Child Abuse

'Predator' grandfather jailed | The Australian

AN elderly man who sexually abused eight members of his family over almost four decades was a vile and parasitic offender, a judge said today.

Well, no amount of criticism is going to make us improve and this man may well be a predator and it's fantastic the family could finally find the courage to deal with it, because we live in a world where this just keeps happening and it has to be us. This man would not get away with this if we could deal with sexual abuse better. The family must have been living in pain for such a long time. They are safe now, but we need to have a very close look at this man and others like him. Why do they behave like that? What are we doing that allows them to be able to progress from one child to the next? What do we need to know so we can feel free to deal with it and how can we deal with it? What is the best way of not creating people like him and what is the best way of combatting people like him?

Barack Obama

Image via Wikipedia

Aussie bets $50,000 on Obama win | The Australian

Mr Obama's odds have shortened as polls put him further in front and big money continues to come in support of the Democratic candidate, the bookmaker said.


The world is changing and we need to be looking at new leadership models to fit in with our changes. People are more open and want to connect. From where we sit, Barack Obama is someone we can relate to. He is human, he is engaging and he talks a lot of sense. He is not cobwebby and dusty. America does need to create a friendlier international face which other countries feel they can deal with. We want a world where we can all negotiate. We want a world where we can discuss and debate and participate as equals. There will always be a dominant culture like there is always a person who dominates a group, but we want to so operate as nations. We are so over the adversarial stance and Barack Obama is able to build relationships just by being himself and that is so important. he has international appeal. He is someone we feel we'd like to meet.

Bangarra in Paris

Aboriginal ballet hits Paris stage - ABC News

"Bangarra means to make fire," said the 40-year-old. "So hopefully we'll leave a lot of smoke!"


I am sure they have because our Aboriginal dance company is just superb. Their talent, their connection with their culture and their interpretation of it is just stunning. Supreme. I am glad they are getting the recognition they deserve. Our aboriginal culture is 30, 000 years old so they have a lot to draw on. Lucky Paris! The show would have been visually very exciting and different. You cannot help but be moved.

Britney Spears

Image via Wikipedia

Britney shoots scandalous new 'Womanizer' video

"Britney seems to be all business. She'd just do one thing after another and then on to the next."

And we wonder why Britney has a hard time holding it together and then the press is there ready to photograph her every tiny mistake. Her come back has been great. You can say one thing for her, she doesn't give up. She appears to need a lot more help and support and she needs that thing we all need ...life balance. She needs someone who will slow her down a bit and make her take time out so that she doesn't go on overload. At the moment she is playing the sensation card and I hope it works out for her. Were I her life coach I'd tell her to develop the other sides of her personality to engage with her public. Skin deep works for a bit but it tends to cast you in a concrete mould that you don't have a way of getting out of. A lot of famous women who have walked this path have brought themselves undone. The survivors develop other interests and these days it's laudably and most notably causes.

Melamine

NZ dairy company suspends exports : thewest.com.au

He said the company had decided to suspend exports even though some customers were happy to continue taking the goods.

Fair enough, too. Better to be safe than sorry and better to get the facts clear. We have all been talking melamine because we have heard about the baby formula in China. Melamine is explained very well in this wiki article and then you wonder why on earth we want to have food involved with plastic at all and then you think...I don't want any melamine in my food, especially when you see how it interacts with other substances. It a horror list for your average reader. I don't want to have anything to do with those sorts of chemicals and yet we seem to be using them all the time. Why?

They still call Australia home

Frozen-out expats return to Australia for jobs | smh.com.au

"We've seen huge interest in centres like Hong Kong and Singapore, and of course for Australians working overseas there's been a huge interest in jobs back home."


And why not? it's always been part of being an Australian that you travel and work overseas. For many that has always been the lifestyle here and why you can have such interesting conversations with people. We are not only made up of a number of nations, we are big travellers. Young people often work for a while overseas and older people often go on research missions. Then there is a huge interest in voluntary work. The global financial market will make a difference..but the outcome is normal.

The Grid

Supercomputers to speed up internet | The Australian

Scientists at CERN, where the world wide web was invented, created the euros 500 million Grid because they realised that a single computer would not be able to cope with the amount of data the LHC is expected to produce each year - 15 petabytes, or 15 million gigabytes, which would fill 20 million CDs.

So CERN and the Large Hadron Collider means so much more in the long term. The Grid is being developed so that the massive amount of data the LHC will collect can be processed, but the rollout of the Grid will eventually lead to a hyper delivery of processing power to homes. As with the Internet, it was developed by scientists and then slowly trickled to homes. I can imagine this coming more quickly into homes because so many millions of people are now hooked up to the Net and the capabilty of the Grid to really change our lives technologically is there. It's a world we have seen in sci-fi but it is coming closer to us now. Everything will be instant. No more waiting and I'd like to think the endless updates which stall my computing will be in the background and out of my face.

Paul Newman

World mourns 'king of cool' Newman - ABC News

Newman is survived by his wife of 50 years Joanne Woodward, five daughters, two grandsons and his older brother, Arthur.

That says a lot about the man. He was made of enduring relationships which would have been hard in an industry such as his. My own favourite film was The Hustler. Just really enjoyed it because it was a bit different. My parents introduced him to me  and my Dad used to really like him. He just was solid. He didn't make a big deal of how good looking he was. That never went to his head. He was surrounded by beautiful women and made very lasting friends of them. His core values were to be admired. There was no fanfare and hype about him and he drew everyone in and not only entertained them, he taught them a lot about how to be a great human being without telling everyone you are great. His life was about human beings and the solid connections you can make with them. It made his relationships endure and it will make him endure.He was steadfast. Quite an accomplishment in this day and age. Paul Newman knew about class.

Blogverstopfung

My blog has nose dived in numbers over the last 2 weeks. Even when I don't blog I have had better numbers in the past. I changed it into the new look blog , I am using the fancy ScribeFire and it's been downhill all the way. Google searches which have been a big constant for years on my blog have dwindled, my visitors from America have disappeared and yes, they may well be worried about the state of their country and therefore absorbed in everything which is going on at home. The range of visitors has diminished. Same on my other blog which has never been so popular but now it's positively moribund. It's like sludge on this new look blog.Anyone got a good purgative for blogs? The Germans call it Verstopfung which is a brilliant word. I love German. Mein Blog is verstopft!

Intermittent Blindness

Natalie Adler blind three days out of six | NEWS.com.au

But he said there was no medical explanation for the strict consistency of Ms Adler's eye routine. He added: "It's unusual to see somebody with this degree of spasming and eyelid closure, especially at this age.

I am blogging about this because someone must know about this condition. Someone must have an idea why this woman is suffering intermittent blindness when her eyes won't wake up. Natalie Adler is only 21 and this has been going on since she got sick in eyar 11. There must be some treatment somewhere.

Hoon Drivers

AdelaideNow... 11 hoon cars impounded

One driver was caught doing 180km/h in a 100km/h zone, while four arrests related to excessive noise from burnouts and fishtailing, police said.

It's not just the noise. The noise is horrible but a lot of this is going on in suburbs and they are a danger to little kids and older people who are startled by the noise and then cannot react logically. A number of hoons have caused property damage because they lose control of the car and then there was the car last week which must have flown from one side of the freeway to the other because of the speed and landed and lost its wheels. I don't knwo if anyone was injured in the car they hit. ptrobably...because no one was there any more. Then there is the matter of the tyre marks, the fuel consumption,the pollution and the carbon. Appealing to common sense hasn't worked. Trying to get a level of co operation hasn't worked, trying to humour them a bit and work with them hasn't worked...so now I think we need to plant our foot and speed up the response and just shut it all down. No. Fullstop. End of story. No negotiation. Create a safe place for car racing and go there.

