Snake Oil: Loose with the truth

Facebook posts ads on our walls based on our previous searches, likes and other interactions. I get a lot of advertising for flights and holidays because I've traveled quite a lot over the past couple of years. Jetstar has frequent sales and they target me for trips to Vietnam. The advertised prices are ridiculously low, and as it always turns out, the flights are only available on a very limited number of specific days...or perhaps not at all, as I've discovered sometimes.

I do online surveys, and have done for some time. I earn points and redeem the points for Paypal dollars with which I buy books. It's a sweet little pocket money generator. Facebook started hitting me with ads for another online survey mob called Surveyworld. The thing is they didn't advertise themselves as an online survey company. They were looking for males in my age group to test products. (Wow! How did they know my age?) I clicked the link and was forced to join an online survey company. There was nothing on their website or in the flood of emails which followed about product testing.When I could not unsubscribe, I had to block the address.

A final example involves an immigration agency which advertised free consultations with their lawyers. It was free until they actually connected me to a lawyer and then they dropped the fee on me. I declined and told them their advertising was dishonest.

Having won the lucrative broadcasting rights from Channel 9, Channel 7 has boasted of being Australia's home of cricket. Australia's old home of cricket-the only one I'd ever known- used to show all the international cricket matches in the Australian domestic season. The new home of cricket only shows test matches. It also purports to be the home of the very popular big bash T20 league (now in its ninth series), but it doesn't show all the games. This is advertising; the false or only partially true claims of those trying to sell us something.

Television programs are always promising the best of everything;

the scariest, the funniest, the most exciting or entertaining. The word 'ever' has suffered a thousand deaths and still suffers abuse as a zombie adverb.

That advertisers and television promoters at best exaggerate and at worst lie about what they are offering is a given. We know that. However, people are loose with the truth as well, and sadly we expect that now. We hope people tell the truth but often suspect they aren't.

Is it any wonder that truth is now so flexible? So situational? So relative? Why are we surprised by this prevailing lack of honesty when we are surrounded by lies in the media, both the terminally ill traditional media, and surging social media. Most thinking people have a default doubt setting nowadays.

I rang the ATO to tell them I had mistakenly received thousands of dollars. They were shocked and promised to investigate. Nearly four months down the track nothing has happened. The same government department took money off me every fortnight for nine months before admitting the error and assuring me they would return my money within four weeks. That was in November. Guess what? I'm still waiting. When I switched to Dodo mobile they promised me 'all systems go' no more than three days after I activated my SIM. Two weeks later, I finally had a fully operational handset.

I could go on with many more examples, but I trust I've made my point. I want to be believe everyone who tells me something, but I can't. I want my default setting to be trust, but I know that will likely only hurt me.

It's very sad that the concept of relative truth is so entrenched in our thinking. In the 21st century, most people echo Pontius Pilate's famous 1st century words. On the day he was crucified, Jesus challenged Pilate to accept the truth of what he was saying and who he was. Pilate's answer: "What is truth?"

Well? What's your answer?

The Twilight Zone #CTST

I was surprised to see that my last post was six weeks ago. Where have I been? Where have you been, Dave? 

I finished work on December 11 and flew home to see my family which was great. Then I spent a week holidaying in Phuket which was a little crazy, but also super relaxing. Returning to Darwin on New Years Eve, I didn't make it to midnight, opting instead for a 12 hours catch up sleep beginning at 10pm. With one week, at that stage, before I had to return work, I did a whole lot more of nothing, but did manage to get sick (a really bad cold-almost man flu) for the first time since moving to Darwin in August 2016. Thankfully there was plenty of cricket to watch, and everyone knows how much I love that great game. Back at work, I was a little lethargic, but eventually got back into the groove, and before long the whole holiday seemed like a dream.

I think that's one of the things I really like about vacations. especially overseas or even interstate trips: they are real, but not quite real. There's an ephemeral quality to life in another place where you don't work, you just rest and play. You save, plan and wait, then you enter the twilight zone.

Then, like a flash of lightning in a stormy sky, it ends before you want it to, before you can really enjoy it, and soon becomes just another memory.

2018 is here. 2017 seems like so long ago.

Nuptials and no balls #CTST

I love weddings. I'm divorced but that won't put me off marrying again when the time and the person is right. Last night, I was invited to a low key wedding dinner at Sky City. A student of mine and her long time boyfriend, decided on a registry marriage followed by a small celebratory dinner with a small group of friends. Both the bride and the groom have no family here in Darwin.

