Storemen Talk Volume 3: Winning

Winning....

We all like to be the one that all others look up to - to be the best of the best in our field or on the field. We all want to be the hero at the end of the day don't we?

Sure, I'd like to think so - we all strive for success and most of us like to achieve our goals regularly. It's what makes us feel good, that motivation we need to wake up every morning and strive to do better and be that little bit more successful every day.

But is winning everything? what about those of us that constantly fail? what gets us out of bed everyday?

A friend and work colleague of mine and I are at polar opposites when it comes to our ideas of teams and leadership and our stances on measuring success.

He is the "Failure is not an option" type, he is appalled by those who are the weakest link on his team and is very blunt and open about how he feels when it comes to their contribution to the teams failure.
He is strongly against giving praise purely on participation  (which is common these days in youth sporting teams, everyone is awarded for playing, there is no longer an individual award for player of the day). He believes that this trend in political correctness is killing the drive (in our next generation) for perfection and success, he believes in a certain type of way that it's almost marking a change in human evolution with "Survival of the fittest"  no longer being an issue as we are all treated the same.
He tells me that he's been playing on team sports (Rugby) almost since the time he could stand on both feet and kick a Rugby ball. If it wasn't for serious injury (he tells me) he'd be playing World Cup grade games and he would have earn't an All Blacks jersey by now.

And while I don't entirely disagree with his views ( he has some valid points ) I like to take a different approach. Simply put: " you catch more flies with honey than you would with vinegar". And by that I mean that in a team situation we are only as strong as our weakest member therefore it is best to take the time to bring them up to a standard that meets our expectations. Mocking and shaming will get the team no where fast.

For example: the above mentioned work colleague became the coach of our "social" work touch rugby team after about a months worth of twice weekly vigorous after work trainings and a weekly Thursday evening game against other social teams - he found that what was once a large team of staff members and plenty of substitute players became a team of 3 (myself included) and a last minute panic to fill the empty positions with ring-ins. 
And all because his expectations were too high and pre game groans became the norm - even after a win. The best was never the best and eventually most players pulled out and made excuses not to play.


I believe that there should be no shame in failure. To quote Motivational speaker Tony Robbins "There is no such thing as failure - only results".  So in a manner of speaking every action has either an equal or opposite reaction. We don't always get the outcome we were hoping for right? But we can still learn from the experience in the hope that we can get better results next time. None of us are born perfect, we all have to better ourselves through experience - trial and error.

For example: Merely 5 minutes ago my 4 year old daughter burst into tears because she was colouring in a page in her colouring book and made a mistake. She acted as if it was the end of the world and believed that the picture was now ruined. I had to explain to her that she'd tried something and it didn't work ( she was colouring in a fairy picture and coloured black around the fairies eyes to resemble eye liner ) and that she now knows for next time that colouring around the eyes doesn't get the desired effect that she was looking for. She calmed down and carried on after that.


So in short I don't believe either of us are right or wrong (even if my examples are biased), we both agree to disagree and regularly refer to the DiSC personality test which work provided for us all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiSC

I would highly recommend this for any work place and believe this is possibly the most accurate test I've ever done.

For the record I am equal part I.S while my work friend is a very strong C.

We are what we are after all

Take Care of yourselves and remember: It's probably more afraid of you than you are of It

Sam1982

The truth about Auckland: Remuera

Auckland (Awk-land)....

Otherwise known by the name "The City of Sales" after its picturesque harbour. Auckland is the largest populated city in New Zealand and with over 200 different suburbs is home to a multitude of people and cultures.

You can read more about Auckland via these links here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland

http://www.auckland-suburb-guide.co.nz/

Interesting right?

Well......the plot thickens indeed.

In this particular series "The truth about Auckland" I will bring to you.........

Well....The truth about Auckland, the stuff they really don't want outsiders to know, and perhaps even a few things the locals are oblivious to themselves.

Today's spotlight shines down on the suburb of Remuera.

