That's a guy who really loves his job

While doing some research today I came across this individual in the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador's Report to the House of Assembly. For anyone who can't be bothered to find out what that is, it's a document that evaluates how the provincial government has been spending money over the past year and makes recommendations on how money can be saved or used more effectively.

A marine engineer at the Department of Transportation
and Works has been paid overtime totalling $303,000
for the five year period 2005 through to 2009 as
follows: 2005 - $31,000; 2006 - $42,000; 2007 -
$69,000; 2008 - $58,000; and 2009 - $103,000. This
employee’s regular pay during this period was
$296,000; therefore, this employee received $599,000
from the regular pay and overtime during this five year
period and received 102% of their regular pay in
overtime payments.

This person DOUBLED their annual salary through overtime work. Not only that, there's this individual. TOIL is "Time off in Lieu" which is when you take time off instead of being paid for overtime:

The regional manager of one of the Arts and Culture
Centres at the Department of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation had accumulated TOIL of $163,000 as at 31
March 2009. During the four-year period 2006 through
to 2009, this employee accumulated $88,000 as
follows: 2006 - $28,000; 2007 - $16,000; 2008 -
$19,000; and 2009 - $25,000. This employee’s annual
salary for 2009 was $55,000; therefore, this employee
had accumulated TOIL equal to 296% of their annual
salary.

Are they machines or fraudsters? Whatever the case I bet they have an interesting story to tell.

Link:
http://www.ag.gov.nl.ca/ag/sumBooklet/2009Summary/Summary2009.pdf

Sometimes you crave the experiences of others

Something I've been thinking about lately is the nature of entertainment. Specifically, I've been concerned with how pivotal the relationship is between those who create art and those who distribute and bring the attention of one another to creative works. I like to consider myself a repeater, a filter, if you will, for works that catch my attention. I don't know what makes me qualified or even if the things repeated are of value to other people but between the seemingly endless pool of movies, books, images and internet content, the world needs people to point out the merit of individual works more than ever.

Furthermore I believe that individuals tend to act more as receivers more than repeaters in this day and age. Great works are experienced by an individual and that branch dies. This reality is not new, nor is it wrong, but I personally believe that I owe it to the things that make me laugh or cry, wonder or cringe to spread these ideas with what meager resources I have.

Just today I have read something that made me cry: http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/8358
Something that made me laugh: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9228/23bb4447fa0fd7b87b66152.jpg
a lot of them actually: http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4376/asymptote.gif
something that surprised me: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8480954.stm
and something that confused me while making me laugh: (Not safe for work) http://gamersweb00it.registerblog.splinder.com/post/1207121177/Fuck+One+Grand+Prix+Japan+-+The+Porno+Motorsports!+SOD

I also watched a lot of Star Trek (Original Series) and was amazed by how many modern TV shows and movies are still doing EXACTLY the same thing (albeit with significantly better production value).

I'll be the first to admit that I'm trying to piggyback on the hard work of others but entertainment to me is as much a function of the creators as it is the community who absorbs it. Even those who dismiss and deride works add to how we interpret them and continue on the life of the work.

The reason I say all this is that I've been beginning to think that I've got a lot more to say about many of the things I filter other than their existence. This is my statement of intent to start adding more to the works that enrich my life.

My Internet Shoebox

Ever had the opportunity to review the lists or projects you've made when you were younger? Most of us have old photos or notebooks but I'm getting to the point where I'm finding old web apps I've used that have the same nostalgia. The one I found today was Criticker a service that lets you rank movies then provides recommendations based on users with similar preferences and guesses what you'll rate it on a 0-100 scale. It's still pretty great for finding new movies in genres you already enjoy. Here's a list of the top 10% of my rankings back when I updated it regularly.

Tier 10 Films
Casablanca (1942) 98
The Good, the Bad and the U… (1966) 97
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 97
The 400 Blows (1959) 96
The Dark Knight (2008) 96
F for Fake (1974) 96
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 96
The Third Man (1949) 96
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) 95
The Lion in Winter (1968) 95
Ratatouille (2007) 95
Chinatown (1974) 94
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) 94
The Godfather: Part II (1974) 94
Sin City (2005) 94
8½ (1963) 93
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 93
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) 93
Metropolis (1927) 93
Unforgiven (1992) 93
Yojimbo (1961) 93

Aside from Glengarry Glen Ross, which I added just now, these were all added around 2007-2008. I find the list kind of foreign looking back on it. Some of the films like Dark Night, Sin City and Unforgiven I don't have the same reverence for. Others, like Metropolis, A Fistful of Dollars and The 400 Blows I still think are gorgeous and masterful blends of story and cinematography but they haven't drawn me back like other films farther down on my list.

It might be that my appreciation for movies has changed over the years but a lot of the films that I do hold in high esteem these days are still on the list, if a bit lower. I think perhaps that there's something desirable in having films with a slight flaw in them. Like a Persian rug, which are (or were at least) made with deliberate flaws as a symbol of human imperfection, a thing of great value and beauty should have some imperfection in it. Nothing that mars the overall presentation but grounds the work in some form of accessibility, to have one element that is familiar and easy. Maybe this is a preposterous plot or hammy acting or unbelievable effects but I still find Raiders of the Lost Arc to be more entertaining then The Dark Knight.

On the other hand maybe I'm just a jerk who likes laughing at dumb things. That might be closer to the truth.