Dear Aidan,

As Sheldon in the TV sit-com Big Bang Theory would say to you: 'Remember Aidan, you're just an engineer.'

And I think that sums it up. I would hate to go through my life as an engineer while knowing that there is an opportunity do be something better. So I changed the path my life was taking and now I happy I did so. When you come to the end of your life Aidan you will still be 'just an engineer' to quote Sheldon

Mr Opinion,
Who are the ones remembered by History?
It is those who have changed the face of our planet, and have dreamed of reaching the stars - engineers.
Dreamers, planners and designers of industry and invention they have left their heritage on humanity. Artists work hang in galleries and sit on shelves in libraries and appreciation is merely appropriated by a few. Everything around your office has been created by an engineer including the books on your shelves and the paper and frames of the pictures on your walls. Do not underestimate the role of engineers!

Mr Opinion,

Yes, I'm just an engineer. So was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
What did you manage to do that's better?

BTW, once each year all the Irish of the diaspora come together with the Saint Patrick's Day festivals to partake in a celebration of their connection to each other and their ancestral homeland... Does that mean we can't count on them being Australian when it most matters?

Mr Opinion, "And I think that sums it up. I would hate to go through my life as an engineer while knowing that there is an opportunity do be something better. So I changed the path my life was taking and now I happy I did so"

Fair enough too. I would be the last person to criticise anyone who pursues lifelong learning and a dream. Few contemplate that and even fewer take the practical steps.

I remember how years slipped by for me when I was being 'highly creative' and 'adding value', read as increasing business, for a global. Not criticising the company or the work and yes, it did produce results. I loved the challenges and the adrenalin, but there are long periods of years when all I can remember are the projects and urgency and the whole days devoted to work. Workaholic.

Now, what about a flushing toilet in the Canton of that 'Progressive' new flag? Or a baby being thrown out with the bathwater?

Mr Opinion,

I took Arts as a Mature Age Student for an interest and having been involved in engineering of one sort or another most of my working life I later took Engineering after I'd retired, mainly out of interest and to see how I'd do.
I must say that most of the other students were an interesting lot and possessed, both collectively and individually, a lot of knowledge and interests outside of their chosen profession.

I'd like to quote in part from the following
link:

"As the American comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said,
"The current Australian flag is the British flag
on a starry night."

The dominant top left quadrant belongs to the flag
of another nation, making Australian symbolically
subordinate to Britain. That is an anachronism.

This anachronism has been building in the years since
the second world war as Australia's identity
increasingly separated from Britain. Post-war migration
from war-torn-Europe helped further differentiate Australia
from Britain:

http://www.theconversation.com/a-proposal-foor-a-new-mature-australian-flag-24714