Police Attacked

Teen punches two officers in face | The Australian

One officer had stitches for a cut under his right eye and suffered extensive bruising and swelling, while the other was treated for bruising, swelling and lacerations above his left eye.

Sounds like the teenager got in a couple of really good hits. What went wrong? Police are normally very good at defending themselves and can do so very effectively. Maybe police are going to have to wear face protection if they go into situations like that. Be better than having their faces rearranged. The guy was obviously a very good fighter. I think the police need to revise their tactics for situations like this because now there are 2 officers out of action because of one angry young man. Was outside a nightclub. What exactly led to this because maybe some earlier intervention would have helped. As it stands, he has done a lot of damage to himself as well...and it might have been worse by the sounds of it.

The Hawks Win

Cats still team to beat: Clarkson - ABC News

Hawks vice-captain Luke Hodge won the Norm Smith Medal while veteran Shane Crawford won his first premiership after making his debut in 1993.


First time they have won the premiership in 17 years and it must have felt brilliant for them and their fans . They worked hard to get there. I can't believe I decided to back them yesterday just to have a team to back and then they won!! Had to be me! Geelong is a pretty strong side and had control of most of the match...but hey diodn't win. The Hawks won and when you hear the modesty in their voices and their balanced approach to life, then you know why they won yesterday.it was a really good match but the wisdon that has come from it is worth its weight in gold for up and coming players.Now I might take more than a cursory look at teh Hawks next year!

AFL grand final

Thousands show up for AFL final | The Australian

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said Melbourne had produced a beautiful day for the grand final and tipped Geelong to win by four points.

Hawthorn vs Geelong and my friend in Melbourne tells me there is a real buzz around Southbank. If the weather is as beautiful as today it will be a great grand final. The Hawks haven't won for 17 years but most people seem to want the Cats to win again and can't wait for them to go back to back. What would I know?! All I can say is there is a big interest in it. A lot of people see to be readying themselves for it. Melbourne is well and truly enthusiastic about it...and I think I shall go for the Hawks. can't watch anything unless I am behind one team. What I do like is how much our pollies are behind all of this. football is the lifeblood of this country. Like it or not..it is our spirit and it's great the pollies are right into the spirit of it. Might mean we'll get Australia running in an Australian way and that would be fantastic. So are you ready for a 2.30 start? All over by 5? The Geelong midfield is going to be hard to manage!

Online Living

Movie, TV viewing shifting online: study - ABC News

The number of US consumers watching video streamed through a browser has soared over the past year, from 32 per cent a year ago to 63 per cent today.


My plan is to wait until the computer driven boards which are just like my computer get really good pictures. I am bypassing a new TV and want to run my life like that. There is a lot of good stuff on the Net. My life has grown on the Net. It means I can watch TV, catch up with friends on Facebook, blog...and in between times go out and receive visitors. I can move around more because I come and go as I please. HDTV over the Net is good and the scanners pick up radio stations as well. So it's a one stop shop and you don't have to have 500 gadgets...you just need your portable player and your mobile when you go out. You can keep up with everyone and everything so it's more interesting and more productive. Doesn't surprise me in the least the young are adapting to online flexibility. Young people are flexible and that is how change is driven. When you are online you also have instant access to help so if you are looking to solve a problem or get some support, someone is always there. It's a big global village as well out there.

Yves Rossy

'Fusion Man' makes historic Channel flight - ABC News

Swiss airline pilot Yves Rossy has become the first person to fly between France and England using a jet-powered wing.

I heard him interviewed on the radio and he sounded so relaxed, so happy and really enthusiastic. The English had given him a fitting and warm welcome to their land. He seems to be very unique which is why he has done something unique. I prefer a world where we allow clever people to perform something completely different at a superb level. This is a genuine adventure and at 49 he has obviously used all his life skills to pioneer something for the world. Teleportation would suit me fine. A gadget to powerhouse me around would amuse me no end. This gadget though is rather particular and you'd have to be pretty fit to manage it because it relies on your body to steer it. He is an amazing man who has just done something really amazing. I need something where you don't have to freefall out of a plane first. I am such a coward.

Kokoda Track

Cancer survivor to take on Kokoda Track - ABC News

A young cancer survivor is one of two South Australians preparing to tackle the 96-kilometre Kokoda Track.

It's good to know we have male and female representatives taking part in the walk in the Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge. Sounds like Skye's positive, cheerful attitude will help James Greenham who is pretty brave to be doing this after battling a brain tumour. He knows that would have prepared him for this but he sounds a bit nervous...so it will be great to see him come out at the other end and know that what he has already done in his young life at 21 is more than inspirational for the rest of us. Obviously he has a lot of courage and the walk will teach him not to doubt it. I wish both of them well and hope we get some news of them along the way. We focus far too much on the young ones behaving badly.

Drug Arrests

AdelaideNow... SA Police hydroponic operation results in 72 arrests

MORE than 70 people have been arrested after a seven-month police operation targeting retail hydroponic stores across Adelaide.

A hydroponic hydrospree. Yes, we are still working it out and we are still rounding them up...but we seem to have so many druggie operations. We seemed to be riddled with labs and hydroponic outfits. What on earth has been going on? No wonder we are not stable and no wonder some people are getting jumpy. I can only say we need to keep up the team effort. What a lifestyle. Is this how people are getting rich?

Building Regulations

Family told shed can't be home | The Australian

Department of Planning and Infrastructure chief executive Richard Hancock said the shed was not classified as a "habitable structure".

With the price of housing we might have to be a bit more careful of the sorts of pressures we put on people. If the home is neat, clean tidy, meets the cyclone code and has facilities then I think you create a realistic action plan which is lodged to keep the home online for being classified as "habitable". I think each home would have to be judged on its merits and the 'working towards" needs to be a viable option which is monitored because we have far too many homeless families. Astralians used to be able to live on their blocks and then build the eventual proper home. I think we need to go back to our history and spirit and encourage some sensible home planning along those lines. If people can build houses themselves then they need a time frame and an approved process to be able to do this. I'd like that kind of approach because ti genuinely helps people to get a home. The rental market and home purchasing markets are becoming inaccessible to far too many. It would also mean we'd build up our skills in creating homes. Home options are very limited and that isn't how we were.

Duty of Care

Court grants 12-year-old an abortion - ABC News

It is thought to be the first time the court has been asked to consider the lawfulness of the termination of a minor's pregnancy by the use of a drug.

I actually believe this is a good application of the law even though I will say I am anti abortion. I think it is used too often as contraception and I think abortions are carried out too late and then there is no after care for the emotional trauma which can occur down the track. I believe we need to think in terms of not letting abortions occur. This case is a 12 year old girl who is allegedly of low intellect and emotional maturity. She is 18 weeks pregnant though. How come it has taken this long to deal with it ? Why has she not been helped sooner? then who got her pregnant because that is really very serious under these circumstances and it seems she is carrying all the blame and consequences of that? What has happened to the person who got a 12 year old pregnant? I hope she will be okay.

Cancerous Dust

Cancerous dust found at Adelaide school - ABC News

The dust was found to be from the Newport Quays waterfront project on the nearby Port River, in Adelaide north-western suburbs.