It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to attend this celebration. This student started her English course on the same day that I started teaching at Australian Careers College which was August 8, 2016. I've come to think of her as my younger sister, and she considers me not just her teacher, but her friend. It's a good relationship and I was chuffed to be included in the nuptial dinner.

This week also saw the beginning of the Ashes series between Australia and England (that's cricket I'm talking about - and you know how much I love cricket.)

A happy week indeed. May the marriage I celebrated last until death they do part, and may the Aussies smash our oldest sporting enemy: England.

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends as well. How did you celebrate? How was the rest of your week?

* 'no balls' is a cricket term which I selected because it starts with the letter 'n'.

Backyard Legends

There may have been only a handful of us, not even enough to fill a first eleven, let alone field two teams, but the rivalry was no less fierce, and no less intense. We were backyard cricket warriors representing our nation with pride.

We actually never played in the backyard because the local reserve was handy and big; bigger than the MCG, except for the grandstands of course, of which there were none. After school we occupied a portion of the grass and played cricket until the sun went down, or until we were called home by our mothers. Those long summer days and warm nights when we played cricket in the park, then went home and watched it on the television, were wonderful times.

The West Indies dominated world cricket all through my childhood, but Australia's regular defeats did not diminish my love for the game; a love which has only grown stronger through the years.

I never played cricket competitively, never joined a club, but I have become an armchair expert thanks to over four decades of listening to experts describe and talk about the game. I have an opinion on everything related to cricket, and at times I know better than the national selectors.

Australia is touring India at the moment. The test match series stands at 1-1 with 2 games to play. I know exactly who should be in the team to help ensure our victory against very strong opposition in hostile territory, but the selectors aren't listening to me. I'm not saying I could do a better job than them...well, maybe I am - but I have no influence and no authority.

I'm just a passionate fan of the greatest game on earth. I know whoever takes the field on March 16 for the 3rd test will do Australia proud, and I can barely wait for the battle to begin. Go Australia!

Eight migrants and a cricket bat

Cricket is the national sport of Australia, and I am a cricket nut. I've loved the game since I was boy, and with each passing year I love it more and more. So, it seems only right to me that I should introduce this game, which in truth is so much more than just a game, to my students regardless of whether they are interested or not.

Most of my adult migrant students know nothing at all about cricket, but as I explained to them, cricket is a part of Australian culture. Even those who (gasp) don't like it, still know about it and understand its significance.

I developed a five week unit of study on cricket which culminates with a trip to the local park to actually play a game. I do this with my students every year in November as the international cricket season begins here.

Today was culmination day, 2015. I had eight ladies from Iraq, Cook Islands, Vietnam, Serbia and China. After some warm up drills we ripped right into a test match battle of Ashes like proportions, and it was a lot of fun. Not a great deal of skill was on display, but there was plenty of enthusiastic participation, and lots of laughter.

I love my job, and today was just another reminder why.

Photo sources:
http://www.doubleviewcarinecc.com.au/
http://worldinsport.com/funniest-cricket-things-ever-said/

Recently Read

Playing It My Way: My Autobiography by Sachin Tendulkar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time. In my view he is the greatest. This game of cricket which I love generates more statistics than any other, and Tendulkar's record speaks for itself. Even the fact that he played cricket for his country for 24 years, having debuted aged only 16, says volumes about the man and his character. I loved watching Tendulkar bat and so it was with great excitement that I received and then began to read his autobiography.

I now measure all sports biographies against Bill Woods' El Magic which I thought was wonderfully written, Playing it My Way did not stack up in comparison. However, it was well written, easy to read and full of amazing behind the scenes insights into the private life of this sporting genius. It contained some fascinating commentary on the great matches, series and players of Tendulkar's era.I was particularly interested in what he thought of the Australians he played against.

For cricket fans, there is also quite a bit said about technical aspects of batting, and to a lesser extent bowling, which I also enjoyed very much.For sporting fans and for fans of biography, the clash between his professional life and his family life will be of interest.

Playing it my Way is a good read, not a great read.


View all my reviews

A Trip to Somewhere

I started back at work on Monday after a three week break for Christmas/New Year which wasn't quite long enough. That always seems to be the case. I had  numerous family gatherings -my nana and daughter both have birthdays in early January- watched lots of cricket, including going to two games, went swimming often (beach and pool), and I took a trip to somewhere.

