Recently in Work Category

I've got four assignments due in the next two weeks and I'm starting to feel quite panicky about it. I've read and re-read the notes and still can't work out how to put my words on paper. I'm struggling with the flow of a building inspection. I have to write what to check at each of the critical stage inspections and how the work complies with the Australian Standards.

I've got a rough draft of what to check and another list of the Standards, but I was never good at writing and seemed to be just staring at the page, so here I am at the computer instead. A good diversion from what I should be doing, I know. Perhaps tomorrow night I can look at it with different eyes and know exactly how it should all go together.

The other three assignments are more difficult, and I need to get together with the Building Surveyor at work and discuss how I should tackle them. One of them requires me to sit in on an interview like a pre-application discussion so I need to line that up. Then I need to assess the impact of a residential building on adjoining properties and the neighbourhood with respect to a list of criteria.

The third task is to assess an application for a construction certificate against the Building Code of Australia, Australian Standards and conditions of development consent. I did something very similar to this in a previous module but for a whole development.

I'm running out of time and this time of year doesn't help. Why I always leave everything to the final countdown is beyond me.

The Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga is hosting another "Mapped Out" conference tomorrow and six people from work are attending. The conference showcases the use of Spatial Data to enhance the operation and delivery of Government services, and last year we saw some amazing applications that different councils have used.

Our Manager for Planning and Development is one of the speakers, to talk about Junee’s new ‘Landsurfing’ project, which was designed to stimulate business and economic activity by providing answers to critical questions quickly and effectively. The tool will be beneficial for property developers, solicitors and surveyors to quickly locate land with particular criteria. For instance, if you need a large block near a railroad head, with a sealed road nearby, on flat land, you tick the boxes that apply and the program returns all the blocks of land in the area that meet your criteria. It's very innovative for a small council like Junee, and we're all very proud.

I'm doing a TAFE course that I started in July that's turning out to be quite a commitment. It's a Certificate IV course, and involves alot of reading and study and I'm not feeling up to it. I go down to Albury for 2 days each month (but that didn't happen in August, change of plans) and that's great. I can handle the classroom environment. It's the commitment each night to do so many hours that's getting to me. Tonight I've spent three hours going over Council's various management plans so I can write an assignment detailing how they link and cross-reference each other, and what, if any improvements can be made. I've got seven pages of notes so far and there's lots more reading to do. This is the final part of the assignment, I've completed the other four parts already, but it's already overdue.

I'm having second thoughts about it being such a good idea. At the end of the course I should be able to carry out planning functions like assess minor development applications and carry out building inspections, develop and review policies and procedures. I'm feeling rather overwhelmed with all that involves.

At the end of September we have another two days in Albury and enjoy that part. Getting away from home is a major incentive, and working with other people from local councils who know as much as me (or as little as me) gives me the encouragement I need to go on. It's all good for work, I'm learning more than I normally would and at the end I'll have achieved something more.

Last night we had a gathering of the Building & Environmental Services (BEST) team members at team leader Niel's house, and it was a fantastic night out. There was 20 or so people there, most with their families, and we ate and drank, sang along to the guitar with Brent while Alex and 3 others were in the spa for hours. We all had a great time, and left there about 1am.

There were garlic prawns cooked on the BBQ for the entree, and kangaroo steaks among the assortment of meats. With the dessert we enjoyed a sweet wine that was more like a liqueur. I drank Coronas all night till they ran out and finished the night with a bourbon.

Today when we got home from Wagga Neil had left a beautifully wrapped box of gourmet delights and note thanking me for my "prompt and invaluable help". It was such a nice touch.

One of the girls is leaving at work, and it looks like I'm getting her office. It won't be for a couple of weeks, but now when I go there I'm starting to look at it differently. It's a one-person office, and though I'll probably get more work done, I'll miss the crew from the old room. We've had some funny times in there. I'm rather chatty too, so being isolated will be different for me. I'll be right next to the General Manager and taking over some of the responsibility of his work. There'll be a part-time person who'll be doing most of his work, but those hours when the new person itsn't around, it'll fall to me.

