[LINK] Census, Internet and our declining ability to organise ourselves. [Was: iPad and Census]

[David Boxall]

On 10/08/2011 8:27 AM, Webb, KerryA wrote:
> Anthony wrote:
>
>> Worked fine on my ASUS Transformer android tablet too ;-)
>>
>>
>> On Aug 9, 2011 7:44 PM, "Ivan Trundle"<ivan at itrundle.com>  wrote:
>>> It works on an iPad. Just completed, and not too painful at all: no
>> server
>> lag, either.
>>>
>
> Has anybody seen my biro?
> ...

For the first time ever, nobody in my area received a census form. We're 
a whole 5 kilometres from the nearest town. In the past, forms have been 
hand-delivered into our mailboxes.

Thinking I might be able to use eCensus, I tried the ABS site. Turns out 
I need a number (a CFN) from the form that I don't have, to get another 
number (an eCN) for eCensus.

After jumping thorough a few hoops at 
<https://secure.abs.gov.au/census/formsrequest.nsf/>, I got: "An eCN 
cannot be issued online without a valid CFN. Please contact the Census 
Inquiry Service on 1300 338 776 who can send a CFN and eCN via SMS or 
Australia Post." After hanging on hold for a while, I gave up on the 
telephone service and ordered a paper form online. The paper form will 
be mailed.

The experience brought to mind an altercation I had over the rising cost 
of personal transport. I suggested public transport. The result was a 
tirade about looking to the past for solutions, when we should be 
looking forward, and a lecture on the difficulties of public transport 
compared to the ease and convenience of private vehicles.

I'd been reading Sherlock Holmes and it struck me that people managed 
quite well with trains and hired horse-drawn vehicles. They just had to 
work within the limitations of the technologies. That meant organising 
themselves to work around those limitations. These days, that level of 
organisation is evidently beyond us.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  I have seen the past
                                |  And it worked.
http://david.boxall.id.au       |               --TJ Hooker