since the start of 2012 I've been engaged in a long project to upgrade all our databases to a new release of the Oracle software

it's almost done now.  

took a loooong time, with multiple trials and tests on our development and test environments.

the main datawarehouse is being upgraded this coming weekend. then a month from now the main "catch-all" database will be upgraded.

then at some stage in the second half of the year - or first half of 2013 - the analy retentive HR folks will finally wake up and give us the go ahead to upgrade the payroll dbs.

and it'll all be done...  

about time!!!  


I'm fed-up with the constant tension of trying to juggle the personality crashes and clashes of half a dozen middle managers with more time in their hands than brains!


all these things take a small amount of effort from the technical point of view - they are almost trivial.   done hundreds of them before: once a few tests are done to ensure we got a stable combo of operating system and database software, it's all "automagic".


what takes an enormous amount of time is juggling the conflicting priorities of a dozen or so agendas of would-be empire builders whose only objective in life is to use any excuse to shaft each other in the back at the expense of their employees...

ah, the joys of corporate politics - aka corporate bullshit!  

what can I say?  all good. apparently, it's essential to keep us "competitive"...


all I can see is an extended holiday approaching.  crap, I need it!   totally drained at the moment and still suffering from a strong bout of flu and cough!

will be in Qld next month for a week, and sometime near Xmas I'll join a good old friend for his second marriage celebration.

this time in Surabaya, in the Indonesian island of Java.  
been trying to go there for a looooooong time, so this is going to be a good opportunity to see those weird volcanos they have in that part of the world!

there will be lots and lots of photos forthcoming!   

but first, gotta beat this stupid flu into submission and get past the weekend work hurdle.  

should be OK.  been there, done that. many times!


catchyalata, folks!