Dan Makovec’s blog

Virgin Blue Business Lounge (verdict: not worth the money)

So my work in Melbourne is complete and I’ve got a few hours to kill.  Rather than be a drag on Tony for an extra few hours, I head out to Tullamarine and make the most of Virgin Blue’s new “business lounge”.  For $30 a visit, or $500 odd for the year you get light snacks, tvs, drinks and a “business” area to catch up on work before your laptop battery gets confiscated for your flight.

Now excuse me, but this is 2006.  Any business lounge that doesn’t have a working, reliable wifi hotspot for your laptop to connect to with a single click isn’t worth a pinch of shit in my books.  So I go pick out a nice table away from everyone else, right in the middle of the lounge, plonk down my things (carry on bag, laptop bag, jacket, suit) and turn on the computer to check my mail.  Activate the wifi… nothing. I call over one of the staff, who tell me it should work, but only if I sit in a particular corner of the lounge as the transmitter doesn’t have the power to cover the whole area.

Fine.  I pick up laptop, power cable, note books, jacket, carry on bag, laptop bag and suit and move to the corner of the room he suggested.  Lo and behold, a lounge hotspot shows up.  I connect to it and try to get a DHCP lease - and the signal dies.  I move the laptop around, signal comes back, then dies again.

I go to the desk, who tell me the best way to get online is to grab one of their specially made 2ft ethernet cables and plug in to a socket in the wall.  Of which there are only a few.  All clustered together where other users are sitting.

Isn’t the point of paying for access to a business lounge to get you away from the noise and clutter of every other bastard blabbing away on their mobile phone or talking with their travelling companion about how divine Monte Carlo is at this time of year?  It certainly can’t be for the CaffeX coffee and trail mix, or the stale ex-sizzler’s salad bar next to the stand of yesterday’s newspapers.
Next time I’ll stay in town, or just schedule an earlier flight.

Musings

I’m writing this post from my bed alone from the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria.  I’m staying at Tony’s, one of my colleagues from E-Info, for a few days to discuss strategy and plan for the next phase for expansion.  So, what’s been going on lately?

I had a call from Dad last week.  Puddy, my cat, died on the 9th of old age related complications.  We were never sure of her exact age, but we’re guessing around 18.  Not a bad innings for a kitten taken in from the wild on my grandparent’s farm.  I’m sad that she’s gone, although I know she’s had a long and happy life.

Myk and Felicia’s wedding (part 1) is coming up in a couple of weeks.  I haven’t booked the tickets yet (I know, I’m incredibly slack) but I’m really looking forward to being there, as is Brian.  I’m so happy for the pair of them, and can’t wait to see them tie the knot.  Part 2 is later on, and we’ll be using the opportunity of attending this part of the wedding in more of an active role to go on our first real holiday in over three years.  At this stage we’re looking at a rail and bus journey up through south-east Asia, although there’s nothing in concrete yet.

Nothing much else to report on really.  I’ve resumed my exercise regime after a bit of a dip, brought on by excessive work and the occasional cold.  Still living in Sydney, although interested in moving up north where the beaches wiithout crowds beckon.  We’re both well and happy (our third anniversary just past in August) and life generally is peachy.

Time to stop now.  I’ve been up since 6.30 to catch a flight that I almost missed thanks to the taxi company losing my booking.  My eyes are heavy and I’m about to drop the laptop…

Steve Irwin and the hypocrisy of the media

At last somebody said what I’ve been thinking publicly.

Jack Marx in his Daily Truth editorial at Fairfax had a dig at his own profession over the recent spate of media obituaries to Steve Irwin, who as everybody knows by now, was killed doing what he loved to do and did best - flirting with dangerous animals:

But what winds me up about celebrity death these days is the manner in which the frauds in the media fair blow their loads in the “outpouring of grief” that has became standard issue since Diana’s sick and prolonged exit. Footage runs in slow motion as pianos tinkle, while every columnist with the imagination of a duck jumps up for their own gooey turn at the pulpit in a free-to-air funeral service that never ends.

During these times, anyone who dares speak his or her mind, giving an honest opinion unbothered by the forced public ceremony of misery, is howled down as a creep and a heretic by the very people who are being the fakes.

The original article which prompted the backlash that led to Jack’s posting is admittedly written in typical “grumpy old woman” Germaine Greer fashion. It is available here for all to read.