Photo Hunt : Twisted

My mind may be twisted, but that is difficult to portray in a photograph.

Take my kids to the park on the other hand, it is easy to demonstrate that they are twisted.

photohunt

Working Class and Small Town America Not Barracking for Obama

Senator Top End of Town Obama has announced a new break through strategy to change the way he is viewed in small town and working class America.

At a recent fundraiser,

he explained his struggles appealing to working-class voters by saying they were frustrated with the loss of jobs under both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last decade, adding: "It's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment."

Obviously a battler image will endear me to Americans from the school of hard knocks said Senator Obama.

Meanwhile Former President for Life and his Wanna Be President for Life had no comment. We will reserve judgement on this one they said.

Sports Injury Earns a Dollar

Ryan started soccer football practice this week and his mate managed to hit him in the mouth with the ball when he was shooting for goal. He managed to dislodge his wobbly tooth and Ryan ended up swallowing it. He was sure it was stuck in his throat and was bummed when I told him as a joke that he wouldn't be able to prove to the tooth fairy that it had come out. I took this photograph instead and gave him a dollar.

Funny we were talking about getting hospital cover for just this sort of occurrence just this week. It would more than likely be for them rather than us. They are both entering a dangerous age for accidents.

Well If I Do Say So Myself

Colin Campbell --

[noun]: A master blogger

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

By comparison, James is a Dance Involving Little or No Clothing. Interesting.

Thanks, the Banshee Like Jams O'Donnell.

China is Getting Ready

Kiwi Pulse has more and the background to the campaign.

Warhol on Ice

Haven't done this for a while. Here are Ryan and I being Way Cool Man. Or should that be Chillin' Dude?

Thanks Nunyaa and Kate for reminding me and for the chance to join in.

Work Transition Ongoing

In consulting there are always peaks and valleys in work load. If the valleys go on too long, you lose your job. The key is to hang in their when things are a little quiet.

I got lucky today. Two of my colleagues decided to tidy up my work area. You should have seen it before, but it certainly didn't look like this. I wonder how long I can hold this together.

This is exactly what happened when my wife first moved into my apartment in Singapore. A big clean out.

Thanks Michelle and Jessica.

One of the photographs is my desk. The other is Jessicas, which looks like this all the time.

Star Wars Death Star Final Assault Ends in Court Fight

Two examples of nutty lawsuits. How much money does George Lucas need?

The lawyers working late that night were preparing to do battle with the opposing legal armies of George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars films, over who owns the copyright on the stormtrooper uniforms, the headgear of the imperial fighter pilots and the helmet designed for Luke Skywalker as he led the final assault on the Death Star in the first film of the original trilogy.

Lucas’s business empire claims that it owns all the rights to the uniforms, while the lawyers at SimmonsCooperAndrew will argue that the rights are in fact vested in an obscure prop designer from Twickenham who made the first helmets and suits for the 1977 film.

And in Australia, Darrell Lea Chocolates have fended off Cadbury's in an attempt to get them to stop using purple in their marketing and wrapping materials.

The Federal Court has dismissed an application by Cadbury Schweppes that the use of purple by Darrell Lea amounted to misleading and deceptive conduct.

Justice Peter Heerey said he was not persuaded that Darrell Lea in using purple had passed off its business or products as those of Cadbury or had contravened the Trade Practices Act.

How can someone trademark the colour purple?

Google Related Fatwa Imminent

I noticed yesterday that I had a lot of google image hits for "sexy hijab" and found that I rank highest in google image search for that term. Scary stuff.

I will have to be careful that I am not fatwa'd.

Not Too Keen For Work Today

OK Maybe not too bad by comparison.

If You Can Read This It May Be Safe To Drive

Unfortunately some people will be too pissed to read it.

What Would You Do If You Had a Spare Million or Two or Three?

Doubt if I would buy a camel.

Yes, You Can Miss Your Own Funeral

As someone who is habitually late, this appealed to me.

I would prefer to be served medium rare

Created by OnePlusYou

Thanks katekatekatekate

Stockbrokers of the World Beware

I am not sure that there would be too much Arbitration and Mediation if this guy shows up at your office.

