Devon Whittle » Melbourne

Quick Plug for Melbourne Op Shop Tours

devonwhittle — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:26:50 +0000

I don’t have time to post much at the moment, combination of wrestling with Centrelink over Youth Allowance and university studies are getting me down, but I just wanted to briefly mention Melbourne Op Shop Tours – a new tour company set up by a few friends of mine – Jess, Jenny & Richmond.

It’s a tour company with a difference – they take you on tours around the Op Shop (Thrift Store) hot spots around Melbourne to help you find a bargain in recycled clothing. Op Shop fashion is massive at the moment and a good ‘eco-friendly’ and inexpensive way to shop.

I think this sounds like a very interesting idea and look forward to seeing how they go. First tour starts this weekend (special opening offer of $25 per person) and include a public transport trip around Melbourne’s Op Shops, styling tips from Jess & Jenny and tips on how to maximise your op shopping.

Book via the website if you’re interested.

Quick Plug for Melbourne Op Shop Tours is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Gans Quote on Victorian Judges and the Charter

devonwhittle — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:37:09 +0000

Reading Charterblog can really lower your faith in the legislature and judiciary, but does give rise to some great quotes: Devine and Legg will no doubt see the non-application of the Charter as another instance of the conspiracy of Freemasons and the like out to protect the supposed pedophiles of Ordo Templi Orientis. Alas, as readers of this blog well know, the real explanation is much more mundane and much more disturbing: Victorian judges simply cannot read.

Gans Quote on Victorian Judges and the Charter is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Gans on the Charter Moot

devonwhittle — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:30:10 +0000

Gans has got his take on the recent Charter Moot on his blog. My team came runners up in the end, but I thought we did a great job. I’ve got a comment over there on what he said, but also should add that as a team we did some very serious legal thinking in a very short period of time, it was quite fun (in a stressful law student sort of way). Presenting our crazy ‘novel argument’ in the semi-finals was great fun, and defending polygamy in the grand final was even better – if you want to know about loopholes over polygamous marriage just let me know.

Gans on the Charter Moot is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Interesting Charter Application to BAE Systems Case

devonwhittle — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:12:30 +0000

Gans takes us through a wild ride of Charter interpretation in VCAT over the BAE Systems Case, which dealt with the USA’s discriminatory national security hiring policy. So we’ve got a badly drafted Charter, being applied in a terrible manner. What good can come of this? I particularly like how VEOHRC submission to VCAT supported BAE’s discrimination by reading the Charter wrong.

Interesting Charter Application to BAE Systems Case is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Common Law Driver's Licence?

devonwhittle — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:15:55 +0000

Very funny post from Gans on “common law driver’s licences” and the freedom of movement under the Charter. UPMART, an “association for human rights and much, much more” thinks they shouldn’t need to get a driver’s licence to be allowed to drive their care. Fantastic.

Common Law Driver's Licence? is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Media get it wrong on Victorian Underbelly 'ban'

devonwhittle — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:13:17 +0000

Some teenage inmates got to see Underbelly at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre. Even though it was reported as a big controversy due to the “ban”, as Jeremy Gans points out – you are allowed to watch Underbelly in Victoria. Why can’t the reporters get this right?

Media get it wrong on Victorian Underbelly 'ban' is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Human Rights Charter limiting rights?

devonwhittle — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:46:03 +0000

Gans post on how the Human Rights Charter may result in reduced rights highlights one of the issues the anti-Charter groups have been talking about. In this case, it’s judges saying that since the legislation has been enacted this means that the common law doesn’t protect those rights.

Human Rights Charter limiting rights? is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

The Future of Reputation: Email List Abuse

devonwhittle — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:47:27 +0000

Having just started reading Solove’s The Future of Reputation, I was interested that at the start of semester a situation arose that directly mirrored the concerns raised in Solove’s book.