I hate it when they don't tell you what it is. How can cancerous dust be coming from a building project? Are those people and the people close by at risk? Sounds like a pretty daft way to go about building. Won't the workers be at risk? The discovery at the school is fantastic and obviously people were on the alert and monitoring the situation. it seems like people are awake and thinking...so how come the dust is coming from a building project. Where is the thinking there?

Corporate Responsibility

Power cut linked to NZ woman's death | The Australian

Coroner Gordon Matenga today handed down his findings into the death of Folole Muliaga whose death made international headlines last year and prompted debate about corporate responsibility.


And they need to keep debating it. This is horrible. Just horrible. I feel so sorry for that woman and her family.

US economy

Entire economy in danger, Bush | The Australian

``Our entire economy is in danger.''

Yes, there have been some interesting observations and discussions about this world wide. One economy can unravel the whole world so our global financial market has been set up very poorly. The implications are beginning to dawn the the real experts have come out with some very pertinent analyses. The biggest impact will be on developing nations and the talk this morning was about how this will contribute to worldwide poverty. Sobering thought given all the talk we have had about helping to eradicate poverty. I think we need a global think tank ont his so the situation is righted and steadied by everyone. it would be a good exercise in international relations wif the world's real financial experts could work on this and given our technology , organising global online interaction oughtn't be too difficult.

Water Restrictions

AdelaideNow... South Australian water restrictions meeting targets

She said drippers and hand-held hoses with a trigger nozzle could be used on one day a week for up to three hours either between 6am-9am or 6pm-9pm.

Even-numbered properties could water on Saturday with odd-number properties on Sunday.

I have lived in my home long enough to know what my water usage normally is. Under the restrictions I use more because by the end of a long, hot , dry week, my garden is very dry and dusty because it slopes and the mulch just dries out and crisps. Last year someone set fire to the neighbour's garden because it was just bone dry and they use drippers. It is a complete health and fire hazard. Normally I would water during the week to hold  water in the soil, keep the plants alive, keep down the dust and keep the garden going. It doesn't use 3 hours of my time and it doesn't use as much water. As an even numbered house I get Saturday. i work all week. Getting up on a Saturday mroning increases the strain. I go out on Saturday night and so the time then is missed unless someone else waters.  I have never had to cut out so many dead things as I did this year. In terms of health and water saving ...I need to be able to manage that. Then I come on the Net and read about all the water mains which are bursting, hear about people sinking bores and filling pools. It is really not logical. I think this is gong to do people in . It's very destructive.

Cybersex

AdelaideNow... Cybersex users more depressed - study

PEOPLE who seek out cybersex have "alarmingly high" rates of depression, anxiety and stress and typically devote hours a day to the covert activity, a study shows.

Why am I not surprised to read this? Virtual sex isn't even sex on the brain. At least that has an organic aspect to it. People who cannot relate to real people would be depressed because they are not forming real life relationships and there would be an aspect of isolation and loneliness in their lives. The solitary interaction with a lump of plastic and wires would not help them to feel happy I shouldn't think. The research is hugely valid because it identifies the sorts of people who need our help and it has zeroed in on some of their problems. In that sense it has been very helpful and productive . It means we can remedy the situation and think of ways and means of helping these men, largely, to re engage with real life.

Children in separate foster homes

DOCS takes children from grandparents 'over bum smack'

FOUR children were removed from their grandparents' care and put into separate foster homes, allegedly because the grandmother smacked one of them on the bottom after the child tried to climb into a drain.

I cannot believe what I am reading and so I think it's either a case of us needing to sit down and take our time to think again...or there is more going on here than we know. It sounds absolutely ludicrous and very daft...except the children are being shoved from pillar to post and so don't have anyone who really loves them. They are being "cared" for...on paper. In some file. If this has occurred we have either lost the plot completely or we don't have all the facts. Splitting them up is pretty sad.

Water blame game

AdelaideNow... SA Water makes new bungle with refund cheques

The "blame game" between SA Water and the State Government was clearly ongoing, he said.

It's not actually solving the problem. No matter how much you blame others it doesn't change you. The original bills sent out with the new high rate charged retrospectively was unjust. The capacity to redress it is unjust. The new water charges should have applied for the new period. it would appear in redressing it there is neither the staff nor the IT capacity to redress the situation. it has to be accomplished more slowly and more thoroughly. We have had so many staff cuts and people are expected to do so many things as part of their job then no job is done properly and 2008 has really been showing it up. it is all make it up as you go along approach everywhere. We need proper jobs, proper working conditions and proper computer programmes. See who has been over changed ought to be easy on a computer. redressing that ought to be easy on a computer...provided the programme has been set up properly and those who are doing the job have the time and the skills to be able to get the information out of the computer properly. it is a shemozzle...but anything to do with water int his state is. time to breathe in, sit back and take the time to do things properly. Criticiing won't fix it. Applying solutions will...and it will infuriate peole to see others have moeny thrown at them. We need to plan properly and that requitres time and thought. This cursory glance appraoch to life is junk.

Hog tied

Hog hostage drama set to end - ABC News

Caroline Hayes, 63, says she has been unable to leave her Uki house to use the farm's outdoor toilet at times because the pig is aggressive towards her.

They have had to think carefully about this because the woman doesn't want the hog hurt. She has been terrorised by it because she was kind to it and now it just wants what it wants when it wants it and it has been very aggressive and destructive. you don't argue with a hog and they are very effective guard animals because of that! Poor woman has been held hostage by the hog but it is just so compassionate the way she realises it is an animal and needs to be treated in a humane and thoughtful manner.

Student Brawl

200 students involved in school brawl

"It's taking a lot of resources for a bunch of idiots who took the law into their own hands," he said.

Is it on You Tube? Mobile phones seem to catch a lot of vile footage these days but I suppose the police know that. Parents must wonder why they send their children to school when there are students there who just want to make the place revolting , unpleasant and hostile. The students who behave in this fashion are not socialised and really do not belong in places where there are other people.it also is making virtual schools look more and more appealing and we have the technology to provide online education. I guess it's not practical to round up the anti social ones and put them away but I do think we need to get back to the place where anti social behaviour is considered as that and not tolerated. The boundaries need to be clear because this fuzzy approach to life is making it unpleasant and dangerous for everyone.We have become too tolerant n many ways and so the message is ...crack down! At least the police managed to sort it out, but putting students and staff at risk like that is not on and parents don't want to spend their whole day worrying if their kids are brawling instead of being in class. Have we been too kind?

ABC2

ABC2 has picked up a lot of ground, the more so because it had such good coverage of the paralympics which had a pretty solid following. Many people found it even more inspiring and touching than the Olympic Games. Even though the athletes were there to represent ther coutnries , people were getting involved in their stories and it became an inspiration in a world where we very rarelypay tribute to human courage and spirit. We focus far too much on the negative, nasty and nebulos. then ABC2 covers a lot of good music and so we have adopted it for that. it has some good alternatives to mainstream TV watching. I am not surprised people have woken up to it.

Australia's pet peeves

Smelly know-it-alls the ultimate irritation | NEWS.com.au

SMELLY people, unstocked supermarket shelves and the office know-it-all are among the things that irritate Australians the most, a national survey has found.

We have a family who shops locally and they are really smelly. you can smell them for m the next aisle. you wonder why. Don't tehy notice? They live in a house so presumably they have running water. We can and do keep our distance because the pong is unbearable...but the check out operators must be hard pressed to stiffel the stench and crry on. I admire them. You cannot make a law to enforce hygiene but there must be something we can do. tell them they are stinky? We are hopeless because we don't know how to deal with it. At work it becomes the bosses job and I do not envy them because it is hard to tell someone they smell.i guess it's an unwritten rule with the rest of us that we keep ourselves clean..and want to. You can sweat a fair bit in our weather so body odour and stale sweat are not very popular here.