Remuera - if not the centre of the world, the 7000+ population would at least like to think that they're the centre of Auckland.
Remuera of course is where the rich folk live and where the semi wealthy say they live. It's home to a number (well most of them really) of home grown celebrities including - I believe - New Zealand's leader, John Key (yes our prime minister does sound like something you'd take from a gas station attendant if you wanted to use the toilet) .
If you think in terms of a profile or a status ladder, or pyramid - whatever turns you on, Remuera would be the one suburb on the top that looks down on all the rest. Its the kind of place that other suburbs go to to hunt through trash in order to get their hands on unwanted good condition belongings.

But while the socialites of Remuera dine alfresco outside their tiny little coffee shops, sipping away at Chai Lattes and nibbling on their biscotti, snubbing their noses at anyone who is not within their higher income circles, I laugh to myself and wonder what they would think if they knew the history and the true meaning behind beloved little haven of wealth:

Remuera (Rem-oo-weara)

Comes from the Maori* term Remu-Wera, meaning nothing more than "Burnt Bum"

As the story goes, the land that is now to be known as Remuera was once home to a Maori tribe who was at war with a neighbouring Hauraki tribe.
It is said that as a result of this war the Wife of the Hauraki tribes Chief was captured and eaten in a cannibalistic ritual on that very spot thus they named the land "Burnt Bum" as taunt to torment the now widowed Chief.
Simple times I guess - regardless of whether it was one awesome Barbecue or the Chieftainess was somewhat of a Kardashian in her time, I guess the local Maori had the right to name their land whatever they want, and the name obviously stuck.

So I do wonder if the modern day "high and mighty" really know they're talking up a charred piece of Ass? I honestly believe that it is enough to make a vast number of residents to move - oh the shame of it all!!

But I guess its not as bad as trying to explain living here....

Take care of yourselves and remember : Ceiling insulation is no substitute for Cotton Candy

Sam1982

*Maori

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people

Storemen Talk: Volume Two - When did we stop listening to the music?

I think Seth Green ( as Dan Mott) said it best in the film "Without a Paddle" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364751/ ) :

While listening to Boy George - Do you really want to hurt me....

"When we were kids, it didn't matter what the song was. We weren't wrapped up in what was cool and uncool. We just Listened to the music. It should be like that now. Just listen to the song, man."

It has become a habit lately at work to upload music from CDs onto our personal laptops so that we can listen to our own tunes while we're all busily driving our hoists rather than arguing over which radio station to listen to throughout the day.

Myself - I live the sweet sounds of rock and heavy metal. There's nothing better that I can think of that gets the adrenaline going more than a morning coffee and a heavy guitar riff paired with equally awesome bass slapping and drum bashing. A deep death growl is simply the cherry on the top.
While this genre of music is my weapon of choice, I'm happy to listen to whatever, if still fond of dance music depending on the mood and I'm as much a sucker for old school 80's hits as the next person ( and if you say you hate the 80's you're a liar ).

While I'm the only Vanilla face on the team you'd expect the rest of the team - The "Island and Indigenous" brothers if you will to be heavily into the "Hip Hop, RNB, and Gangster Rap" - Wrong. The oldest of the bunch  still believes that Disco never died and is Cool and the Gangs biggest fan this side of the hemisphere, while the second oldest shares my love for the rock music.
The younger two of the team - two stocky "don't mess with us" looking thugs are actually big fans of pop music, in particular: Backstreet boys, Nsync and lately Ugh One Direction.

So is it purely stereotypical to think that Rock is a "White" person music? and vice versa thinking that Rap is only for "Black" people?

The census in the Warehouse suggests not, it would seem like a good assumption and 9 times out of 10 I would say its a fair assumption, but there is always the exception to the rule.

So does Religion play a part in the music taste then?

In my opinion it does, the two of us in the warehouse with a love for Rock and Metal are the only two that don't have an active religious following nor have had a religious upbringing. And while the rest of the team listen to their happy / lively "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" music they go to church every Sunday with a clear conscience knowing that they have filled their heads with songs about love and not (as they always seem to believe) songs involving death, suicide, murder and the devil. Which is not always the case - It's just another stereotype that's been inflamed by the media.

On the flip slide, in my own ignorance (I'm guessing) I wonder myself why a 30 year old religious man be so interested in a group of 14 year old boys that have a target audience of 13 year old girls?

