Cablog

Big Thanks

MESSAGE FROM DA MAN :

Hi All,

As Movember draws to a close so does my Mo and I gotta say I can’t wait to get rid of it. These things are really itchy and I can’t understand how some people are really into having one.

I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has donated. As it stands I’ve now managed to raise $980 $1040. But if you would still like to donate it's not too late, just follow this link.

The money raised by Movember will be used to change the face of men's health by creating awareness and funding research into prostate cancer and male depression.

Once again thanks to everyone, its been a fun experience.

Aaron

It's worth noting that Australia-wide over $4 million was raised by some 57,000 participants, averaging around $72 each. A great effort by all, with Aaron's total especially commendable. Adrian (a proud father).

Cabbie Forums

Cabbies have various means of communicating with each other - verbal, mobile phone, internet forums or dunny walls.

At left is a dunny forum at the Sydney Airport holding yard providing advice on dealing with service station operators, runners and bullies.

Other cab dunnies serve as casual message boards for a range of news and opinions. Oh dear.

Dead Slow

Those journalists are funny coves. On a dead shift for blog content they can be relied upon for a quotable laugh. Last night one suggested that given the continual woes of the hapless Labor Party, they may as well bring back Paul ‘The Count’ Keating. (‘The Count’ is my phrase and spelt correctly).

I’d asked him, ‘So what’s news in there ?’. 'AWB', he replied. ‘We’ve got multiple page coverage in tomorrow's paper’. At the mention of AWB I automatically switched off. Not that I don’t think it’s a scandal - indeed I’ve previously blogged that someone in the Government should take the rap - but like most others, I’m now over it.

Earlier in the evening on ABC local radio, pollster Hugh McKay reported the same view on the AWB issue, as it pertains to negligible concern by the larger majority over the Governments' culpability -  we've moved on. For we all know the Bart Simpson defence when we hear it - 'I didn’t do it; nobody saw me do it; you can’t prove a damn thing'.

A fellow radio guest, Carmen Lawrence I think, confirmed this public apathy by stating AWB doesn’t pass the Sydney taxi driver test. Indeed, if anything, passenger sentiment last night dealt with Friday’s Critical Mass bicycle ride which caused major gridlock during the evening peak hour. Some opinions from office workers in the cab were scathing.

Later on a dead rank I was still chucking at the thought of Keating doing a Lazarus. If nothing else it would certainly liven-up Parliament, once again. Labor could go for the full experience package by enlisting Carmen Lawrence, as Deputy Leader to The Count, to sharpen-up the Government in the approach to the election. Real entertainment.

Imagine, the Dream Team in full flight...no ? Like I said, it was a slow night in the cab.

Shift Killer

Yesterday at around 2am I picked up two young fellas in Newtown. ‘Mate, first stop Jannali then Caringbah’, they ordered. Normally I’d be pressed to complete a thirty minute job before the changeover, but I had the cab till dawn so I relaxed. Additionally I knew there would be plenty of work down in the Sutherland Shire to finish off the shift.

Due to both fellas looking pretty rough with one obviously wasted, I requested the fare of $60 up front. They took their time responding so I stopped the cab, until they reluctantly handed over the bucks.

Halfway there the wasted fella woke from a drunken stupor and started heaving out the window. After checking he was clearing the window I elected to keep driving whilst he spent the next ten minutes expelling the contents of his guts. Following vehicles backed off or changed lanes. Finally he de-cabbed and I carried the other fella on to Caringbah.

On arrival the meter showed $53 and I made to give him the change. ‘Don’t worry about it’, he said. ‘Keep it for the mess my mate left’. Then he hopped out. I turned around to find the clown hadn’t opened the window fast enough, leaving some mess inside the window. An automatic shift killer involving a time consuming cleanup and the lingering odour.

Luckily though most of the mess was on the outside(warning-rough image). In the cab game that's a small mercy as it could have been a lot worse.

Cat Care

Last night a bloke around forty years old climbed into the front seat and proceeded to tell me about his expensive day. ‘I woke up to find the bloody cat was sick’, he moaned. ‘It couldn’t piss’. ‘You have a cat..?’. ‘Yeah, I know’, he said, ‘it’s sounds weird but my mother gave it to me’.