Girl saved from drowning.

Man saves drowning girl | The Australian

"Another five seconds, if she had not grabbed the stick, it would have been too long, she had floated 300 metres down the river and it was flowing too strongly for young girls.

I bet the parents will be pleased to have their girls in one piece and they can thank Warren Tyson for that. He not only thought quickly to rescue the girl who very nearly drowned , he appears to have taken it all in his stride and provided some very much needed emotional support until the girls could be looked after by the medical team and their parents. Maybe they will get a telling off. They seem to have done something quite normal and tried to repair the accident , but strong currents are tough to fight. You do need to be very strong. I think Warren Tyson will be sleeping well so night when he made such a difference in the world today.

Big Orange

Big golf ball suggested as landmark - ABC News

"The idea of a big golf ball with sponsors' names painted on it, I think that could be an icon for the area because that area's such a mecca for golfing people."

Bugga the oranges. Let's not forget the sponsors.

Malnourished Sheep

RSPCA probe over malnourished sheep - ABC News

"We had 10mm of rain here yesterday which didn't help - obviously malnutrition - and, yeah, they were pretty sad."

I'd like to pass judgement but I shall keep my mouth shut and try to think. We had a horrendous summer. it would have driven many of our farmers to the wall. It would have impacted on their whole way of being. you would have to be pretty tough to work on the land and not be affected by out lack of water. So the sheep are probably a symptom of our lack of water and someone who just cannot cope any more. To truck the sheep from broken Hill to SA seems rather odd, but where was the truck headed? Putting 400 emaciated sheep on a truck would have been heart breaking. There has to be a reason.I could sit here and say you shouldn't do it. Maybe there was no other option because Broken Hill has been hit by incredibly bad weather and I daredevil someone was trying to make a good decision even though it looks like they haven't. I really think there will be a lot of heartache and heart break behind this story.When people are pushed to the wall and their limit they do very irrational things.

Hindi

How about more Hindi courses, say Indians in Australia

'Learning Hindi has opened up many opportunities. It will be of great help if I choose to work in India as I can now interact with different people with ease,' Jasmine Sodhi, who migrated here at the age of eight, told IANS.

This is where advertising does some real good. We can now relate to the fact that Chinese people speak Chinese and because a lot of schools have taught Japanese then Chinese characters and Chinese is not so foreign to us. The Australia-China worls hard to bridge the pas. Indian people need to get out there and show us their culture and their language because most Australians just know nothing about Hindi. they don't even know where to start. you can find learnign chinese things online and Chinese people are helping us to learn their language because they are more confident about mixing. It's about that bilingual, bicultural approach. So, the Indians need to start some PR and guide us along the path. Show us how to get started and what to start with.If they become teachers then their language will come into schools as did Greek, German and Italian.  You need the bicultural people to light the way.

George Michael

AdelaideNow... George Michael sorry for drugs bust

"In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to derail my own career, but it never seems to suffer," he said. "I suffer like crazy. I've suffered bereavements and public humiliations, but my career always seems to right itself like a plastic duck in the bath."

You know the thing about a cry for help? This guy is rich, he's famous , he's intelligent and understands what is going on and yet, he is powerless to help himself. I feel so sorry for him because he has got himself into all sorts of muddles and clearly has some problems which have not been addressed. I'd like to think he has friends who can get him on the right track and I'd like to think there's a way of getting to him so that he can help himself.When people cannot help themselves then we have to find ways and means of helping them because the inability to help themselves is the problem. It generally suggests they have some awful stuff to deal with that they cannot confront by themselves...hence the blotting out behaviour. I just hope George Micheal has some good friends.

Spell checking

Caren Jenning cites legal bullying as factor in her death | The Australian

accessary

It is a serious article with a lot to think about and consider. I thought it was a typo but it is repeated.Someone needs to check if the spell checkers are letting them down...but even, so , what kind of spelling is that ?

Desal Plant

Adelaide desal plant due early: SA Govt - ABC News

All three businesses have indicated they could deliver the plant a year ahead of schedule.

As long as they do it properly, don't cut corners and pay careful attention to the environmental factors. can't wait. We just do not have the infrastructure to support our growing population and we are having to do this all retrospectively because we are growing fast. We need the water and it'll be great if it can be safely be set up earlier than was thought.

Protégeons la banquise

Jean-Louis Etienne - Total Pole Airship

Si vous souhaitez marquer votre soutien pour cette initiative, vous pouvez signer la pétition en ligne

Jean-Louis Etienne has a petition going to get people to bring to the attention of governments that the melting polar ice caps are a real issue for us to fight against now. The link takes you to the page where you can click onto the petition.

JK Rowling

JK Rowling donates $2.2m to UK's struggling PM

"The Labour Government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty," said Britain's richest author

Someone who cares. Someone who is prepared to put her money where her mouth is and someone who is prepared to use that money to make a social difference. We are in a bit of a social reform frame of mind at the moment. people with money are espousing their humanitarian and social causes to a far greater extent than politicians. famous people are showing the way and standing up to be counted in a very unstable world. They seem to care about equity and in dispelling the nonsense which is promulgated in order to manipulate the masses. Poor people are not stupid. They just lack money. Brains don't automatically grow with your bank account but money can certainly advantage you in our current social set up.

Professional Multitasking

Doctors told to reform or face 'a pay cut' | theage.com.au

While arguing that doctors should be paid more for the work that "demands their complex knowledge and training", she says if they are not willing to give up jobs to other health professionals they should face a pay cut.

The tough talk probably is not necessary. Doctors have been stretched to the limit as have other social professionals like nurses and teachers. The shortages and funding cuts to health and education have meant that teachers, doctors and nurses have had to cover the gaps and meet the needs of an increasingly demanding society/economy. Given staffing cuts then professionals have taken on other aspects of what is deemed to be the job and that was expected. There was not a choice and I am certain most doctors would prefer to be doing the medical things for which they are trained and in which they had an interest. Staff shortages in key professional areas have created the jack and jill of all trades approach. So , if there will be more funding, if there will be more staff then services and job specifications can be redescribed. It needs to be looked at in a considered fashion so that everyone is now clear about what their job is.

Ian Thorpe

Oz swim great Thorpe says getting used to college life

"Well, I am not stupid and I am glad that I have been able to prove that to myself. It is a hard process to get into that studying mode and into remembering how I used to do it. That has been a challenge for me," Thorpe said.


This is fantastic news. He has done so much for swimming and Australia, that Ian Thorpe really didn't have a chance to be just a person doing what he needed to do. he was awesome in the pool, just incredible. Fantastic to watch. the price he paid is the fact he didn't do what most of us regard as normal...finish school and go to uni.It is good to hear he is just doing what Australians take for granted and can have a chance to reformat himself into the person he would now like to be. I am sure he'll love being at uni because he is right, he is not stupid, but the limelight wreaked havoc with his sense of self.

Financial Facts

Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus - Times Online

STAFF at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza.


