomorrow). He then finished off the 80 rounds of 9mm ammo I had and the 80 rounds of .22.
I think he had fun!
So now I've got to do some gun cleaning and reloading in preparation for heading to the range again on Friday for some seriously needed practise!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Had to put it in the safe ...
Miss 10 has a habit of reading a book from beginning to end and then complaining she has nothing to read.
Cue tonight ...
Miss 10: "I get in trouble at school because I don't read at nights."
Me: "Well get a book and read to me."
Miss 10: "I've finished all my books."
Me: "Have a look in the box in the family room and see if there is anything you want to read in there."
Miss 10 turns up with the book "Eats, Shites and Leaves Crap English and how to use it" by A. Parody.
Well, I'm not sure that it's a suitable 'school reading book', however she read the first couple of pages and LOVED it.
It's a great book. She would read a sentence and then we would discuss it.
So I've written that she read 4 pages in her homework diary.
We then had a bit of a wrestling match as she wanted to take the book to read in bed. Yer, right ... next thing you know she'll be up all night reading and the book will be finished!
So I ended up locking it in the safe and promising her that she can read another 4 pages tomorrow!
Cue tonight ...
Miss 10: "I get in trouble at school because I don't read at nights."
Me: "Well get a book and read to me."
Miss 10: "I've finished all my books."
Me: "Have a look in the box in the family room and see if there is anything you want to read in there."
Miss 10 turns up with the book "Eats, Shites and Leaves Crap English and how to use it" by A. Parody.
Well, I'm not sure that it's a suitable 'school reading book', however she read the first couple of pages and LOVED it.
It's a great book. She would read a sentence and then we would discuss it.
So I've written that she read 4 pages in her homework diary.
We then had a bit of a wrestling match as she wanted to take the book to read in bed. Yer, right ... next thing you know she'll be up all night reading and the book will be finished!
So I ended up locking it in the safe and promising her that she can read another 4 pages tomorrow!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Someone's got to blog this ... might as well be me ....
AN undercover cop "chased himself round the streets" for 20 minutes in a town in southern England after a surveillance camera operator wrongly identified him as a suspect.
The junior officer was patrolling the area by foot, after a rash of burglaries, when a CCTV operator radioed him, warning of a man "acting suspiciously" in the vicinity, according to the latest issue of the Police Federation's Police magazine.
Monitoring the "suspect," the operator then directed the cop to the man's location. The officer - not realising that he was the "suspicious" character - began searching for his shadowy suspect.
The fruitless pursuit ended 20 minutes later when a sergeant entered the CCTV control room and pointed out that the cop and the suspect were the same person.
"Every time the man darted in to another side alleyway, the PC [police constable] was turning immediately into the same alleyway, but every time the CCTV operator asked what he could see there was no trace," an officer, who was not named, told Police magazine.
"With the sergeant's sides aching from laughter he pointed out to the PC that the operator had been watching him unaware that he was a plainclothes officer - thus the PC had been chasing himself round the streets."
None of the parties involved in the incident were identified. A Sussex Police spokesman told the (London) Daily Telegraph "without the date or location, confirming the details and locating the officer is harder for us than it was for the CCTV operator."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/cop-chases-himself-after-being-mistaken-for-burglar-by-cctv-operator/story-e6frfku0-1226266240087#ixzz1lnSNrWWH
The junior officer was patrolling the area by foot, after a rash of burglaries, when a CCTV operator radioed him, warning of a man "acting suspiciously" in the vicinity, according to the latest issue of the Police Federation's Police magazine.
Monitoring the "suspect," the operator then directed the cop to the man's location. The officer - not realising that he was the "suspicious" character - began searching for his shadowy suspect.
The fruitless pursuit ended 20 minutes later when a sergeant entered the CCTV control room and pointed out that the cop and the suspect were the same person.
"Every time the man darted in to another side alleyway, the PC [police constable] was turning immediately into the same alleyway, but every time the CCTV operator asked what he could see there was no trace," an officer, who was not named, told Police magazine.
"With the sergeant's sides aching from laughter he pointed out to the PC that the operator had been watching him unaware that he was a plainclothes officer - thus the PC had been chasing himself round the streets."
None of the parties involved in the incident were identified. A Sussex Police spokesman told the (London) Daily Telegraph "without the date or location, confirming the details and locating the officer is harder for us than it was for the CCTV operator."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/cop-chases-himself-after-being-mistaken-for-burglar-by-cctv-operator/story-e6frfku0-1226266240087#ixzz1lnSNrWWH
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Signs our economy isn't that healthy
This is a snapshot of the business section of www.perthnow.com.au earlier today.
Doesn't paint a pretty picture does it?
Doesn't paint a pretty picture does it?
Friday, January 13, 2012
Is it Jan 13th ALREADY????
Wow ... this year seems to be flying by. And, so far, it's been an ODD one.
Major highlights:
- Back to work, unfortunately everything at work is 'up in the air' as they've announced they're merging the South Australia & Western Australia offices under a Regional Manager (we used to have a State Manager each) and no one knows if their jobs are safe
- Due to the above situation I've applied for a couple of jobs. Had two interviews for one of these which really seems to be my IDEAL job. Meeting them again next week. I don't really want to leave where I am, but I'm not sure sitting around waiting to see what is going to happen is going to work out in my favour
- Managed to move Shooting Buddy to his new place 300kms north (nearer the shooting properties). Major challenge of the move was that I had to tow a trailer. I'm happy to report that me, car & trailer all survived intact
In between this I've got the girls home on holidays AND I'm off to the Brisbane office for a week on Sunday.
Certainly hoping the rest of the year SLOWS DOWN a bit! How's your year so far?
Major highlights:
- Back to work, unfortunately everything at work is 'up in the air' as they've announced they're merging the South Australia & Western Australia offices under a Regional Manager (we used to have a State Manager each) and no one knows if their jobs are safe
- Due to the above situation I've applied for a couple of jobs. Had two interviews for one of these which really seems to be my IDEAL job. Meeting them again next week. I don't really want to leave where I am, but I'm not sure sitting around waiting to see what is going to happen is going to work out in my favour
- Managed to move Shooting Buddy to his new place 300kms north (nearer the shooting properties). Major challenge of the move was that I had to tow a trailer. I'm happy to report that me, car & trailer all survived intact
In between this I've got the girls home on holidays AND I'm off to the Brisbane office for a week on Sunday.
Certainly hoping the rest of the year SLOWS DOWN a bit! How's your year so far?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2012 ....
Here's to another year! May this one bring lots of good things for you all.
I'm just hoping that there will be no major dramas (or dead computers) this year :) Oh, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym on a regular basis!
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