For the past week I have successfully been using Kanban Flow to manage my to do list. Tasks are represented on cards. You can drag and drop cards through various states – for example, today, in progress and done. For me dragging something to done is as therapeutic as running the pen through an item on my paper list – I can stand back and wallow in my sense of self achievement. I have used other software where completed tasks just disappear, and at the end of the day I don’t feel like I’ve achieved anything.

Kanban Flow includes a Pomodoro Timer. I’d never heard of the Pomodoro Technique before using Kanban Flow, but have actually found it to improve my focus and productivity. The basic idea is that you work focusing on one task for 25 minutes, and then take a five minute break. Every four cycles you can take a longer break.

My biggest gripe with Kanban Flow at the moment is the lack of offline mode and reduced usability on my phone. But given it’s only in Beta, and it works better for me than anything else I’ve tried, I can live with these gripes for now.

At the gate I was clearly sitting next to someone famous. I noticed lots of double glancing, pointing and talking behind hands. Finally one person plucked up the courage to say, “I saw you on TV last night,” to which the decidedly famous person responded, “Thanks for watching.” Still no idea who that was.

After we landed the (Virgin) pilot overshot the parking bay. Nothing dramatic – we didn’t crash into the building. We just needed to wait for 15 minutes while they found and connected a vehicle to push us back far enough that they could connect the air-bridge to the plane.

While I love flying, it does seem more eventful in the movies.

Watching the news about an emergency landing by a Virgin flight onboard my Virgin flight.

I am in the emergency row …

As an Australian who believes same-sex couples should be able to marry, I strongly support the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010.

The Bill is an important step towards providing legal equality for same-sex partners and removing discrimination against them.

The Bill will strengthen relationships, families and marriage, and will make Australia a fairer and more inclusive nation.

I support provisions of the Bill that will allow a celebrant who is a minister of religion to refuse to marry same-sex partners.

I oppose civil unions as a substitute for full equality in marriage for same-sex partners. Civil unions can reinforce ideas within parts of our community that gay and lesbian people are not equal members of our society. This in turn can consciously and subconsciously help justify discriminatory language and behaviour within our society. The basic fact is that without marriage equality, gay and lesbian people are not equal members of our society.

Without marriage equality the government is condoning unequal treatment of gay and lesbian people within society more broadly. The government is saying that gay and lesbian relationships are not of the same standard as heterosexual relationships, which condones discrimination and mistreatment in the schoolyard, the workplace and the street. When a sub-community is given fewer rights the government is saying that these people are lesser people and not worthy of the same level of protection as the rest of society.

I have experienced the loneliness and despair of being discriminated against because of my sexuality in school. I know how so many young Australians have suffered. And there are far too many who have suffered more than they could cope. As a society we need to agree that this type of discrimination is not acceptable and no one should be the subject of such behaviour.

I have been with my same-sex partner five years. We have made a commitment to spend the rest of our lives together. We have supported each other emotionally, socially, physically and financially – and will continue to do so going forward.

As citizens of two different countries we have had our relationship assessed by both the Australian and Swedish governments to ensure we could continue to live together. In order to gain appropriate visas, we have had to prove that we are in a committed and serious relationship. Both governments held our relationship to the same standards as any heterosexual couple in making this assessment, which we believe to be both fair and just.

While holding our relationship to the same standards, the Australian government does not afford us the same rights as those in heterosexual relationships. Despite having proved that we have the same level of commitment as a heterosexual couple, we cannot get married in the country we call our home. It does not make sense that the government recognises same-sex relationships as equal in all respects when making an assessment of our commitment to each other, and yet does not afford us the same rights.

I know a number of Australian couples that have gone overseas to marry due to their strong desire to demonstrate their commitment to one-another. For each of these couples the decision has been fraught with conflicting emotions. While they are sure of the commitment they are making, they are forced to do this in an environment away from most of their family and friends – an important element in almost all marriages.

Although Australian, I lived in Sweden for over four year. Sweden supports marriage equality in law. During my time in Sweden I saw the positive impact that marriage equality provides the gay and lesbian community. However, I failed to see any negative impact on the broader community. It has not otherwise changed the nature of the institution of marriage in the country, nor has it affected how straight people perceive their own relationships or families.

Opening up the common vernacular that used to describe relationships in our society is very empowering. I have seen how the ability for gay and lesbian couples to use the same words in Sweden allows all people to talk about their relationship with a level of confidence and pride that I have not seen in Australia. Having a common language for everyone means that gays and lesbians in equally committed relationships can have their relationships viewed on an equal level without being questioned.

In Australia gay and lesbian people are left searching for words as ‘boyfriend,’ ‘girlfriend’ and ‘partner’ fail to demonstrate the level commitment they have in their relationships. Describing a partner as a ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ is often met with the response that “that’s not possible,” when all the person means is “that’s not possible in Australia.” Within the broader community these same words are used before a couple has decided to make a life-long commitment to each other. Ultimately, this situation degrades gay and lesbian relationships.

While this is not a religious issue, it has become necessary to highlight that many religious groups support marriage equality. The Church of Sweden, which claims 70% of the Swedish population as members, is one of the greatest supporters of marriage equality in Swedish society. And there are many religious people and groups within Australian society that also support marriage equality.

For me marriage equality ultimately comes down to a legal argument. If the government believes gay and lesbian people are considered equal members of our society they should be afforded equal rights. The government already recognises that gay and lesbian couples share an equal level of love and commitment as heterosexual couples – as demonstrated by the common process to assess couples for partner visas. The government recognises that gay and lesbian people should not be treated differently due to their sexual orientation as described in anti-discrimination laws. Thus the government should enshrine marriage equality into law to remove discrimination against a group that it recognises as equal.

Yours sincerely
Sebastian Barney

We returned the keys to our Sydney apartment today. Renting the apartment seemed like a good idea at the time, but Oziel got a great work opportunity in Melbourne and I can work from home a couple of days a week. For the number of days we were using the apartment in Sydney we worked out it would be cheaper to stay in hotels.