Simon Rumble’s blog

Why are all IT recruiters:

• English? Almost every one of them.
• Completely unable to communicate in any method other than the telephone?
• Unable to accept any format other than MS Word. Even for Web and Linux jobs?

I don't get it. My theory on the last two is that they're mostly not very good at computers, hence their career choice of leeching off those who are. Why their all poms, not a clue.

There are some honourable exceptions to this, but they're thin on the ground.

Anyway, I'm after work. Interesting web stuff. Copy writing. Integration. Production. Freelance, contract, permanent.

I've regularly thought about the imbalance between consumers and companies providing services. Having worked in telecommunications, it's really obvious. We have whole teams of people sitting around working out ways to confuse people and make our products impossible to compare. The number of otherwise intelligent people who will swear that their phone is "free" says the techniques work.

My new blog, Informed Consumer, aims to explore this area. The tricks and techniques used to confuse and prevent meaningful comparison, and some ideas of what the authorities can do to enable meaningful comparisons.

The aim is to get the ideas of openness in regulated industries onto the agenda. We've seen how easily big businesses can roll our governments with the Grocery Choice and FuelWatch debacles, so I'd like to help them on these issues.

With Grocery Choice, the arguments of the supermarkets should have been tackled head on, thrown back at the supermarkets. "The data will be out-of-date as we change prices in every store multiple times a day" should have seen the response "so you manage to distribute this pricing information to the checkouts, so you guys are kinda experts at this". "The information won't be meaningful" should have been answered "well work with us to make it meaningful, or we'll impose something on you." Industries that aren't scared of meaningful competition won't be scared of this approach.

So have a read of Informed Consumer and jump in! Those of you who've complained that I don't have comments on this, my personal blog, will be pleased to see I've got comments on this new blog.

Many employers view social networks as time-wasting nonsense. Can building your own workplace social network deliver all of the productivity and none of the problems? Simon Rumble finds out.

My article published in the latest issue of Nett.
Start your own social network

Here's the latest scan from this afternoon. 28 weeks and 2 days. Diagnosis: Normal growth and wellbeing.

And here's Holly brandishing her disco biscuits.

Have heart-to-heart discussions in the intimate conversation nook!

I've been reading this fantastic blog, It's Lovely! I'll Take It!. Weird photos from real estate listings, and great captions. Simple but awesome.

I've entered all the upcoming fixtures for this season into the public Sydney FC calendar I maintain. It means I know when games are coming up as I live by my calendar and refer to it constantly.

Timezone is Sydney but for away games outside NSW and Victoria are likely to be wrong until a week or two before the game. I couldn't be arsed working out the complicated daylight saving bollocks and both Sydney FC and FFA give only "local" time. I'll look them up in Betfair periodically. The betting agents want to take bets right up to kickoff, so their times are always accurate.

All Sydney FC matches, times in Sydney time (though probably wrong for away matches until the week of the game).

These links will take you there. You probably want the HTML version if you use Google Calendar.

• XML
• ICAL
• HTML

If you're viewing this on my site directly, you'll be able to see the calendar below. Coming through a feed, it should be stripped.

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence. For commercial use, contact me and I'll probably let you use it for a donation to SFCU.