The mind boggles....

Just listen to the music man.......just listen to the music.

All worlds collide here in this video with Lionel Ritchie, Rob Zombie and Trina - telling it like it is.

If only there was this much understanding between the musical genres, there is greatness in them all.

What we need is a great big melting pot.....

Take care of yourselves and remember: Love is a battlefield

WR5Y8FMRC2ZM 

Pirates of the Digital Era

These days, I would call anyone out as a liar if they told me that they'd never received or downloaded digital content that had been taken from the internet illegally.

Am I one of the guilty? Yes

Am I proud of it? No

So why do I do it then?

Because I believe that we've all become a bit spoilt with technology and content lately - we want it, and we want it NOW. I don't want to wait every Tuesday to see what happens next in my favourite TV show knowing that the same show is already two whole seasons ahead overseas.

If I can't see film and television at the same time as everyone else around the world at home or in the theatre, then I at least want to have the option of seeing the same content on demand so that I can catch up and be up to date.
Most of the major broadcasting companies have "on demand" or "catch up" options on their official websites, and I know that these are free to stream....

Free to stream if you live in the country of origin otherwise you get the "this content is currently unavailable in your country"

How is that fair?

I can understand the reasons why I can't stream the content for free - money hasn't exchanged hands between the broadcasters who want the show here and the broadcasters who own the show there.

And that can take months - sometimes even years.

And this is where my issue is at...... where is my option to beat the slow-ass broadcasters in my country and pay a small fee to watch international content where I want and when I want.

YES, I DID JUST SAY I WOULD PAY FOR CONTENT SO LONG AS IT'S ON DEMAND.

However, there doesn't appear to any such option, which is a shame because someone will then miss out on a pay day if I choose the OTHER option.

So at the end of my tether, the only option (other than waiting for it to eventually air - and by that time it's become less current) is to either find a copy to download or find someone who already has.

The above is using television as an example. When It comes to film most of the blockbusters share a worldwide release date which is awesome. I'm there on opening night, I pay my $17 for my ticket and $23 for my medium popcorn ( the price of which are a different story ).

But what about the films that aren't blockbusters, what about the b grades or even the one that have been banned from even screening here. Shouldn't I be able to make the decision of what is OK for me to view?

Well there is one way of seeing those films where and when I want......

Music? one of those things that has had better treatment via the internet. I Tunes has it pretty well covered, as far as I'm concerned there really isn't any good excuse for music downloads other than the price per download, which in my opinion is not too bad anyway. I'm still a CD shopper however - music is better with lyrics and artwork / photos and you just don't get that with downloads.
I've heard it said before that the artists complaining about their music being downloaded illegally are the ones that really don't need that extra income, the ones that already have five mansions and garages full of expensive cars. I can agree with that statement to an extent, but I'm sure that anyone would be annoyed if someone was ripping them off regardless of how much they were already earning.

So in short - If the option is there, price and availability are reasonable and fair and the content is of good quality it seems as though there are enough people who are willing to pay but just don't have the options.

It's time to change don't you agree?

The debate will continue...


Take care and remember: Oil and water don't mix

Sam1982

Accountability?

This little gem has been floating around the news headlines for a few days now here in little old NZ, and quite frankly it pisses me the hell off!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10800154

I agree, coke and other such beverages should come with warnings. You know those cans that come in bulk cartons and they all say "not for individual sale" across the top - they should instead read: " Not for idiot consumption ". I mean really? to say that this woman had an addiction and to blame Coke for her death is an absolute cop out.
Coke, one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) cola companies in the world - and why? because people drink coke every day all around the world.

And guess what?

They don't die, why? because most people have self control and know when enough is enough. It's time to take accountability for our own actions people - over indulging in anything is going to kill and for those of us who don't understand that need to open up the dictionary and learn the definition of moderation.

And while I think it's sad that this woman has passed away, surely if not for her friend and family stepping in, her body itself would have at least given her a little bit of warning that she was damaging herself.

