lifeasdaddy

How old is too old to have to look for a job?

I already know of a few people in the USA who have had to postpone their retirement because their 401(k) has gone south. 

Now, from a deeply disturbing article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal:

"Mary Appleby, 76 years old, lost her job in January as a cashier at a courthouse cafeteria here. She is now looking for minimum-wage work."

"Mary Bennett, 80, began filling out applications for fast-food restaurants and convenience stores after she was laid off last March as a machinist."

"Fred Dase, 81, a bartender until last summer, also needs another job."

"Dorothy Adams, 90, who raised six sons, had been a waitress. She quit at age 85 because of the physical demands. She couldn't make it on $8,000 a year in Social Security and $1,140 in food stamps, so she enrolled in an Experience Works training program in central Pennsylvania."

Expect to hear more of it.

Sad.  Very sad.

The most astonishing blog post I have ever read

is this one.

Breakfast at Starbucks

Breakfast at Starbucks, originally uploaded by Mr. T in DC.

My Flickr contact Mr. T in DC snapped this pic.

In Washington D.C., Starbucks call this a "healthy breakfast sandwich" which includes bacon and reduced-fat cheese.

All things are relative.

Improved security authentication questions.

As you are aware, for the past decade most security authentication questions be they online or by voice have remained pretty much the same.  And with the convergence of personal information from Facebook, blogs, twitter and Google searches, it just isn't that hard for some nogoodnik to find out the colour of your first car.

Here are some much better questions.

Breakfast at Starbucks

Breakfast at Starbucks, originally uploaded by Mr. T in DC.

My Flickr contact Mr. T in DC snapped this pic.

In Washington D.C., Starbucks call this a "healthy breakfast sandwich" which includes bacon and reduced-fat cheese.

All things are relative.

A cautionary tale about privatisation of gaols (jails).

The State Government where I live, New South Wales, is considering the privatisation of some gaols.

Now, running a private gaol is a bit like running a private hospital, or a hotel, or an airine.  Profitability depends upon yield management.  More occupied cells means more profit.  An empty cell usually doesn't make any money.

Two private operators of juvenile detention centres in Pennsylvania found an effective way to boost their occupancy by bribing two Childrens' Court judges to send more children to detention.

In Pennsylvania, just like here in NSW, Childrens' Court proceedings usually cannot be reported in the media with any identifying details, to protect the privacy of the child.

Turns out this worked against the interests of the Children.

Some quotes from the New York Times article:

While prosecutors say that Judge Conahan, 56, secured contracts for the two centers to house juvenile offenders, Judge Ciavarella, 58, was the one who carried out the sentencing to keep the centers filled.

They shut down the county-run juvenile detention center, arguing that it was in poor condition, the authorities said, and maintained that the county had no choice but to send detained juveniles to the newly built private detention centers

For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Judge Ciavarella was unusually harsh. He sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a state rate of 1 in 10. He also routinely ignored requests for leniency made by prosecutors and probation officers.

“There was a culture of intimidation surrounding this judge and no one was willing to speak up about the sentences he was handing down.”

Clay Yeager, the former director of the Office of Juvenile Justice in Pennsylvania, said typical juvenile proceedings are kept closed to the public to protect the privacy of children.

“But they are kept open to probation officers, district attorneys, and public defenders, all of whom are sworn to protect the interests of children,” he said. “It’s pretty clear those people didn’t do their jobs.”

The two companies which gave the kickbacks to the judges were PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Child Care LLC.

Now and then: Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim

Please. Please.  Do not play these video clips unless you have speakers connected to your computer and are able to turn up the volume!

Now:

[ starring Lewis McElroy ]

Then:

Starring Christopher Walken

Bonus link:

Soviet Army dance troup and their Weapon of Choice.

( inspired by Nico @ 160typo )

How to help bushfire victims:

If you want to donate or help, please carefully read this page from radio station  774 ABC Melbourne:

http://blogs.abc.net.au/victoria/2009/02/offer-help---or.html

Thank you.

Sydney then and now: Binishells

The Killarney Heights Public School has some distinctive buildings in the form of Binishells.  The Binishell is a distinctive architectural and construction format developed in the 1960s and popularised in Australia in the 1970s by the New South Wales Departments of Education and Public Works.

These particular Binishells were designed for use as the school library.  

Then exterior (1974):

[ Dr. Dante Bini generously supplied this 1974 photograph and permitted use. ]

Now exterior (2009):

The Binishells at Killarney Heights Public School have proven to be very durable. Thirty-five years later, one of the only differences between the external views is that the earlier photograph displays wooden framed doors, and the later view shows aluminium framed doors.

Then interior (1974)

[ Dr. Dante Bini generously supplied and granted permission to use this 1974 photograph ]

Now  interior (2009):

The school library is now housed in a different, conventional building and the large Binishell has been converted to a multiuse venue.  Some school sport takes place there, such as gymnastics since it does not involve high altitude projectiles which would collide with the pendant lights and ceiling fans.  It is also used for meetings and assemblies.

To permit this multi-purpose use the sunken casual reading area shown on the floor of the 1974 view has been filled in. 

Copies of the original architectural drawings were made available to me by Dr. Dante Bini:

More information about Binishells and related other architectural and construction systems can be found here.

It looks like Binishells may also get a new life as a green construction method.

Do you like a treasure hunt?

If you're in the USA or London, you may want to try Wikipedia Loves Art.

It's a research project disguised as a game.

You take you camera to 15 selected cultural institutions in the USA and London, take public domain photographs of selected works of art, post them on Flickr and "win".

There are also associated meet-ups for the socially inclined, and individual competitions in some of the participating institutions.

Read about it here.

Or here.