I have a headache.
It is an excuse for not going to the gym.
Now I have to prepare our tax shit.
What's worse, going to the gym with a headache or doing tax shit.
It is a toss up!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Choices, Choices
I have a headache.
It is an excuse for not going to the gym.
Now I have to prepare our tax shit.
What's worse, going to the gym with a headache or doing tax shit.
It is a toss up!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Ken Wyatt - A Great Bloke!
I've never been much of an apologist for anything to do with aboriginal affairs, but I really do take my hat off to Ken Wyatt, our first indigenous member of the House of Representatives.
With quiet dignity, he's done more for black/white relations in a single afternoon than a decade of the likes of Michael Mansell et al. Morover, Ken belongs to the Liberal Party, an organisation viewed as a bunch of rascist hard-arsed bastards by the urban, leftie chattering classes.
Well done Ken, awesome work!
PS. I think the boohka is a nice touch!
What is it with Russian politics?
Hands up those who are confused by Russian politics?
For the life of me I can't nut it out! The bloke that's now the PM used to be the President? Who the hell is the President now? Is it some kind of musical chairs? Who is the bigger swinging dick, president or prime minister?
One thing that strikes me as really weird is that the current PM, Mr Putin, was some big knob in the KGB. How does that translate to suddenly being a kind and caring democratic chappie?
My head spins!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Deputy Dawg Dips Out
Heard via the Twittisphere and then the TV news that President Obama will be visiting Indonesia later this year but not gracing the Kingdom of Oz with his presence. I'm not really sure how to take it.
On one hand, there is the embuggerance factor of an event such as this. If you have ever seen a US Presidential Visit you will understand what a circus it is.
I was a very minor cog in the huge machine involved in George W Bush's 2003 visit to say a big thank you to his best buddy, John "Deputy Dawg of the Pacific" Howard. It was at Parliament House in Canberra, my job was to stand on a platform, ostensibly guarding a TV cameraman, looking down on George Dubya as he alighted from his limo to shake hands with Deputy Dawg. I was armed with a trusty H&K 9mm, I kept my hands well clear of the holster at all times. Guys in dark suits and darker sunnies would not have been impressed! They were everywhere, thicker than ticks on a coast cat's coat. Later in the day I had the pleasure of lining Adelaide Avenue outside The Lodge staring at lots of unkempt people waving signs whilst George & John had a barbie on the other side of the brick wall.
On one hand, there is the embuggerance factor of an event such as this. If you have ever seen a US Presidential Visit you will understand what a circus it is.
I was a very minor cog in the huge machine involved in George W Bush's 2003 visit to say a big thank you to his best buddy, John "Deputy Dawg of the Pacific" Howard. It was at Parliament House in Canberra, my job was to stand on a platform, ostensibly guarding a TV cameraman, looking down on George Dubya as he alighted from his limo to shake hands with Deputy Dawg. I was armed with a trusty H&K 9mm, I kept my hands well clear of the holster at all times. Guys in dark suits and darker sunnies would not have been impressed! They were everywhere, thicker than ticks on a coast cat's coat. Later in the day I had the pleasure of lining Adelaide Avenue outside The Lodge staring at lots of unkempt people waving signs whilst George & John had a barbie on the other side of the brick wall.
There were in excess of 30 vehicles in that presidential convoy. Ambulances, armoured black vans with machine guns inside, armoured black vans with weird aerials sticking out of the roof, stacks of other cars and to cap it off the behemoth of a presidential limo. This thing had the biggest wheels I have ever seen on a car. The doors, when they opened, appeared to be a couple of feet thick. I shudder to think what would happen if George had jammed his fingers, as happens to us all occasionally. It was a truly amazing beast of a machine; it romped all over Mr Howard's Holden Statesman "C1".
Add the noise of FA-18's patrolling Canberra's airspace, the fuss caused by Air Force One parked out at Fairbairn air base and you have some serious competition for Ashton Bros or Cirque Du Soleil.On the other hand, does it show that the Americans don't really think very much of us? Are we so insignificant that Mr Obama only has time to jet into Indonesia, a third world country which, coincidentally, is the world's largest Muslim nation? Does Indonesia go around helping fight America's wars? Have they stood by Uncle Sam in WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf Wars 1 & 2 and the ongoing War on Terror? Do they host “Joint Defence Facilities”? Do they participate in the UKUSA agreement? Do they have a bond such as the ANZUS alliance? No, they don’t. How do they rate so highly? What's in it for the Americans may be more the question.
Consider how often US presidents actually make it out here, 4 different presidents in 50 years. LBJ twice in the 60s (once to go to Harold Holt's funeral), George H Bush in 1992, Bill Clinton in 1996 and Dubya in 2003 and 2007, the later being for APEC. Take away LBJ’s funeral visit and Bush’s APEC, which he would have attended no matter where it was held, and you really have only 4 official visits. Pretty poor effort for a loyal and stalwart ally.