I'm still working on the new website. It's taking forever. My design isn't a feasible option because it's not easily editable in a content management system, and for anyone who doesn't know HTML and CSS, it will be impossible to update. Sad, because I put alot of time into it, but I really should have thought about that first.

One option that they're looking at is using Typo3, a free Open Source content management system for enterprise purposes on the web and in intranets. It offers full flexibility and extendability while featuring an accomplished set of ready-made interfaces, functions and modules. I downloaded a version tonight that installs on a Windows machine; a complete Apache / MySQL / PHP environment with a TYPO3 package. It's the ideal solution to learn the program before going "live". According the the developers, you need at least a month to understand Typo3, so I'm in for a rather large learning curve. There's a huge document library and examples.

That's only one option. We have another new design that I'm going to test in Dreamweaver, and so far it looks like that may work. Another learning curve too, because I've never used Dreamweaver properly. For me, it's only ever been a quick editing option, but I know it's capable of much more.

Remember...
"Quarrel with a friend...
and you are both wrong."
Lao-Tzu (604-531BC)

Here it is Friday already and I don't know where the week's gone! It was a really short week at work, only 3 days because of the Labour Day holiday on Monday, and today it's the Council picnic, though they don't actually have a picnic. Still, I won't say no to a day off work. I had planned to go into work today to work on the new layout for the Council website, but I ended up sitting up until 2am this morning and I have the layout nearly right. There's a couple of minor adjustments, but I'm nearly ready to transfer all the content from the old site.

This is what our new Council website will look like. Council uses a program called NetObjects Fusion, which I've had to learn how to use, to develop and maintain the site and the new version 9 has lots more control for forms and CSS which the previous version didn't have. I hated the old version but am getting pretty good with the new one. I've had to. I had two weeks to get the layout right, and have a week up my sleeve so I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. Getting all the content moved over will be no easy task either. Most of it will be cut and paste, with adjustments to the formatting. There's about 60 pages, but the layout area is much smaller in the new site and so I may have to make lots of smaller pages. Time will tell.

Remember...
If you stand straight...
Do not fear a crooked shadow.
Master Chen Hai Yang

I went to Sydney on Wednesday for a training day to learn the A To Z of DAs LEPs and DCPs. That's Development Applications, Local Environmental Policies and Development Control Policies. It was a course for council employees who are involved in the building and land development side of local councils.

I left home at 5:10am to drive to the airport in Wagga, where I got a plane to Sydney. It's years since I've flown anywhere and I was nervous, with rain predicted and clouds everywhere. Thank God it only takes an hour, and I think the idea of the safety procedures demonstration, the coffee and food, and announcements from the pilot are all clever little ploys to keep people from thinking about a little plane cruising at an altitude of 17,000 feet and going along at 415 kilometres an hour.

It was an uneventful flight except for a little turbulence and we arrived, it seemed, in no time at all. From the airport I caught a train into the city that was packed with people going to work, and from Central I caught a bus to the UTS, which I discovered later was only a block from the bus-stop.

The course itself was good. I met a few people from other councils and got a better understanding of all the legal issues and procedures involved with development. When I was leaving, someone behind me shouted my name and it turned out to be a guy who recently finished a year of work experience with Junee Shire Council's engineering department. It's a small world.

I wandered around China Town in Sydney before getting the train back to the airport to come home. My flight wasn't till 7pm so I had a few hours to kill. The airport security kicked up a fuss about the nail scissors in my manicure set and so I had to book a bag through as luggage and was quietly amused at how strict the security has gotten. Nail scissors for God's sake! I really think that's taking national security a little too far.

It was raining for much of the way home and the plane seemed very rocky. When we got to Wagga it was dark and the touchdown nearly gave me a heart attack, but relief at the same time. I felt totally exhausted, and still had to drive home to Junee and collect Alex, who stayed at his friend's house on Tuesday night. Carly was sleeping at her father's house.

I slept sounder than I have in months and yesterday morning when I went in to work it seemed that everyone wanted to know how my day had gone. I found I was repeating myself for half the day, but it was good to be back at work and in familiar surroundings. I've lived in Sydney a few times over the years and never liked the place. There are so many people in the city, all in such a hurry that nobody even makes eye contact with you on the streets or the public transport, and I welcomed being back in my little home town.