atw: ASTC(NSW) AGM

Life is the perfect crystal hanging precariously on the end of a sweaty yet
short blonde hair on the leg of a perfectly formed young female Swiss hiker
making her way to the top of the Matterhorn. The perfect crystal of sweat
lives but briefly, the hiker's youth less so, the hiking less so again, her
life less so again.

You know you are getting old when you also see the Matterhorn's existence as
a less so again.

<Drags himself forcibly back on topic>

A new committee. A new year. Brian Clarke kept everything de rigeur, or is
that rigor mortis, Latin is a passion but a weak point at times.
Side-tracking was completely nemo, but Brian kept things on track sorta in
ye olde status quo. Quite frankly, I might not see eye to eye with Brian on
accreditation, but by golly the guy knows his stuff backwards and regularly
impresses the ya knows what's outa me.

Wazza, bless his little cotton jocks, AND I MEAN LITTLE HAHHAHAHAHA,
prematurely elucidated in public. Wasn't pretty. Brian's cruel assessment of
omnibus and so on was completely correct. However, the issue got well and
truly aired with a public show of general commitment to the general
proposal. A the end of the day that is all that really mattered, as my next
post will elucidate.

Anyway. ASTC is moving to an online model. Keyword is a sore point, and
quite frankly I cannot understand why a newsletter described as one of the
worst value publications as its type would consistently knock back
submissions based upon the constrictions of its self-defined publication
size. Last AGM the supposed resolution was, correct me by all means, that
Keyword would be dropped and the newsletter expanded. All I can see is
keyword being dropped...

Conference material:

IMHE the lifestories approach is dead. We get that during networking -
whether eyeballing at conferences or emails subsequent to such or other.
Lectures are almost dead. As the Westies research has discovered, the
breadth of our field almost exclusively prohibits an entire membership
having value in a conference. However, as the workshops seem so popular, I
wonder why we don't exploit this more. 

I think that conference programs need to be discussed explicitly in this
forum. AODC and ASTC take two completely different approaches, and I am sad
to say that WRITING is the loser in both of them. I could argue very
strongly for Jill Nickels by the ton lecturing every session doing nothing
but grammar! Heavens forbid we should move into information mapping or
corporate self-governance.

Where are those subjects on the agenda? More so, why hasn't it picked? Are
we too slow already? Unfortunately local attendances and input match this
hypothesis. We are too lethargic as a group. Having achieved the pinnacle of
human development by becoming writers, we no longer need to put effort into
anything, least of all our craft. 

Then there is the damn structure. We have Intecom, STC, ASTC(NSW) ASTC(Vic)
- crikey - what's the damn point? 5 people here, 5 people there. 

Steve Hudson

Word Heretic, Sydney, Australia 
Tricky stuff with Word or words for you.
www.wordheretic.com
ABN: 86 453 419 554   
"Qualified Good Tech Writer Dude"
Fellowship of the Ring of Technical Writers, Yeah Baby!
Without prejudice

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