If anyone is a foreign policy guru please let me know what it all means!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Escape ARTfest - Leslie's Enties, Shoalhaven Open Art Prize
Escape ARTfest is being held in the Milton Ulladulla area from 1st - 10th October and it will be the exhibition debut of my lovely partner, Ms Leslie Du Preez. Here's a preview of her entries in the Shoalhaven Open Art Prize section with the theme being "Reflect".
Fingers crossed for a successful outcome Leslie!
Find out more about the festival here - escapeartfest.info
Find out more about the festival here - escapeartfest.info
Escape ARTfest - Leslie's Entry, Postcard to Milton
Escape ARTfest is being held in the Milton Ulladulla area from 1st - 10th October and it will be the exhibition debut of my lovely partner, Ms Leslie Du Preez. Here's a preview of her entry in the Postcard to Milton section, with the theme being "Reflect".
Find out more about the festival here - escapeartfest.info
Find out more about the festival here - escapeartfest.info
Escape ARTfest - Leslie's Entries 8 x 8
Escape ARTfest is being held in the Milton Ulladulla area from 1st - 10th October and it will be the exhibition debut of my lovely partner, Ms Leslie Du Preez. Here's a preview of her entries in the 8x8 canvas section with the theme being "Reflect".
Fingers crossed for a successful outcome Leslie!
Find out more about the festival here - escapeartfest.info
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
New Public Holiday in ACT - Total Wank!
Must admit they did give us a year's notice but this new Family & Community Day public holiday scheduled for Monday 27 September has caught me pretty much unawares.
My initial reaction on finding out was ... "What a load of touchy-feely wank!". Seriously, this is the kind of rot that you'd expect from a Labor-Green coalition. Gather the family and community around, sing Kumbaya, bask in the love of one and all.
I noticed in the Chief Minister's press release on his website that the whole silly saga had the support of Unions ACT. Now isn't that a surprise! I doubt if a labour organisation would ever knock back another public holiday for the poor old down-trodden prols who pay their union fees. Bit of a free kick for the unions as they are the tail that wags the ACT Government dog. Read the touching epistle here.
Why, you ask perplexed, would you be so anti this Peter? Good question! Since becoming a business owner several years ago I tend to see public holidays as being a nuisance, they effect business, there are staffing issues, it costs money.
Obviously I accept the fact we currently have 12 public holidays per year and have done so for many decades, it's a fact of life. But to create one for no particular reason other than to let the over-worked toilers of the territory gambol through Floriade on a cool spring Monday just takes the bloody cake.
What makes it worse, the rocket scientists who infest the bureaucracy have scheduled it for the week before the October Labor Day long weekend. Two long weekends in two weeks! Sheer bloody luxury I tell you! Just imagine how much work will get done around the capital over those two weeks.
In my twisted mind I imagine most pubes will flex off on each of the Fridays. Mr or Ms Pube says "Shit! That means I have to come back to work on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday before I flex on Friday! I'd better take a few reccies as well!" Sweet!
As for the poor mugs in the private sector I guess shit just happens.
Anyway, enough of my rant. I have a lot of trouble coming to grips with this sort of thing. With a Labor-Green Wank Fest in the House of Reps and Senate imagine what kind of time small business is in for on a federal level!
Gotta run, need to brush up on how to strum Kumbaya
Hugs and communal love
Pedro
My initial reaction on finding out was ... "What a load of touchy-feely wank!". Seriously, this is the kind of rot that you'd expect from a Labor-Green coalition. Gather the family and community around, sing Kumbaya, bask in the love of one and all.
I noticed in the Chief Minister's press release on his website that the whole silly saga had the support of Unions ACT. Now isn't that a surprise! I doubt if a labour organisation would ever knock back another public holiday for the poor old down-trodden prols who pay their union fees. Bit of a free kick for the unions as they are the tail that wags the ACT Government dog. Read the touching epistle here.
Why, you ask perplexed, would you be so anti this Peter? Good question! Since becoming a business owner several years ago I tend to see public holidays as being a nuisance, they effect business, there are staffing issues, it costs money.
Obviously I accept the fact we currently have 12 public holidays per year and have done so for many decades, it's a fact of life. But to create one for no particular reason other than to let the over-worked toilers of the territory gambol through Floriade on a cool spring Monday just takes the bloody cake.
What makes it worse, the rocket scientists who infest the bureaucracy have scheduled it for the week before the October Labor Day long weekend. Two long weekends in two weeks! Sheer bloody luxury I tell you! Just imagine how much work will get done around the capital over those two weeks.
In my twisted mind I imagine most pubes will flex off on each of the Fridays. Mr or Ms Pube says "Shit! That means I have to come back to work on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday before I flex on Friday! I'd better take a few reccies as well!" Sweet!
As for the poor mugs in the private sector I guess shit just happens.
Anyway, enough of my rant. I have a lot of trouble coming to grips with this sort of thing. With a Labor-Green Wank Fest in the House of Reps and Senate imagine what kind of time small business is in for on a federal level!
Gotta run, need to brush up on how to strum Kumbaya
Hugs and communal love
Pedro
Monday, September 20, 2010
Scouts - made me the man I am today.
Last weekend I was visiting my local Bunnings and true to form a local community group had control of the famous Bunnings sausage sizzle. To be honest, I had no intention of buying a toilet seat or some screws, I was hungry!
