Excitement At Lofty Heights

Finally finished clearing and insulating the loft, and with only minor fatigue around the thighs this time. The force 10 gale that blows up the hall whenever a neighbour sneezes or closes their door hard, or a car drives up the road (it’s drafty, and I’m again too tired to try and be clever so shoe horning remains the order of the day) will soon be sorted and my home will finally be a warm and snug place. Actually, it won’t. That’s a big fat lie. When I’ve decorated, got new carpets, re-sealed the windows, re-decorated, got newer carpets, replaced the central heating; replaced the insulation and the 1,001 other things that as home owners we have to do and re-do to keep the never ending upkeep going so that one day, maybe, we can lie down and die, then it will be warm and snug. Ah, life! Forever a work in progress.

So, in good news I’ve ordered my new gaming PC. Got a bit of a bargain so am kind of expecting one of those “we made a mistake” e-mails and “if you want to hand over another bundle of cash we’ll think about it!” offers. Assuming that doesn’t happen, I’m excited at the prospect of playing Bioshock (PC) as it was meant to be seen. Of getting decent frame rates in Crysis (PC) even if the game is just a better looking Far Cry (PC) but with all the fun removed. I might even have yet another run through S.T.A.L.K.E.R (PC). Then maybe get my hands on Call Of Duty 4 (PC) and Gears Of War (PC). I might go crazy and book some time off work so I can have another crack at Oblivion (PC). On top of all that PC goodness, I’m ridiculously excited at the prospect of finally getting my hands on Super Mario Galaxy (Wii). News that Deus Ex 3 is in the works and the Ghostbusters trailer for the game that is in development are too exciting for words, see

.

Rapture & Ridicule

Oh video games, you evil mistress. With your enticing gameplay you take me away from this pained reality and entertain and excite me! I’ve seen the different S.T.A.L.K.E.R (PC) endings and been playing Excite Truck (Wii), and after downloading and playing through the BioShock (PC) demo a few times (runs surprisingly well on my crusty ol’ rig!) decided that I couldn’t wait for the upgrade so when it dropped on my doormat Thursday it was installed and have been playing that too. It’s early days yet so I could live to regret saying this but BEST GAME EVER!

Back in pained reality, “Lazy” boy is back in work and telling lies again. I’m at a complete loss to understand why he does it. Does he think I won’t find out? Does he really believe the spiteful crap coming out of his mouth? Why don’t our employers put a stop to it? The mind boggles! The news of his impending return was met with derision from a section of the workforce. Some even suggesting we’d be better off if he never came back. The irony is that once again I have to defend him. It’s ridiculous, I know.

Chernoblyl Vs Widnes

So much has happened I barely know where to start… Football is back. YAY! Had a great Guild Wars (PC) session with some of the clan. Finished S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl (PC) and enjoyed it so much am going to again to see the different endings. Decided I might have to leave Bioshock (PC) until I upgrade my hardware a bit. (I really want that game, but I need to do it justice and my current rig won’t and I’m not buying a 360 just for one game). I’ve been meaning to order Excite Truck (Wii) for ages so finally did that too. I’ve got a problem, don’t I?

All that and I still managed to squeeze in eating, sleeping and some work. Sometimes I amaze myself.

I’m trying to avoid social and political commentary. Can you tell? I used to rant and rave a lot about the ills of the world, but at the end of the day I don’t have the solution or the power to implement it if I did.

A situation in work today illustrates my current feelings of helplessness. I call this situation:

Everything you do is wrong!

Some colleagues complaining about another. He’s lazy; idle; useless they claim. He’s a valued member of the team I reply. He’s a waste of space who should be sacked. No, he is doing his work to the best of his ability and if he is falling short we all have to help to get things back on track.

I’m sure you can already see the road this is going down. Why are these guys working their socks off when they could reduce their workload by 10% simply by slowing down a bit and saying they’ve done their best? So what do we do?

a) Speak with everybody involved and explain what’s needed and required and that people’s ability will differ and that that should be respected and we should all do our best.

b) Discipline the “lazy” guy. Give him targets to reach and a reasonable period to improve and reach them?

c) Discipline the colleagues for making derogatory comments that could offend that other colleagues sensibilities?

Take a few seconds to think about it. Decided? Okay, if you answered:

a) I’m sorry, you have failed to act in any party’s interest and they all feel you are not listening or acting to improve the situation. Expect a couple of grievances to be lodged against you.

b) I’m sorry, you cannot single an individual out like that. Even if that persons performances are below expectations and all his colleagues are repeatedly complaining, to only set the one person a performance improvement schedule could be considered bullying and/or harassment. Expect a grievance to be lodged against you.

c) I’m sorry, you have failed to empathise or act on their concerns. They now feel you are giving the “lazy” colleague preferential treatment while making them do more work. Failure to balance the workload equally could be considered bullying and/or harassment. Expect a grievance to be lodged against you.

The clue was in the title.

Right… S.T.A.L.K.E.R…