‘Mate, blokes don’t have cats', I told him, 'they have dogs. You know the old saying - dogs have masters, cats have staff’. ‘Well, this cat’s a bit like a dog’, he countered, ‘with a great personality. It follows you around and jumps in the bathtub and stuff’. ‘Fair enough then’.

‘Anyway’, he continued, ‘I took it down to the vet and it cost me $1500 to get fixed’. ‘You’re joking !’, I exclaimed. ‘Didn’t he give you the other option ?’. ‘What, have it put down ?’. ‘Of course’, I told him. ‘Always take the other option, otherwise those vets will rip you blind. It’s the biggest racket in town’.

He thought about this, then said, ‘Well, I suppose I wasn’t really thinking straight. Plus my sister knew about it and was calling me every ten minutes at the vets. So I guess I had to get it fixed’. ‘Still’, I said, ‘fifteen hundred bucks...how old’s this cat ?’. ‘Um, fourteen’, he sheepishly admitted. I couldn’t help burst out laughing, ‘You spent fifteen hundred bucks on a fourteen year old cat !? Are you on drugs ?’. Fortunately he laughed along with me, before hopping out in good humour.

Yes, I admit I was insensitive to the bloke’s feelings, and his exhorbitant cat, and now rightly deserve howls of condemnation from cat lovers everywhere. But there’s a million free cats available. Surely he could’ve told his family the cat didn’t make it, taking the opportunity to get a fresh one. How long do the bludgers live anyway ?

Disclosure : Cats don’t like me, but I’m okay with that.

Sat Bits

Whilst responding to a comment at Public Money on the quality of digital DV camcorders, I recalled an interesting item concerning my next mobile phone. Namely the new Nokia N93 with a 3.2 megapixel lens, three times optical zoom and 30 frames per sec video.

Here's a music video shot entirely on the device, plus a fascinating look at how it was made. Unfortunately the video is compressed for YouTube, a lousy medium at any time, but you'll get an idea of how camera phones are developing.

In other news Tim Blair has a new gig writing a Saturday column for the Daily Telegraph, plus serving as the OpEd editor. Much to the relief of Fairfax after this Crikey speculator.

Cab Hazards

Driving a cab in Sydney, or pretty much anywhere in the world is generally hazardous. Until you hear the tales of an Iraqi cab driver,

Taxi driver Ali Haydar, 36, has to be careful about choosing his customers. Two of his fellow drivers were killed recently when suicide bombers used their cabs to get close to their intended targets and detonate themselves.

It's the sort of environment where a driver needs that extra bit of intuition, how to identify a suicide bomber, early,

"Once a guy got into my car and asked me to drive him around the city...I asked him what was wrong and he simply told me that he was looking for a place to explode".

Err, full marks for honesty, allowing Ali to get out and run. Great story, read it all.

Public Money

Two years ago I featured in a segment on ABC TV’s pop culture show Mondo Thingo, an ABC in-house production. The two cameramen assigned to the job were independant contractors. They consisted of a broadcast camera operator in the passenger seat, a sound man, and a DVD camera mounted on the dashboard. They explained that the ABC’s technical department didn’t have the wherewithal to tape an in-vehicle location.

On Tuesday I met with an independent documentary maker to discuss a project on taxi drivers. She showed me footage on a laptop of an in-cab interview using a DVD camera, comparable work to that done by Mondo Thingo, for a fraction of the cost.

Little wonder the ABC is proposing to commission television production of various content from the independent sector, rather than use their own facilities. Is it because they are simply not cost efficient ? Furthermore, a few examples suggest their spending of public money doesn't help their cause.

Last night ABC TV held a function in Sydney to launch their new programs for 2007. It was attended by 100 invited guests. However due to a balls-up in planning, it was catered for 400 guests. A staffer I carried lamented, ‘It was a disaster. Even though we knew days beforehand only 100 guests were attending, no one informed the caterers of a change in numbers’. Hopefully the excess food was donated to homeless shelters.