The lucky campers were a Scout Troop, Lake Burley Griffin Sea Scouts to be precise. It bought back a lot of memories, most good, some not so good, of my time with this worthy organisation during my pre and early teens.
Ahh, the late 60's, they were the days, dark ages by today's standards.
The lucky campers were a Scout Troop, Lake Burley Griffin Sea Scouts to be precise. It bought back a lot of memories, most good, some not so good, of my time with this worthy organisation during my pre and early teens.
Ahh, the late 60's, they were the days, dark ages by today's standards.
I remember being invested as a Cub, proudly standing there in front of Akela in my new navy blue serge jumper and shorts (that's what cubs wore in those days), little green cap on my head. Can't remember how old I was now, must have been 8 or 9.
I was thrilled to be a part of it all, the Grand Howl with the dibbing and dobbing, instruction in arcane subjects like the history of the flag, how the scout movement started, how to grow up to be a good little citizen of the British Commonwealth of Nations, love the queen, fear god and salute the flag, sleep with the window open, turn your mattress regularly, salute a funeral procession, give up your seat on a bus or train (the little town I lived in had neither). I can still recite the Cub Law (since changed I notice), over 4 decades later - "A Cub gives in to the old wolf, a Cub does not give in to himself" - maybe I should have lived by that law more often over the years!
Anyway, cutting a long waffle short, I moved on to Scouts at around 12. These were the pre-environmentally considerate times, we would cut down nice straight trees to use as the poles for the cumbersome canvas tents with a fly, all suitably lashed together with regulation lashings and knots. Build a big fire, burn everything in sight. Love it! Try doing that now!
The greatest highlight of my entire Scout career was attending the 1972 World Scout Jamboree at Woodside, near Adelaide. I was the only kid from my Scout Troop to attend so was initially pretty scared and lonely as one is at the age of 13. We travelled in a special train that left Sydney and picked up kids all along the way through to Melbourne and on to Adelaide. It was like a scene out of a WW2 movie, the carriages were that old, if not older. Wouldn't doubt they were used as troop trains during WW1. At one stage we were inspected by the Chief Scout of Australia, Sir Roden Cutler VC, a towering man and a legend resplendent with a chest of medal ribbons and a wooden leg which was probably the reason he was the only one there wearing long trousers.
Sadly, I lost interest in the whole Scout thing not all that long after, teenagers being what they are.
Every now and then I think back with great fondness to the woggles, scarves, lemon-squeezer hats, Bob-a-Job Week, left handed handshakes, the prim and proper teachings of Lord Baden Powell, the badges, camping and the enthusiasm and innocence of youth lost so long ago.
One lasting impact that all this has on me is a long running sense of guilt every time I remember the last of the Scout Laws from that period (since discarded I notice) and I quote it below along with amplifying notes from BP himself ...
A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED. Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly. - "A scout is clean in thought, word and deed".
Indeed!
I was thrilled to be a part of it all, the Grand Howl with the dibbing and dobbing, instruction in arcane subjects like the history of the flag, how the scout movement started, how to grow up to be a good little citizen of the British Commonwealth of Nations, love the queen, fear god and salute the flag, sleep with the window open, turn your mattress regularly, salute a funeral procession, give up your seat on a bus or train (the little town I lived in had neither). I can still recite the Cub Law (since changed I notice), over 4 decades later - "A Cub gives in to the old wolf, a Cub does not give in to himself" - maybe I should have lived by that law more often over the years!
Anyway, cutting a long waffle short, I moved on to Scouts at around 12. These were the pre-environmentally considerate times, we would cut down nice straight trees to use as the poles for the cumbersome canvas tents with a fly, all suitably lashed together with regulation lashings and knots. Build a big fire, burn everything in sight. Love it! Try doing that now!
The greatest highlight of my entire Scout career was attending the 1972 World Scout Jamboree at Woodside, near Adelaide. I was the only kid from my Scout Troop to attend so was initially pretty scared and lonely as one is at the age of 13. We travelled in a special train that left Sydney and picked up kids all along the way through to Melbourne and on to Adelaide. It was like a scene out of a WW2 movie, the carriages were that old, if not older. Wouldn't doubt they were used as troop trains during WW1. At one stage we were inspected by the Chief Scout of Australia, Sir Roden Cutler VC, a towering man and a legend resplendent with a chest of medal ribbons and a wooden leg which was probably the reason he was the only one there wearing long trousers.
Sadly, I lost interest in the whole Scout thing not all that long after, teenagers being what they are.
Every now and then I think back with great fondness to the woggles, scarves, lemon-squeezer hats, Bob-a-Job Week, left handed handshakes, the prim and proper teachings of Lord Baden Powell, the badges, camping and the enthusiasm and innocence of youth lost so long ago.
One lasting impact that all this has on me is a long running sense of guilt every time I remember the last of the Scout Laws from that period (since discarded I notice) and I quote it below along with amplifying notes from BP himself ...
A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED. Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly. - "A scout is clean in thought, word and deed".
Indeed!
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