Even though there are plenty of routine articles about the current global financial crisis, there are also plenty of articles to give hope that the world is not as gullible as it was. Financial markets are manipulated. The level of acceptable manipulation is now in question. There are some really good thinkers out there and they will be the people who paint the picture and help us to achieve  balance. When you inflate and inflate, when you create wealth on dubious foundations, when finance is  based on a bit of this and a bit of that...and it inflates and inflates till it goes pop, well, yes, there is a lot to be learned. Free enterprise tends to operate on  the basis that bad luck if you didn't see it coming. You should have looked out for yourself. So now we are starting to get people who are working out how this all happens and then what we might do to better protect ourselves. The sound thinking which ought to have been in place before but was dazzled by the bling bling. People love money. They need to look at the price...and then they need to look at what is fair and reasonable, because , basically, that is the kind of world we want to live in.

Cultural Awareness

It would be good to start with languages in schools. New Zealand teaches its maori language and so we could start by giving children an awareness of appropriate aboriginal languages. Then we need to follow through on what the rest of the world has picked up. We almost note with pride we cannot speak any languages and that is a headset we need to change because it is ludicrous, especially now and especially in Australia. Europeans are now encouraged through eduation to be at least trilingual. The Americans are pushing their languages education and what are we doing? We think kids need computer forgetting that communication in a international environment means language acquisition! We have refused to address our linguistic needs. The Eastern states have bilingual kindergarten and schools. They are producing children with lingusitic competencies. Once you learn one language , it is far easier to learn another. We still persist in the stupidity we don't need to learn any languages and we need to just speak English. It is a headset which advertises our complete lack of understanding of what culture means and it shows. It is starting to really show . While others are making an effort to get good at differnt languages we are losing the benefits by staying monolingual. We don't have the thinking and cultural complexity of those who speak several languages because just learning languages gets your brain going and you can learn other things as well. It's a discipline. You get the cultural awareness through the language. You realise not everyone thinks like you. Each language can express a diffferent aspect of yourself. You are not an identical person in one language and once you understand that concept you do reach out to others and help them to connect. It is important to be a cultural interpreter and those who need that help are appreciative you can supply them quickly with the short cuts. I'm doing it on a daily basis and it's fantastic and then just as fantastic to hear another version of reality. Livening ourselves up and getting linguistic would be great.

Save your cartoon

AdelaideNow... Save your favourite cartoon

THE Advertiser's comics page will be changing next Saturday - and we want readers to help decide what should stay and what should go.

Well, here is a newspaper which is consulting you. As South Australians we have grown up on the Advertiser and Sunday Mail cartoons. Not sure if they are still as popular. It was a good way to start the weekend. If you want to save your favourite cartoon from the Advertiser you need to follow the link from this article and do your bit for yourself and your children. I love the Wizard of Id and Broomhilda!!

Facebook Furore

Facebook protest group hits a million users | NEWS.com.au

However they may be outnumbered by a silent majority of users not bothered by the new look.

I think the difficulty is that new users wouldn't know what the old Facebook looked like. I am a new user and Facebook is okay and works brilliantly at connecting you with people and then keeping contact by way of the "pop in". It really is easy. The first day I went on there I downloaded a virus with an application I was installing on Facebook, then I had another application which sent out things to all my friends and I had to apologise because it just took over and did as it pleased. That kind of viral and virus laden app behaviour had to stop. It was ruining any experince I had on Facebook. it has stopped. I think the lay out could be tided up because there is very poor use of the page space and thing stend to go in long colums and uneven colums. I can see that people with a sense of web design would find the new Facebook really annoying because the pages do need some better design aesthetics which is surprising in 2008. The ground swell to get the old facebook is huge though and its from people whose opinion I'd respect. I don't get what they mean because I was never on the old Facebook. it might be a good idea to consult with peole to get an interface which addresses the issues which appear to be driving people crazy. It's the same with the migration form XP to Vista. People have become a bit set in their ways at the moment, which is odd considering it has been non stop technological change. There is a resistance to change and it may be that people are fed up with change and are so trying to turn the clock back to stabilise themselves and society.

Rules for the Rich

Mafia suspect donated to Liberals | The Australian

FORMER immigration minister Amanda Vanstone reportedly overturned a deportation order against a suspected Melbourne mafia identity after a large donation to the Liberal Party.

Lunch time yesterday we were talking about how, in one country a lot of people had lived in, the rich could just play fines and donations and then do as they wished even though the people who couldn't live that way would have severe penalties for breaking the law. So then the comment was made that there were no rules for the rich. They merely bought or bought off so that they could do exactly as they pleased. The tendency was to suggest this wasn't the case in Australia ,that the laws were for everyone. I think we need to be clear about what our country now represents and how  we too can benefit from riches to get our whims and fancies met. Only this week we have had an article about how Adelaide parklands are tied up because some people pay the licensing fees. It then more or less becomes a private parkland and the general public doesn't actually know when they can use or visit these parklands. They are then not Adelaide parklands and that should be clarified if that is how we are running things. I am curious now about the extent to which we can buy our own rules in Australia.

PODS

Super snoopers in parking blitz - Technology - smh.com.au

Another bonus for the councils is they don't have to pay for the installation. Instead, the North Sydney-based company selling the devices, Vehicle Monitoring Systems, receives a proportion of the revenue from the fines issued.


Never ceases to amaze me how scurrilous people are in taking advantage of the general population. It's all based on the theory of getting a lot of people to pay a bit and then you make a huge profit as you provide a "service". Never give a sucker an even break. The parking overstay detection systems have over doubled the revenue for councils which are using them in Victoria and then the Sydney based company is making its profit off the back of the dopey public who overstay their parking by so much as a second. If what comes around goes around then the people who are inventing these low maintenance get rich schemes are in for an interesting time down the track.

Donkey Gaoled

(photo by Manyee Desandies)

Sorry man's ass thrown in jail | NEWS.com.au

AN Egyptian donkey has been jailed for stealing corn on the cob from a field belonging to an agricultural research institute in the Nile Delta, local media reported today.


Poor donkey. Don't they realise that animals do what animals do? The owner got a fine. The donkey was sent to gaol. How can animals be subject to human law? Or is it animal law because the human kept his freedom? Poor donkey.

ExitReality

AdelaideNow... ExitReality browser makes internet 3D

As well as being able to research your next overseas trip in a virtual simulation of the French capital, cyber surfers will be able to view friends' photos online in a three-dimensional art gallery or watch YouTube videos in a 3D cinema.


3D internet? It will change the face of everything. There is an attraction in 3D but it tends to move away form text and yet, we keep coming back to text despite all temptation. We can interact in quite complex ways and so the addition of 3D will make it more of a real virtual reality and graphics have certainly come a long way in this last year. We are on the way to a much bigger visual impact electronically. So how will text adapt? We'll see. It's being launched in Melbourne today. Wonder what they think.

Road Rage

AdelaideNow... Mum's warning on road rage terror

"I think he was wary about his actions because other people (in cars) were there. You hear about so many things that happen (in road rage) these days and I was worried.

Well, hopefully one of those people got the number plate of the angry young man. it's anywhere , anytime stuff at the moment and you really do have to drive defensively for two reasons. Firstly you don't want to annoy anyone because the extreme reactions are indeed disconcerting. Then, people tend to do as they please on the road...like the guy this afternoon who decided to do a U Turn right in front of me because he wanted to meet the truck on the other side of the road. Then there was the pedestrian outside my place this afternoon because the van coming into next door had to wait before it had a clear run into the driveway and he had to back it in slowly. So the pedestrain waved his arms and gesticulated and ranted on....like he couldn't cross the road and carry on walking on the other side?! Adelaide is totally up itself at the moment. Very self absorbed, self serving and self centred and the anger associated with it if you just want o carry on as normal is unbelievable. It's very arrogant behaviour from some of us at this point in time and the fuses are short. A lesson in consideration wouldn't go astray.