Melbourne University runs a number of e-mail lists for subjects, faculties and departments. One of the annual start of semester traditions is a flood of e-mails to these various lists from people wishing to swap tutorials (as the online automated system can be quite rigid). This obviously can be a very annoying practice, as some people e-mail lists that go far beyond merely their class resulting in their e-mail going to people who would have no interested in a swap whatsoever. The problem is also compounded by a mail server that on occasion has been known to repeatedly send identical e-mails a number of times.

Most semesters this is tolerated by everyone who just deletes the relevant e-mails. However, this semester something different happened. When one person, lets call him Bob, sent an e-mail requesting a swap, the mail server resent this e-mail a number of times so that, another person, lets call him Paul, ended up with a barrage of about 40 e-mails. So enraged by this abuse of the system, Paul sent off a angry reply to Bob, but seemingly accidentally included the entire Law School list in on his e-mail. Paul’s angry reply was then also sent multiply times to recipients. Furthermore, another person, lets say Jenny, was even more enraged by Bob’s e-mail and sent an extremely offensive and abusive reply to the entire Law School list.

There are three reputations at play in this scenario.

First, Bob. While just engaging in usual practice, has become widely known at the Law School due to the following events, as the annoying person who sent a lot of e-mails. His reputation is damaged not due to any fault of his own, except a willingness to annoy others with his swap requests, but due to a malfunction of the e-mail server that many people may not be aware of.

Second, Paul. While certainly Paul’s angry reply was not an appropriate response, it is interesting that it’s impact has also been multiplied by the e-mail server and his e-mail also exists in hundreds of locations now, forever linked to his name.

Third, Jenny. Her abusive and offensive e-mail, distributed to the entire Law School, is certain to colour her reputation with others within the Law School and even potential employers.

Quite a far-reaching outcome for what would be, in a previous time, a chance outbreak of hostilities between two people. It certainly made me a lot more careful about what I send in my e-mails and who they are addressed to.

The Future of Reputation: Email List Abuse is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Free CFL lightbulbs and lo-flow shower heads

devonwhittle — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:32:49 +0000

If you want some free CFL lightbulbs and shower heads, check out Low Energy Supplies & Services and EnviroSaver. They are both companies that are installing energy saving devices in consumers homes for free and then hoping to sell the carbon emission reductions as carbon credits. I’m not too sure about them being able to quantify the reductions they are selling, but it is a cheap way to get your energy usage down!

Free CFL lightbulbs and lo-flow shower heads is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Advice I wish I was told in First Year University

devonwhittle — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:47:16 +0000

It’s February and uni is about to being. After being disappointed or elated by your VCE ENTER results, the reality is probably now only sinking in.

I’m now in my 5th year of an Arts/Law degree at Melbourne University and looking back there are some things that I wish someone had told me when I was just starting out. So what follows are Seven Tips for First Years. They are probably most relevant for Arts students, which I guess includes all the new Melbourne Modellers, but are also applicable for any broad undergraduate degree, and some are just about uni life generally.

My Seven Tips for First Years

1. Transferring in second year

I didn’t get into my first preference, how could I when Law required a 99.8 ENTER(!). Rather I did a year of Arts and then transferred across. That first year of Arts was fantastic, and I would highly recommend you embrace it as more than just a ’stopgap’ because you didn’t your first preference. I spent my time joining clubs, making friends and working my butt off, and it helped me to make the most of first year in my ‘first choice’ degree.

2. Pick good subjects

As an Arts student I had way too many subjects to pick from and I had no idea how to pick the good ones. I ended up picking subjects that mentioned the words ‘international’, ‘development’ or ‘colonialism’, seemed an easy mark scorer and/or didn’t have exams. When picking your subjects you should think through it a bit more than I did. Try not to pick subjects that repeat content too much, even though it’s a good way to get good marks, not only will you be a bit bored, but you’ll also be doing a lot of studying and not much learning (see point 7).

Ask friends and lecturers for their opinions of subjects and how they reflect to what you want to learn about. Sit in on a few subjects in the first two weeks of semesters and swap into the ones that interest you the most, or have the most interesting lecturers.