A media guest from Fairfax, Paul Kalina reported on the event in today’s The Age (online) with this disclosure - Paul Kalina travelled to Sydney courtesy of the ABC - yet the same report with Kalina’s byline ran in the Sydney Morning Herald(online). Why then was a Melbourne reporter required at considerable expense (airfares, taxis, accommodation) when a Fairfax reporter from Sydney could have done the same job, free to the ABC ?

It would appear a cavalier attitude to public money is not uncommon. Today’s The Australian reports on the upheaval within the ABC over the proposal to out source to the independant sector. A comment on the loss of nature documentaries is instructive,

The production stamina of the independent sector is also being questioned by some within the ABC. "If you're in the independent sector, you're not going to sit and wait six months for a couple of penguins to bonk," one producer said.

Of course not, it's all about the efficient spending of investors money.

Too Wasted(2)

My recent post Too Wasted has attracted a large volume of traffic and some reasonable comment. Namely, how does one deal with wasted passengers ? Whilst a NSW cabbie is not legally obliged to carry such people, the question of responsibility is nonetheless valid. Does it turn on the patron, the hotel or the cabbie ? Here's a cabbie's rationale...

Consider this current case in Canada where a driver left a wasted passenger on the steps of a house. She subsequently froze to death in a temperature of -9°C,

The claim states Kahnapace was a patron at the Regina bar on Nov. 18, 2000. After consuming a large amount of alcohol, bar staff helped her call a taxi.

Johnson picked up Kahnapace from the bar. She told him she had money and directed him to take her to an address. When they arrived, Kahnapace wasn't able to pay the $4.05 fare.

Johnson had earlier stook trial for criminal negligence in the case in 2002, when the court heard there were two jackets in the cab _ one described as a cotton windbreaker, the other a heavier coat. Johnson gave Kahnapace the lighter coat, handed her a receipt for the heavier coat, then walked her to the steps of the house.

Although the cabbie was acquitted of criminal negligence, the deceased’s family is now suing the driver for multiple damages. So they should too, after he left the woman without adequate protection against the cold, for the sake of a $6 fare. But it’s a fair bet he’s now ruing the decision to accept that fare, once he saw how wasted she was.

In the case of the stranded woman in Too Wasted, I instinctively chose the letter of the law, rather than basic compassion. Something wasn’t right. Yet regular Cablog readers would be aware I’ve often applied the benefit of the doubt to passengers needing help, as will most cabbies. I know I speak for most cabbies in that we do care for others, as much as humanly possible. We have families too.

Conversely though, taxi driving is a dangerous and thankless job, especially when it comes to dealing with drunks and drug addicts. On a nightly basis we see a side of life not fully appreciated or witnessed by most others and, understandably we can become cynical and desensitised to the predicament of the wasted.

For basic reasons of self-preservation and financial viability we’re required to make snap judgements as to who we allow into our workplaces. Make the wrong call and we could be dead, robbed, bashed, charged, sued, whatever.

So when given a choice to carry a wasted passenger, a driver’s intuition must be fully satisfied, otherwise he can be forgiven for driving off at the slightest doubt. I have no intention of pleading the merits of charity from a courtroom dock or hospital bed. During a long night shift, the major goal is to safely make it home to my own bed. Good night.

Paradise

Last night I carried a Western Samoan woman, around my age, from the Airport to her home. Being a big woman (those Polynesians love their tucker) she wisely sat up front. Her large yet quiet presence next to me exuded an air of intoxicating tranquillity, rendering unnecessary any nervous need for conversation. It was perfect as we were both weary, content with the long periods of easy silence.

Otherwise we chatted sporadically on the hour journey. About the homeland she’d left seventeen years ago plus her two children raised in Sydney, now married off. Another thing, Polynesian families really look after each other. She related how on Mother’s Day her children presented her with surprise air tickets (‘eh’), for a New Zealand holiday with relatives. When I remarked, ‘that’s sounds wonderful’, she just beamed with pride, no words needed.

Eventually she intends returning home to see out her days in the house and village where she was raised. It was easy imagining her sitting on a beach with the local women, chatting, laughing, weaving baskets, preparing food whilst the grandchildren played around them.

Has anyone been to the Polynesian Islands ? Is this how it is or have I a simplistic notion of the place ? Whatever, it’s a place I really want to visit. Sounds like paradise.