And as for this little ditty

What kind of "fair test" is this? put an egg in a glass of coke ( cool coke bottle by the way ) and leave it for 365 days.......that's pretty much a whole year or 52 weeks there abouts. 

And imagine what it does to your teeth? ( he says sarcastically ) it turns the egg into a bouncy ball and turns the shell into a sooty mess. Seriously! who in their right mind is going to hold a mouth full of coke for a year, forget the damage that it'll do for your teeth, how infected and stanky would your whole mouth get?

And lets not forget that vinegar does the same thing in less time..

That's right, think twice before you reach for that Balsamic salad dressing.

Just quit with the whining already and take a look in the mirror

Its not McDonalds fault you're fat

Its not Marilyn Mansons fault your kids a freak

And it's not Cokes fault you can't reach for the tap and get your 8 glasses of water a day resulting in your eventual death.

Blame Pepsi instead

Take care of yourself - and remember: Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair so fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

Sam1982

Storemen Talk: Volume One - I think I've seen you before

I welcome myself back here to blog-o-sphere a little longer than a two year hiatus. I did have a couple of blogs that I posted upon back in 2009 which I had to put on hold for no other reason other than the fact that I left a dead end 8-5 office job (To which I spent most of my time there surfing the net) in favour of picking up a myriad of fork hoist licences and moving forward into joining one of the elitest of the elite warehousing teams in the greater Auckland area.

So between 2009 and now I've picked up a little bit of experience, I can actually drive some pretty kick-ass machines and the physical nature of the job has had it's benefits to my health and fitness.

But what about feeding the mind you ask? (really you do)

Well......

Throw a group of men from varying cultures together in a room with no windows and you can bet your bottom dollar that the conversations that we come up with can delve from gentlemanly conversation one moment to the absolutely absurd the next.
Regardless the conversations never fail to be both entertaining and educational (to a degree), so I figure - Hey why not turn these conversations into blogging gold?

Today, the topic of conversation comes all the way from Egypt .As the story goes from the radio broadcast: An Egyptian man decides to waltz into an internet cafe in a bid to find a "quiet place" to log on to the net and enjoy the sights and sounds of the very vice that has taken the internet by storm - That's right you guessed it, PORN.

I know what you're thinking - who in their right mind would go to an internet cafe to do something reserved for what others may consider a more intimate affair. But I guess that it was his "first time".......ehem yeah right....So any abnormal behavioural patterns can be forgiven.

So anyway.... as it turns out, midway through his Uncle Doug he realises that the actress on screen that is indulging in the humpty dumpty with a generic beard - Is his wife of 16 years. What are the chances?

It is then said that the man collapses to the floor from shock - here's hoping he collapsed gracefully and with a little bit of dignity.
He then races home to confront his wife who (obviously) denies his accusations until he shows the video to her himself - I can only assume that he did this via a home computer, which adds to the confusion over why he would choose an internet cafe for a public fapping.

Feeling cornered his wife confesses to starring in the adult video.......as well as 11 other films WOWEE!!
She explains that the Egyptian Stallion in the video is her ex-boyfriend and they are still involved in an active relationship.
The Egyptian man claims that he had no clue up until that point and as far as he was concerned they were both happy.

To my knowledge that's where the story ends.

Left in awe, we merry men of the Warehouse were left pondering the conclusion. Putting ourselves in the same position as the unfortunate Egyptian man. What would you do? how would you react?

The obvious scenario is that the relationship ends, they split their investments in half and go their separate ways, and while some of us considered the possibility of an instant free hall pass to go off and do "whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander", I comprehended the situation in a slightly different manner:

I find that when you are seemingly content in your relationship it is best not to go looking for snakes (no pun intended) for you will find them. Its pretty clear that this man in question left the comforts of his home to take a risk in public so that he could give in to his perversions. He frantically types his keywords into the search engine and eagerly awaits his fantasy to appear on screen.

And Guess what? the thing that he was looking for was at home all along.

Sure, she was cheating but it begs the question that if you're happy, would you want to know? if you were happy would you want to want to light that fuse that would change everything you knew for the last 16 years in an instant?

Its a cruel world out there kids!

Take care of yourself - and remember: I before E except after C