Top 40 Songs of All Time #5

Recently we lost Keith Flint from The Prodigy. Apparently he killed himself, as many of the famous seem to. Mind you, I have no idea how percentages of suicides among normal people compare to those that are in the public spotlight. He was the blond-haired one of the two mainstays of the band. A truly unique performer. I'd actually list The Prodigy as one of the most influential bands/artists in my life, so after Michael Hutchene (INXS), it's only the second time one of those has been lost.

It's terribly sad, of course for the loss of the artist, but also knowing that the band will never truly be the same. I could be proven wrong, and hope I am. But I know for INXS it was never the same. It's not that Hutchene was worth any more than the other band members, it's that together they had that X factor. Without him, it just never seemed quite the same.

Anyway, today I have been listening to a lot of music, and thought it was high time for the next installment of my Top 40. I really should knuckle down and do a big hit of this one weekend, that'd make it a whole lot easier to blog on!

Footnote: I just recently finished watching the INXS miniseries Never Tear Us Apart. Wow, it was powerful stuff. Some of the songs were playing in my head for days afterwards. So, in honour of that, and the fact that many INXS songs will no doubt make my all-time Top 40, here is another 10 of them. Enjoy...

1) Need You Tonight (1987)

2) The One Thing (1982)

3) What You Need (1985)

4) Suicide Blonde (1990)

5)  Don't Change (1982)

6) Guns In The Sky (1987)

7) To Look At You (1982)

8) Never Tear Us Apart (1987)

9) Shine Like It Does (1985)

10) Original Sin (1984)

Wow. This band was such a big part of my formative years. And to think my siblings went to school with Michael Hutchene in both Hong Kong and Sydney. I miss you INXS.

My Family History - Part 1

This post is overdue. I guess one of the things I want to accomplish with this blog is to not just tell the ongoing story of my life - and not the whole thing, just the interesting parts - but also about where I have come from. A key aspect of this is my family history, on both my mother's and father's side. Frankly, it is quite extraordinary...

Dad - my Dad, Cyril George Brown, was born March 22nd, 1930, in London. I don't know exactly how long he was in the UK for, but it wasn't long. By the time he was in primary school he was already in Hong Kong (or possibly Shanghai or Macau). Alas some of the details are a little sketchy.

My cousin Phil is a writer for News Limited, based in Brisbane. He is also an author and a Hong Kong tragic like the rest of the family. "The Kowloon Kid" is going to be his latest offering to the literary world and I can't wait for it. He generously sent me a sample chapter recently - one specific to my dad - which both brought warm feelings to my heart and a tear to my eye.

Mum was born Ruth Caroline Schneider, in Stralsund, on the north-east coast of Germany, on January 14th 1938. She is still going strong these days, even at the ripe age of 81. Then again, her mother Rosa (affectionately known as Omi) made it to 99, so the Schneider's are known for their longevity. Well, mostly anyway. The youngest of the four kids in my Mum's family, our dear Aunty Heidi, passed away last year. What a beautiful person she was too. More to come on the extended family, for now I am focusing on this latest generation of the Browns.

That's my mum and dad, I assume not long after they were married. That would make the photo circa 1956. What a beautiful couple!

Mum and Dad had four kids. The eldest, Michael, was born in 1957. Then came the twins, Peter and Veronica, in 1959. It wasn't until 1972 that I came along, albeit as an accident! Sadly, only four of us remain, with both my dad and eldest brother no longer with us. But, as I am learning, and seriously the hard way, such is life. We are here but for a fleeting moment. Boy oh boy we seriously need to make the most of the time given to us.

I think I'll leave this post here, now having introduced everyone in my immediate family. Future posts will focus on specific people, as well as my own family and extended family!

Faarrrkkk

Wow.

So my Lala brought this home last night. This is just one of a few pages that outlined her wishes. Not to have all the toys in the world. Not to go see Grandma, not to go to fun places. Just to have her parents spend more time with her.

Gee. Whiz. Our initial reaction was to feel really sad. But when wifey spoke to her, she didn't have clear answers as to why she wrote this. But I think, in her heart, that's how she feels. Because in my heart, I know I should spend more time with her. Yeah a lot of kid's stuff is boring and yeah I always have a million and one things of my own to do. But it's time to not just give here a couple of minutes and send her on her way. It's time to spend real time with her, and make sure she knows just how much she is loved.

Because she is loved, so very, very much. My Lala is probably the sweetest person I have ever known. She is so loving, kind, including, non-judgemental, and just a wonderful little person, untarnished by the world. I love her so very much. And it's in my own interests to spend as much time with her (and my boys) as possible. One day, she won't be a 7yo princess anymore. She'll grow up, grow out of us, and grow into her own life. She's the kind of girl that will always want to be close to us I suspect, but even so, eventually, she won't be part of my daily life. I need to make the most of this time, for me, and of course for her. Bless you little one, you are amazing. I love you, and I promise I will do better at spending quality time with my daughter.