I'd like to tell you about the trip which involved flying to a destination, buying a car and driving back, but I am currently plagued with all manner of apprehension vis a vis sharing my personal life online. My online presence has always been about two things: fun and book sales.

Book sales? Still waiting for those. Fun? Some of what I call fun is now being deemed insensitive and offensive which leaves me wondering what to say and what not to say. I have always considered myself to be a very circumspect person; cautious in word and deed, but it seems I have either been deluding myself or I have undergone a radical change. In any case, I find myself bridled, and I fear this is no good thing.

On the book front, my first novel, Devolution, will be re published with a new cover this year, and of course A Muddy Red River is also due for publication in 2015.

More than a Game

Sadly, it will not be possible for me to explain the game of cricket and extol its virtues in this short article.

My extreme parochialism will be difficult to contain but I offer no apologies. Cricket is a sport I have loved since boyhood. It is the national sport of Australia, and we are currrently engaged in one of the world's greatest sporting contests: The battle for The Ashes,(pictured left) against our old enemy England. To appreciate the depth of feeling associated with this centuries old rivalry, forget not that Australia was born as an English penal colony in 1788.

Four days of the first test match have been completed and Australia will have to make history to chase down the runs target today and win the match. England have a superior team and are playing at home. They were massive favourites to win the match, and as Day 5 approaches, they remain so.

That we are even in a position to possibly win, as unlikely as that is in the fair dinkum department, is testimony to one man in particular: nineteen year old debutant Ashton Agar. This young man who most fans had never heard of, was picked as the spin bowler, and batted at number eleven: a position reserved for the least of the team's batsmen. Young Agar came out to bat with Australia in danger of conceding a formidable run deficit to England in the first innings. His record breaking score of 98, and his record breaking partnership of 163 with Phil Hughes, gave Australia a first innings lead and put us right into the contest. It inspired hope.

Scoring one hundred runs (a century) is the Holy Grail for batsmen. Although young Agar fell two runs short, he did also go on to take two wickets (get two English batsmen out) in what has been one of the greatest debut matches I have ever witnessed. Whether we win or lose the match, we will all remember how exhilirated we were by Ashton Agar's performance, and how proud we felt as we watched the birth of another Australian sporting champion.

A question for sport lovers: when have you witnessed the debut of a champion?

Photograph sources
http://www.supersport.com/cricket/ashes/news/130711/Agar_misses_ton_but_Aus_lead_by_65
www.news.com.au

Bending over backwards

I have had the opportunity over the past six months to participate in a workplace literacy research project. A dozen of us literacy practitioners were asked to provide literacy and numeracy training to employees at various pilot sites, and to gather information about what worked and what did not.

This week we gathered together at the completion of the project to discuss what happened. Each of us was asked to speak for five minutes on a particular aspect of our project which the project managers had identified, from our final written reports, as worthy of further exploration in the group setting. My topic was flexibility.

I talked about flexibility being a desirable attribute in some circumstances and undesirable in others. For example, flexibility of thought is a good thing when attempting to deal with the unexpected, or in coping with change, but it's not good in relation to adherence to safety procedures. A cricket bat would not function at all if it was constructed of the same type of rubber as floor mats in cars. Sometimes rigidity is crucial to effectiveness and positive outcomes. Other times it is a hindrance.

In the case of the company I worked with, it was necessary for me to be flexible with the training schedule because it had to be changed on a weekly basis due to the unavailability of participants. My flexibility was limited though because I was only available one and half hours, two days per week. The company's flexibility was limited by the fact that they needed to serve their customers first, and attend training second.In the end, training was suspended because the frequent interruptions to, and forced rescheduling of the training caused us to believe that we were wasting our time. The level of flexibility shown, whilst initially helping the advancement of the project, ultimately resulted in early termination of the training.

We have to be flexible in life and in how we deal with people but extremes should be avoided at all costs. We all have to determine how flexible we are willing to be. How far are we willing to bend before we break? How far are we able to bend before we break? Do we want to bend at all? If we are thin rubber cricket bats we won't break but neither will we be of any use. At some point our flexibility stops being useful and becomes unhelpful, or worse destructive. I talked about car floor mats, and some people believe that bending over backwards for everyone indicates weakness. People who are that "flexible" may be labelled doormats. On the other hand, people who don't go out of their way to help others, who don't inconvenience themselves, may be criticized for being selfish.

A line has to be drawn somewhere between flexibility and rigidity. The fact that everyone draws this line in a different place on the spectrum is the reason why we have conflict.