Clean Coal

Santos abandons clean coal development - ABC News

Energy company Santos has scrapped a $445 million development planned for southern Queensland.


So what exactly does that mean? Will anyone else take it up? Is it worth it. I always think clean coal is any oxymoron. What colour is coal? If you handle coal what do your hands and clothes look like? If you burn it , what do you get? There doesn't exactly seem to be anything clean about coal. The Ruhr valley was full of coal mines and so polluted. Coal miners breathe in the dust and it makes them so sick. Historically there hasn't been anything clean about coal either. Perhaps someone needs to explain what clean coal means. A joke?

No Undie Sundie

Mrs. Mad's Book-a-Rama

St Kilda pub offers free drinks to women who remove undies

The AHA has attacked a promotion by the Saint Hotel in the bayside suburb of St Kilda to give women $50 drink vouchers for removing their underwear in an event called "No Undie Sundie".


If you have to take your knickers off for a $50 dollar drink voucher, how desperate are you for drinks?

Republic

Call for Australia to have referendum on republic

'We think the time is right, the stars are aligned. We have a prime minister and a leader of the opposition who support the republic. We Greens are going to move before Christmas for a referendum at the next election on the republic, just a yes-no question,' Australian Greens Party leader Bob Brown told reporters.

The last effort back fired because people felt rail roaded. They felt like there was a push from the top and they were not prepared to back it. There will come a day, but we have a few things to sort out first. We need to be confident in political debate. It has to rise above the mud slinging and petty pot shots. We need good press and radio coverage of political issues and that is certainly becoming the case on the radio. People are taking a better interest. I'd also want to see women succeed at the top. For as long as we have a Prime Minister's wife who has to abandon charity support in case there is a conflict of interest then I don't think we are ready. Nor are we ready when women are somehow shooed out of the way...either because they cannot deal with it or because we cannot deal with them. We need to educate ourselves, we need to develop more depth and we need to continue along this road where we start to understand the political impact of changing people and faces. The whim and fancy stuff would pull us apart were we to be a republic. We need to get the foundations right. Then we need to sort out what we actually think about having state leaders or whether we wish to abandon that. I'd hate to see us run completely from Canberra and states might become more important were we to be a republic. People need to also understand exactly what that would mean in terms of our legal situation and our geopolitical situation. It'll happen but if people keep telling us we have to then we may well make a rash decision and regret the consequences. It needs to be an evolutionary process...which is it is at present . One of the first pieces of research we need to look at is to consider every country in the world...and then decide whether monarchies or republics are more stable.

Water

AdelaideNow... Desalination pipe to cause chaos in Adelaide's eastern suburbs

The cheapest, most direct route will be under parts of the eastern suburbs, possibly along the lower foothills in a construction project that environmentalists and local mayors say could cause havoc.


Well, it might cause chaos when it is being built. Maybe we need this out in the open now and have a chance to look at plans because we have sufficient expertise in Adelaide to work out the best way of doing this. We won't be able to distribute the water without having a way of getting it from Port Stanvac to elsewhere. Change will create discomfort and disruption and then it will settle down. I don't actually like the otpion of having no water so I think we just need to consider the best way of doing this . The biggest problem is our lack of water.

Drug trafficking in gaol

Inmates 'trafficking ice interstate' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

It is alleged they are part of a drug ring that spread from the central and far north coast to Queensland and Western Australia.

Some people never learn and I am glad they were caught. It doesn't say much for us if we are in gaol and still prepared to break the law. It also means we shall have to be very vigilant because the law isn't working. The detection is working but the law isn't preventing peole from breaking the law. Drugs must really have a hold to make people make those kinds of choices. We certainly do not need ice in our community.

Nonsense

(photo Steve Canipe)

Hilarious Quotes quotes

I like nonsense - it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope... and that enables you to laugh at all of life's realities.

- Dr Seuss

Back to Work!

Super savaged in share rout | NEWS.com.au

AUSTRALIANS on the verge of retirement will have to stay in the work force for two or three more years as the share market plunged to its lowest close for nearly four years yesterday.

I should like to think some sense and moderation will come out of this current global mismanagement. Money was easy to come by and a lot of people have become rich or richer. The inflated property prices, the inflated share prices...well, if you keep inflating it goes bang...pop! Things have been manipulated and they will need to be thought out very carefully because wealth is riding on this global market. People have been talking about staying in the work force. In my opinion, that is a good thing. For the last 3 years we have been losing some very capable workers to early retirement. People have been so diverted into wealth creation they have forgotten about the common good and the team effort. They have been very determined to get out of the work force. That in itself tells us how bad it has been in the work place. While companies have driven employees and managers to push up profits for the sacred shareholders, people's health and lives have turned into a shambles because the focus has been wealth and not health. There has been a complete loss of balance over the last 10 years so that work has shut down the health and happiness of a lot of people...so they have hung onto the notion they can get rich and retire. As soon as that has been possible, they have gone. So own we are in the position where we have lost a lifetime of expertise and knowledge. People who know and can do the job. The demands on them have been too great and then they have had to face this ageing prejudice. Young folk will come in a take over. It'll happen, but it has been forced because it has been cheaper. So then businesses find out that young people haven't had the time to learn the ropes of the commitment to work and their companies are falling about and I am certain everyone is dealing with angry phone calls because of a lack of service. Service is having people who know the job...not someone who tries to bluff their way through to the next promotion. So I'd like to think this crisis will get some of our good workers back who can support and train the young ones coming in. The younger staff need that support and in time they too will be competent and knowledgeable. We keep thinking there is a short  cut to experience and time. There isn't...what you get is what we have own on the markets...frantic grasping at straws and reaction instead of response. No foundation, no stability.

Money Bags

Labor 'has millionaire frontbenchers too' | NEWS.com.au

THE Federal Opposition has moved to blunt Labor attacks on their new leader's wealth, saying Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also is a multi-millionaire.


We are not back to this nonsense are we? It is a complete classic. These money focussed people have lost the plot again. We do have a nation of haves and have nots. That is what we have achieved over the last 15 years. There is a complete split in the haves and the have nots...the entitled and the unentitled.The privileged and the underprivileged. So those who have keep telling everyone and then discuss the plight of the have nots. The have nots just get on with it because they have realised that basic living conditions, basic health care and just basic consideration are a thing of the past. If money were not an issue, we'd stop all this nonsense right now.It is about who you are not what you have.

Australian Literature

Teachers oppose more Australian literature | NEWS.com.au

"Any definition of 'Australian' needs to see Australia in a global context, and to take account of indigenous and multicultural perspectives," the association says.

I can remember two girls coming home form school in year 11 full of intensely strident comment about the compulsory Australian Studies unit. When I said I thought it was important for them to know about the country in which they lived , then what I got back was...we have done rainforests to death, we have heard the same things about aborigines. We don't mind doing it but we want something different at year 11....and we are sick of montages. So I guess they were looking for depth and variety. As a compulsory subject the education department would draw on a pool of teachers to teach it. With Australian literature I do not think that will be a problem and I do see it as important that students who go to school here have a good and sound knowledge of our authors and film makers and text creators. Our creators of literature are unique and do provide some rich and valid insights into our culture. Our country is, however , made up of many nations and I think it is important also to consider the literary wealth we can access from those nations. Then there is the shift to electronic texts and that is valid also. I am glad to see this discussion . It is important for us to develop our institutional identities which seem to float around a bit at times. Before there was no chance of looking at the literature which English speaking nations contributed to the world. Now we do and it should not be abandoned. Australian literature does need to be a part of our education, I do believe that. It is good when you talk to people from other countries and they have a detailed knowledge of their literature. It is in this way I have come to know so many worthwhile books and films. It only helps cultural understanding; so we need to know about our own. Where that is placed then becomes the decision of the teachers because if you read the news, they are dealing with some very tricky circumstances in schools and literature is probably, unfortunately, the least of their concerns.

