stephbg | Entries tagged with acs

At the end of January 2015 I will allow my membership of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) to lapse. It's true that for the last couple of years I was only paying discount membership rates because of my employment/health status, and during that time I rarely if ever attended branch events. But before that I was an active member of the society, and I'd worked hard to be accepted as a member. At my peak I was a Certified Computer Professional (MACS CPP), a professional accreditation similar to being a Certified Practising Accountant – not a bad effort for an Arts graduate.

[Note: The standard of writing in this post is embarrassingly poor, I know. I was better when I did it for a living, honest, but now I'm just too tired.]

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Current Mood: sad

This evening I was wildly overjoyed that I managed to go to an Australian Computer Society (ACS) branch meeting. It's been a very long time since I've managed it, and have missed some really great topics/lectures. But tonight's "The Art and Science of Diagramming: Communicating Effectively Using Diagrams" was a subject very close to my heart, so I poured on the painkillers and caffeine to get myself there.

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Current Mood: mixed

Am most happy to report that I got to attend this evening's ACS (Australian Computer Society) meeting featuring a presentation/workshop by Dwayne Read of Strategic Systems re Agile methods of estimating for software development projects. It's close to a year since my last one.

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Current Mood: stimulated

In this post I'd like to deconstruct (and thus ruin) a joke, and as a bonus briefly (ha!) analyse a lesson learned about ~~shamelessly exploiting~~ harnessing social media for fun and ~~you've got to be kidding~~ profit.

UPDATE 2 Feb 2012: Vlad made the Very Demotivational home page! http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2012/02/02/demotivational-posters-vlad-the-impala/?utm_source=trans&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=transglobal

UPDATE 11 Feb 2012: Followup report.

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Current Mood: scheming

The Daily WTF is a website of "Curious Perversions in Information Technology" and I read it every day. I also count this reading towards the professional development hours^ I am required to compete every year to maintain my certification as a Computer Professional via the Australian Computer Society (ACS). You may ask how I could possibly justify this as an educational activity. I'll tell you why.

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Current Mood: improved

Quick medical update to say that unless provoked by excessive exercise (see below) the shingles is all cleared up. Is that what illnesses are supposed to do? Go away? 'Cause I like it.

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Current Mood: progressive

Yesterday I managed to do a bit of work from home, and while today's spoons were being hoarded for an ACS meeting, I did a bit more work during the day. Tomorrow I may combine the two and actually make a functional appearance at the office. Fingers crossed!

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Current Mood: pleased

The subject for this evening's ACS meeting was the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA, pronounced "Sophia"). It's a framework for determining the type of skills an individual has and level at which they operate. It seems to be a reasonably practical sort of system, somewhat akin to outcomes-based curriculum. Part of the intent is to assess the individual's suitability for particular jobs (to be redefined as skills profiles), and to more clearly define the pre-requisites and desired outcomes of training courses; the befores and afters.

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Current Mood: disturbed

I've been living too much in the last couple of days to blog about it properly. ( Read more... )

Current Mood: tired but happy

The "Communication Risks" talk for the ACS went down well, although with a smallish audience of 20-30 and only two blokes. Everyone misses our regular venue and easy parking in West Perth. Many thanks to

rabbit1080 for coming along for (im)moral support. I'm sorry, but I just can't swear effectively in cold blood. Ah well, I gave it a try.

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Current Mood: pleased

I've been asked to provide brief bio to use as my introduction to my ACS talk on Wednesday. What do you think? Would you listen to me or get ready to throw tomatoes?

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Current Mood: perky

I'm struggling more than a little to prepare for my talk next week. Not having actually spoken aloud for a couple of days seems to compound the problem. I'm all for muttering to myself, but I know from experience that I need to practice at normal or indeed elevated sound levels or it doesn't count.

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Current Mood: scatty

A funny (for corporate and educational purposes) thing happened a couple of weeks ago, and it occurred to me that it might usefully chew up a minute or two of "Communication Risks" airtime as a variation on the theme that technical humour is dangerous. I received permission from the relevant colleague to share (he was the one attempting humour), so I'll see if I can thrash it out in text here first before I start to rehearse the tightened verbal version. You have to be able to look your audience in the eye when telling anecdotes, and not read off a script. I'm too tired tonight to tighten it up (am in fact falling alseep now) but hope to capture the essence of the comfail.

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Current Mood: afraid

As of this morning I am officially on the schedule for the next ACS-W "Networking Event" in August. Oh the horror. I shall complain about the horror. I have, however, discovered a tenuous gender link to support my topic selection of "Communication Risks" (one of which is making me do public speaking). I shall complain about the tenuousness of the link, unless enough people tell me this particular bias actually seems plausible.

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Current Mood: inventive

A couple of days ago I was asked to speak to the ACS-Women's group at their monthly meeting. I struggled to come up with an appropriate topic, and one which I could pull together in just two weeks. Many thanks for all the people who commented and passed on suggestions.

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Current Mood: in for a penny

Got one of those odd e-mails out of the blue today, asking if I would address the ACS Women's group (ACS-W) in August as a fill-in speaker. It appears I am being hoist on my own petard for insisting that such gatherings have a speaker at all, but I'm struggling to come up with a topic that will be entertaining, informative and skewed to the female demographic. I am unaccustomed to making that distinction in a speaking engagement.

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Current Mood: terrific and/or terrified

Because someone set fire to our usual venue, next week's ACS meeting has been relocated to The Melbourne Hotel at the corner of Hay and Milligan in the city. That's the intersection which hosted an interesting car crash last week, where a P plater went through a red light, clipped a CAT bus then ploughed through the glass front of a restaurant. Fortunately it was after the lunch rush so numbers were few and injuries minor. Can't say the same for the state of the traffic jam afterwards.

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Current Mood: thoughtful

Husband's going to be a busy musical boy this week, and I've got a few things to aim for. I can dream, can't I?

( With bonus fluffy cat picture )

Current Mood: scheming

I woke up this mornin' (duh Nah nah nah NAH)
And I got outta bed (duh Nah nah nah NAH)
I had me a shower (duh Nah nah nah NAH)
And even got myself fed. (Wooooooooo!)

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Current Mood: playful

I know from experience that it can be a bit dangerous to type while waiting for my sleeping pills to kick in. The exciting bit is that I can keep typing before I realise it's time to go to bed. Hilarity (and poor grammar) ensues. It's quite an experience the next morning reading words written only a few hours before, but not recognising them at all.

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Current Mood: calm

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stephbg

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Page generated May. 29th, 2025 08:38 pm

Propping up a dodgy memory

It's for me to keep track of myself

Entries tagged with acs

The end of an era with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) (2001-2015)

The memory of professionalism

ACS Meeting on Agile methods of estimating for software development projects

Vlad the Impala: A joke sacrificed to birth an internet phenomenon

The educational value of The Daily WTF

Walkies

Looking good

The boys in the ACS are doing it again

I love it when this happens

It speaks!

Bio

Vocal warmup

Hilarious workplace anecdote #874

Aha!

Will she/won't she? She just might

Sisters untie

It's a small town

Spoon assignments

That's more like it

Rambly thoughts just waiting for the drugs to kick in