Most of all pick subjects that interest you but don’t shy away from a subject just because it’s ‘hard’.

3. Make friends and join some clubs

If you are doing an Arts degree, and this is especially true for the new Melbourne Model undergrad degree, and you want to make friends, you need to join a student group. Though VSU has cut off a lot of the options, I highly recommend finding one that interests you and going along a couple of times. Where it’s fair trade, more chocolate, the llama admirers or the society, there is bound to be a group out there that’ll interest you and where you’ll make friends.

Uni is about one-quarter as fun and doubly as hard without some people to share it with you. Friends are great to have lunch with, to have study groups with, to find out about the best subjects and to just moan with about how awful the exam timetable is. I really wished I had started talking to people in first year, gone on some random camps and hung out with more student groups when I started out, it would have made studying a lot more enjoyable.

4. Talk to your lecturers

I was, and generally still am, pretty awkward around lecturers. However, if you have any interest whatsoever in what you’re learning, go and talk to your lecturer. Lecturers are great people to get to know. They love answering good questions, setting you on the right path and maybe even hooking you up with job, further study scholarship connections.

This point is especially true if you think academia attracts you. The best way to get a feel for it is to talk to people working in it. If you want to work in academia you need to start to talking to your potential employers and colleagues now. It’ll make your uni experience much more fulfilling and finding a post-grad position a whole lot easier.

Most importantly, I’ve found that the majority of my lecturers are genuinely interesting. If you are studying something because it interests you chances are the people teaching it will interest you to.

5. Move out of your parent’s house and buy a bike

If you still live an hour away in the suburbs with your parents and could afford to move in with some mates close to uni (like I could have), then I highly encourage you to make the move. Independence is great and living with mates is even better. I wish I had had the chance to live with some good friends (or strangers) and bike into uni. It may just be my rose-coloured glasses on this side of the fence, but I think the hour commute I did everyday severely impacted my ability to get involved in campus life.

Don’t forget Centrelink will pay a (small) portion of your rent bill, and it’s great fun learning to do without some creature comforts.

6. Control your laptop usage

This one might be a bit obscure, but I got a laptop in my third year of uni and saw a noticeable drop in my marks the next semester. If your uni has wireless networks and you find the internet at all tempting when you get bored of your lecturers voice, you’ll need to train yourself not to start surfing.

Subjects make a lot more sense if you pay attention during lectures. Lecturers will like you a lot more if you are looking at them and not some random website. And people are easier to talk to when you aren’t in the middle of posting a blog.

See if you can turn off your wireless card for the 2 hours of lectures, or if worst comes to worst, try taking notes by hand and typing them up later. It’s sounds crazy, but you really do not want to get to fifth year uni and not remember much about any earlier subjects because you were on the internet.

7. Don’t just study, learn!

Finally, and I think my most important tip, don’t just study, learn!. By this I mean don’t just do subjects to get good marks. Don’t scrape by on the bare minimum of reading and talking in class to pass. Instead, learn something! Looking back on my first uni years, when I was too busy studying to learn anything, I really regret not putting more of an effort into learning what was being taught. Remembering important dates, theories or people; thinking through what I was writing and saying; and producing quality content that I thought actually contributed to the discussion.

University is an excellent time to expand your horizons and your skillset. Try and do some subjects that teach you practical stuff like statistics, when doing highly theoretical subjects think through the theories and their application. Attend some ‘how to do research sessions’ and learn how to make the most of your research time. Write some articles/blogposts/zines about what you are learning.

Whatever you do put some effort into learning instead of just studying.

Conclusion

So that’s my seven tips. I’ve got a few more I’ve just discovered such as: start learning a new language in first year (and actually learn it); learn how to use EndNote (or other footnoting software) early on; buy DevonThink Pro or some other knowledge management program to keep track of you notes and research (this one should be in the main list – stop wasting your research hours!). But those seven should do for now.

If you have any tips you’d give first years or questions as a first year you’d like answered, free free to drop me an email or post a comment below.

Advice I wish I was told in First Year University is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.