Sheep Rustling

AdelaideNow... Thieves rustle 100 Merino sheep

Ceduna police said the property and the roads leading to it were so remote the rustlers must have known the area.

The ewes were in lambs and merinos produce very good wool...who smuggles sheep and didn't anyone notice a big truck? What happened to Google Earth? Even if they were smuggled from a remote area they have to be taken somewhere and someone must have noticed sheep in a truck? I didn't think we had sheep rustlers these days. Is it that common and where do they rustle them too? Who buys blackmarket sheep?

Cane Toads

Chilly weather can stop the deadly cane toad cold - Times Online

“We found that cane toads can barely hop once the get below about 15 degrees Celsius,” Dr Kearny said.


Well, that's one advantage of all this freezing cold. It's bloomin' ridiculous how cold it is in September. Freezing...in Darwin the cane toads can hop for 50km because it is all nice and warm and these horrible things have been spreading. If making them cold works, let's do it!

Malcolm Turnbull

Turnbull rallies Liberals for 2010 election win - ABC News

"I think he will take advantage of whatever opportunity is put in from of him and make it hard for Rudd."

Well yes, he is not frightened to speak up. He can be a bit quixotic in his moods whereas Brendan Nelson always had the considered response. Malcolm Turnbull is well credentialled and has a very good mind but he can become exasperated by silly people. Brendan Nelson just used to let it  wash over him and that was an asset, but the country seems to need a new face every week so now we have a new face to head the opposition. We'll see how this talking head goes, because Malcolm Turnbull can be quite determined. We'll see. It is a tough job at the top as Brendan nelson found out. At work there was interest in this leadership race and we were keeping tabs on it all day. I haven't known that to happen before. We are a lot better informed than we used to be and the country is creating some interesting moves.Anyway, Brendan Nelson can now sit back and get a bit of peace and quiet. He lost by 4 votes this time and won by 3 the last time.They obviously have some swinging votes there.

Weakening World Economy

Big Four's $4.6bn hit as fallout spreads worldwide | The Australian

The US dollar, meanwhile, tumbled against the euro in foreign exchange trading and oil prices slid as markets worried about falling demand for energy amid a weakening world economy, traders said.


Going down! Up down up down...down down...Is that right? The world economy is weakening because the US dollar is sliding? One nation can take the world financial markets down? Who thought that plan up? Surely we don't have all the world's riches pegged to one country? I think we need a better global financial plan. Who thought that one up? Not financial experts surely? If we invested like that we'd be told to divide up our assets and invest in different sorts of income creating projects. We'd be told not to put all our income into one thing. So how come the world has got it all in one basket? I need this explained to me. We need to put our eggs in different baskets!

Guide to Sexual Behaviour

Guide released to help parents judge sexual behaviour - ABC News

"It's really targeted at parents, and carers, and professionals who are unsure, probably because we don't talk about sexuality and sexual behaviours just what's OK for young people and what's not OK and how we should be able to help them."


It is so unfortunate we have got ourselves so confused we can no longer recognise normal and aberrant or age inappropriate sexual behaviour but I think media images have muddied the waters and so this is a sound and sensible move. A lot of adults will probably feel relieved to find straight forward, no nonsense help such as this. If the guide promotes discussion out in the open about the behaviour of children then we shall have a much clearer picture in our own heads about what is normal and what is not.. As adults we'll be less confused and we'll respond instead of reacting. It is important that we respond because we do not wish to further confuse children...If we are confused we won't make very good guides. This guide will help adults formulate appropriate responses to what is occurring, but the most important thing is that people have come out to help schools deal with this. They cannot simply be left to get on with it because everyone is reacting and no one is helping to solve the problems which are occurring.

Pigs rule the earth

(photo Carolyn Keeney)

Before dinosaurs, pigs ruled the Earth | The Australian

FIRST there was the Permian era; then came the Triassic period. Now palaeontologists have discovered an intriguing interlude, the porcine age, when pig-like creatures ruled the earth.

They still do and some are more equal than others. Fascinating article which is well worth the read. We not only have the pigs , we have a similar climate and CO2 output. Fascinating.

Fact vs Fiction

BBC NEWS | Technology | Warning sounded on web's future

The internet needs a way to help people separate rumour from real science, says the creator of the World Wide Web.


Uum. Let me think for a minute. Yes, there is. Education. Thinking. Using your brain.

Wild Weather

AdelaideNow... South Australia bracing for gale force winds

TREES have fallen on homes, cars and powerlines and suburbs have been blacked out by storms expected to batter the state for most of the day.

Well, I wasn't wrong. The biggest problem are the big gum trees which would have been dried out over summer...and then the trees take the power lines down because we have above ground lines. One day they'll put them underground and that might help a bit. I am so glad I got my roof redone in July. Last year the neighbours were having problems with their roofs so I figured I had better get onto it and it has certainly helped give me some peace of mind. The big trees , though, that is something else. We need the trees for shade from the blazing sun...but the winds can bring them down. The weather is coming from Ceduna and apparently it is quite wild there. My friend from Goolwa rang me up and he was in despair because the wind had blown away what little water they had got back. The people of Goolwa have literally been left high and dry and our weather conditions are devasting that area. It really should be a top priority. What was a lush and beautiful area is being totally degraded for lack of ecological help.

Wild and woolly weather

The unexpectedly wild weather had us all diving for our winter woollies this morning and I shouldn't be in the least surprised to find out there was a high absentee rate. We were really surprised after we had had a warm weekend. We had thunder, lightning, hail and plenty of rain and wind. Some parts of Adelaide would have been hit hard. We were full of news and views as we got into work...but truly. We were flabbergasted by such a rapid turn form warm and sunny into this wild concoction of whatever the weather machine could fling at us! It was cold and horrible!

Blog Jaundice

The yellow peril has struck my blog. When I ran the mouse over it the back ground was going bright yellow and then the colour behind the text was going bright yellow. I loaded it in Chrome and it was fine...so then I loaded it back in Firefox and it was fine. I have never had a weirdo thing like that before. So, fortunately the blog jaundice was short lived! Maybe it split its particles.

Facebook Facelift

BBC NEWS | Technology | Facebook imposes site facelift

Facebook's facelift will become permanent for all its 100 million users, like it or not.

I have only known the new Facebook and recent tinkering on the site has annoyed me a bit because there are all these pop up instructions...but I guess that helps those who can't navigate sites very well. I have just had an exhausting phone call to a friend who has just bought himself a laptop and even trying to get him to find the "windows" thing ( start button) was a trial...and then 2 hours later I discovered he hadn't loaded the printer software and couldn't open the CD drive. In retrospect it would've been quicker to drive over there! So Facebook has to cater to all sorts and I think the new site is pretty good. Criticisms of broadcasting private info in earlier days would have been warranted. The only thing I'd like is better, more grown up apps and a sidebar which can load more. I think the site is brilliant at locating people and blasts from the past. It is really remarkable and I think all the grannies should get on there and keep in contact with their kids and grandkids. It'd be so easy for them. Facebook has such a lot of potential and needs to grow up...but as it stands I like the interface I am working with. Last week the new site went down and there was another interface. Maybe the old one, I don't know. It was horrendous. Too cluttered. Too clumsy and far too busy. I laugh because a lot of people objecting to change are really quite young and I'm thinking, we keep being told how well these kids can adapt to new technology. Don't think so!