What I Have Done

So I was just asked by a headhunter to provide some detail of the technical work I had overseen in my management roles. I tend to try and keep my CV brief, so it took some time to flesh all this out. When I had done so, and only for the past 13 years, I realised that I have actually done a heck of a lot in my career, considering that this is only the technical side of it, not the management aspects. Like most people I guess, I tend to not promote myself or my achievements all that much. Looking back though, I am pretty proud of what I have done:

1) Director Mining – Kupang Indonesia

• Development of ore processing system to capture previously excluded fines ore from the local Mn deposits.
• LOM plans for numerous deposits, including production levels, mining fleet selection and cost estimations.
• Development of grade control, sampling and exploration plans for various Mn deposits in Timor.
• Management of geology team, responsible for identifying and evaluating various Mn deposits in Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia. This team has also developed SOP’s and systems for grade control and reconciliation for impending opening of Gulf’s first mining operation.

2) Freelance – SE Asia and Australia

• Managing geological consultant to develop exploration plan and eventual block model for major cement project in Malaysia.
• Managing grade control and mining engineering team at Wetar Island copper project in Indonesia to develop systems for blast design, short to long-term mine planning, grade control and reconciliation.
• Providing drill and blast optimisation support to engineers at a gold mine in Vietnam.
• Providing mine planning, surveying, geotechnical and environmental management support to a nickel project in the Philippines.
• Providing management, mine planning, grade control and reconciliation support to a silver mine in Queensland.

3) Mine Manager – Malaysia

• Management of mining engineering, drill & blast, geotechnical, surveying and grade control teams at Penjom Gold Mine. This included development of all operating systems, specifically scheduling, mine design, blast design and optimisation, survey protocols, grade control methods, grade control drilling and sampling, block modelling and reconciliation systems.
• Development of ore processing system to beneficiate a sub-grade stockpile to increase its grade to mill-feed status.
• Management of a fleet replacement program and upgrade for increased mine output and mill throughput.

4) Technical Services Manager, Australia Pacific Region

• Provided mining contract estimates and tenders for over 30 projects in the Australia-Pacific region, including winning multiple mining contracts.
• Estimates covered a wide variety of commodities and included all aspects of operating open pits.
• Entered into an agreement with Snowden consultants to provide them with technical aspects of mining plans they were contracted to produce.

These are my most recent roles, covering the past 13 years. Previous to that I have also had significant technical experience in all aspects of mining engineering, as well as exposure to grade control, block modelling, orebody reconciliation and resource reporting.

Update

I haven't blogged for a while. Not because I've had nothing to say - on the contrary actually, I've had more thoughts going through my little doggy head than usual!

But when one is so fixated on what's happening outside the world of the written word, sometimes it's hard to find the time to gather one's thoughts and get them on paper, or so-to-speak.

But I am making an effort today: partially because I need to write, and partially because I need to make a decision. Doing this helps me to garner all my thoughts, and hopefully reach a suitable conclusion.

My new professional contact, let's call him M, is open to the idea of me pulling out of my current job and working for him as a consultant. Sooner rather than later too. This idea is so appealing to me, partially because I am sick and tired of Kupang, and partially because I am totally sick and tired of my current employer. I can't say too much, but let's just say I do not approve of the way we portray ourselves to the market. I do not approve of our cowboy-outfit mentality. I do not approve of being given nothing to do my job with, and then expected to achieve everything. People let me speak, but they don't really listen. This is a complicated business at the moment. I have been asked to form relationships, and I have done just that. But when it comes to actually actioning those relationships, all I get is silence, or at best "we're not ready yet".

I honestly believe my employer is not capable of finishing this job. It scares me. I mean I know we have enough money committed to ensure my salary is paid for the next 6 months really. But if certain things don't happen in the next 3, I am not sure that will even happen. So many unknowns, so many unspoken expectations, so much knee-jerk, so much cow-towing to any bastard with money.

But. Here's the catch. I do trust M, I really do. But if I pull the pin now, I am essentially going back into the great unknown. Living in KL. Hey that's ok, and we can do it cheaper this time. But I need to understand how I am going to be paid. Am I going to get a work permit this time? That caused issues last time. Frankly I was lucky. I doubt I will be so lucky again. So things need to be done correctly. I know the world we live in now does not have the same level of certainty as the one of 10 years ago. Things are changing, there is a lot of flux. We need to be flexible. I get it. But I am also a little tired of the uncertainty, of being unsure about what the next paycheck is going to look like. It's not like that now, although one never knows what day one is going to be paid or how much, even though the minimum is quite fine. So I just have to think. I have asked M to clarify his position on work permit, specific work location and my rate. With that in mind, if he's able to be fully forthcoming about it, I believe I'll likely have what I need to make my decision.

I wonder how shitty my current employer will be though. We're in a critical time for this business, and someone needs to make some big calls. I just don't want to be involved. Hey I love the big calls, but only with people I have confidence in. These guys just make me pull my hair out, on an almost daily basis.

Ok, rant done, Will update when I have more info.