Diggers' Health

Post-trauma check for returned Diggers | The Australian

AUSTRALIAN troops who have fought in the Middle East will be screened for the first time for health problems such as cancer, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, as part of an effort to boost health surveillance of soldiers returning from combat.

There has been publicity world wide about  the poor health of soldiers who have returned from Iraq. It seems psychologically they are very vulnerable. But it is such a sensible plan to monitor and check soldiers who are returning from combat zones to peace situations. There would be so much they have to deal with and so many things we can do to help them. It would also be a way of putting together a 're-entry" plan to mainstream life. I look forward to a day where we don't need soldiers and that we give up war. I'd love to see us move that far forward. In the meantime I think it is wise to support them when they come back.

The Big Bang Machine

Hackers claim there’s a black hole in the atom smashers’ computer network - Times Online

CERN officials are now confident that the collider will have started experiments to generate new physics well before world leaders visit on October 21 to inaugurate the project.

This well and truly was the talk of the town for the whole week. This article is the best one I have read to get some idea of what this is all about. I am not strong on physics but I feel as though I am clearer as to what the Large Hadron Collider can do and how last Wednesday really wasn't anything at all, in terms of its ultimate capabilities. In the meantime hackers have supposedly hacked into the system and I would assume any project which is supported by this kind of rarefied intellectual capacity would be bolted down securely. As it turns out the big event will be October 21st and several heads of state will be there....so it really is a big deal that hopefully will not go off with a bang!

Poodwaddle

POODWADDLE

Create your own home page with a search engine, dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, maps, calculator, games, and more.

I know it's a funny name, but do yourself a real favour and get over there. Make sure you check out he Earth Clock and the World clock. I am certain you will be amazed. This is one of the most exciting, innovative sites I have seen in a while. The page itself will tell you why it has such a strange name. It is just so clever.

Pension

Increase pension now, say seniors | The Courier-Mail

"It's time for the Prime Minister and the rest of the Government to provide relief for older Australians," Mr O'Neill told Sky News.

There was a fantastic discussion on the radio the other night about pensions and pensioners. The thing I appreciated the most, because it was something I just happened to hear when I turned on the radio, was this was a full blown discussion with a lot of people who knew so much about our ageing population, our financial markets, the difficulties of ageing and then the perspective. The whole debate was lively and full of information which the Government could have really used. I haven't heard a good discussion like that in ages and the announcer was facilitating it all really well without creating any kind of bias which has been par for the course in recent times. Everyone got to say their bit to their satisfaction and then someone else was given a turn. I actually felt informed. I even felt like I now realised properly what some of the issues were...and then I thought everyone gave us some great ideas to work on to help resolve the plight of the pensioners.

Heated Car Seats

Hot seats could fry away fatherhood | NEWS.com.au

MEN who enjoy warming their bottom on a heated car seat should beware, for they may also be frying their chances of fatherhood, New Scientist reports.


Isn't that why Romans ended up falling from power? They were having too many warm baths and giving birth to too many girls and so their population diminished and they had no fighting power? Warm thing seem to create a problem for men and heated car seats are now it! Poor men. I love my heated car seat and couldn't live without it now. This needs to be taken seriously by men because there does seem to be considerable scientific proof that heated car seats and even sitting in cars for lengthy times affects sperm production!

Tests in the Pacific Ocean

Russian submarines to test-fire missiles in Pacific | NEWS.com.au

Russia's Pacific Fleet, which will carry out the tests, has Delfin nuclear submarines equipped with RSM-54 intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach targets as far as 8300 km away.

Back to the boys toys again. I can think of better things to do in the Pacific ocean...and enjoying it would be top of the list. It's a brilliant ocean.

Childhood Innocence Lost

AdelaideNow... Sex club for six year olds exposed

Meanwhile, on the Sunshine Coast, a gang of nine-year-old boys has been accused of "grooming" children as young as five to engage in sex acts. Investigators were told victims were rewarded with lollies.

I think we need to step back and take a deep breath. Someone who who ought to know once told me that when people are abused they will often repeat that dysfunction but put their own colour on it. So the behaviour is the same, with a twist. There have been enough cases of children being abused for us to know that this goes across every culture and every century. Then there is the curiosity of children and they used to grow up exploring their world and their bodies in all childhood innocence but the advent of increased supervision has made that a thing of the past I suppose and media images have twisted it all. So now we have little children engaged in sexual things and the first thing we need to decide is if it is healthy or dysfunctional and then why they would be doing it at school. The anger of the parents is understandable but it will slow down the logical exploration fo what is happening here. I can well imagine the teachers were troubled and disturbed with some of what has been described here and may well have sought help elsewhere. From what the parents have been quoted as saying then the Department of Education has been slow to supply help , advice and mediators...then there ought to be some counsellors and sociologists so we can get this all straight. Teachers are there to teach and not deal with all the ills or misunderstandings of society but it seems there hasn't been a logical way of dealing with it so that the children can be treated in a calm way. Exploding over it, avoiding it, hoping it will go away, buck passing all tend to suggest that the adults are not equipped to deal with this and need some proper help and advice so they can get quickly to the facts and information which will resolve this. It cannot be left. A team of qualified people needs to get in there and help these schools and parents.

Travel Plans

Do you trust Qantas anymore?  Brisbane Times Blogs

Bits of the planes keep falling off, or blowing out, fights are repeatedly aborted and turned back or diverted to emergency landings.

This post echoes our lunch time conversation because we started off talking about Qantas and then continued on to talking about the situation with travel at the moment. There are quite a few influences. No one wanted the Qantas maintenance moved offshore and it's mighty odd that there have been so many problems when this is a carrier which had an excellent record. It is our signature airline but it is treated very poorly. Qantas was Australia. Now the wheels, door...you name it, keep falling off. The the Air New Zealand plane flying back here the other week had some very weird noises which had everyone looking at each other...and that happened when I was flying Air New Zealand and I haven't been back since and that's a pity...but I don't like planes which make odd noises. There are far too many mishaps. Then there are the outrageous petrol prices which have been blatantly manipulated. It is getting as much money as they can out of the planet. Look up the top 10 income earners on the planet. Petrol companies are doing pretty well at our expense and they are getting away with it. So these fluctuating costs have increased travel prices and there is no guarantee you'll have a static airfare if you book early. The the rise and fall of the dollar means your tourist dollar is fluctuating as are your airline prices and your airline safety ...and then there are the events...like our friends just narrowly missed the earthquake in China. Others got stuck in floods. How many people got stuck in the Chunnel just recently and how much is this costing the traveller....not to mention the unexpected lengthy waits at airports and the "you're on your own" attitude of travel companies when things go wrong. So we discussed all of that and figured saving carbon was probably the best thing to back at the moment and use our tourist money at home on ourselves and for seasoned travellers this is annoying but everything is too volatile at the moment and that is how well we have done as a planet.We have worked damned hard on instability.

Feel the Force

Bring your own light sabre: Uni launches Jedi course - ABC News

No prior qualifications are required and the blurb informs students that light sabres are not provided.


Says it all really, doesn't it? Self development through Star Wars? Just ponder that one for a bit and may the force be with you. I think I'll go and have a Princess Leia moment. Que la force soit avec vous.