Melbourne underworld identity Mick Gatto has flown out of Australia on a mission to recoup ''millions'' lost by clients of failed stockbroker Opes Prime.

Speaking on 3AW this morning, Mr Gatto, whose private company Arbitrations & Mediations fixes ''sticky problems'' said he and two associates would go to Singapore and would be ''darting around all different countries'' in an attempt to recover the money.

''A couple of people have approached us and asked us whether we could assist them,'' Mr Gatto said.

I have recommended him to our Accounts Receivable Department for some of those tardy payers.

Gatto said the company provided a simple service where ''we go and see the client and we say... 'we really think that you should pay, and it's all done amicably and 9 times out of 10 it's settled and the client's happy and we're happy and of course the bloke who owes the money is happy to have that weight of his chest'.''

Better that than a bullet in the chest.

The meeting's location was changed twice yesterday by its nervous hosts. Mr Moghe, the sole shareholder and director of an Opes-linked company called Riqueza, had reportedly feared for his family over Mr Gatto's visit.

Mr Gatto said he was horrified that Mr Moghe would assume he might hurt his wife and children.

Mr Browne, who volunteered that he was extremely nervous about meeting Mr Gatto after looking him up on Wikipedia, said the collapse of the stockbroker had been "an unmitigated disaster" that ensured he and his colleagues would struggle to work in the field again.

Alls well that ends well.

We're All Republicans Now

President John McCain?

King Kevin Rudd?

Queensland Healths $100,000 Supersize Me Ambulance Service

Following up on Ian, Crapmeister in Chief's thoughts on Queensland Health who failed to come to aid of one of their employees, a remote health worker who had been raped, we see that there has been a change of heart when it comes to their customers.

Queensland Health was forced to charter a Hercules aircraft from the Defence Force because it had no ambulances or planes big enough to transport a 240kg patient.

Even though the woman was deemed well enough to travel by road from Mount Isa to Townsville the Queensland Ambulance Service had no vehicles capable of carrying her.

She was even too large to be safely carried in King Air light aircraft operated by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

A Defence Force spokesman confirmed a C-130 Hercules was despatched from the RAAF base at Richmond, Sydney after a request from the Queensland government.

The cost to taxpayers was not disclosed but a Hercules aircraft costs about $13,000 an hour to operate, putting the total cost of the nine-hour operation at more than $100,000.

Woohoo! That's a lot of rates and GST.

Now why could they not have helped out their employee who had been raped?

No wonder health care is expensive.

Olympic Spirit Alive and Well

Tell it as it is Lord Sebastian

He said organisers of the French leg of the torch relay through Paris should "get rid of those guys" because the Chinese officials "tried to push me out of the way three times".

"They are horrible. They did not speak English ... I think they were thugs."

A spokeswoman for the London 2012 Olympics confirmed that Lord Coe, the 1980 and 1984 Olympic 1500m champion, had made the remarks.

Doesn't sound too diplomatic.

John Howard's New Career

Diplomat to Dictators

Thanks to the unrivalled Bill Leak, back after a break.

How Fast Can You Blog?

Scientists are working on the even faster internet.

The internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds.

At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, “the grid” will be able to send the entire Tellytubbies Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.

Perhaps it is so that bloggers can burn out faster.

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Scary stuff. How much did you say it cost again? Sounds a bit more in the league of the Pentagon and the like than your average blogger or blog reader.

Twiggy No Thanks

Nunyaa raised the question a few weeks ago and James also asked for input.

Sixty thousand sex obsessesed males discerning readers of FHM have voted and the verdict suggests that men prefer women more full in size than women themselves perceive that men would like.

Professor Marika Tiggemann from Flinders University said that the results supported academic research on the topic. "We find women want to be thinner than what men find attractive," she said. "Men's idea of what is 'thin' is larger than that of women. Unfortunately, a lot of people think being thin demonstrates being in control or being disciplined, while being fat is a sign you're weak."

Plenty other opinions in the article. Me I have no comment. I am married and my wife reads my blog from time to time. My interest is purely academic. I also only read those kinds of magazines for the articles.

Can We Have the Gun Now Mr Heston?

Charlton Heston: Great Actor and Gun Nut

Who wants to be Millionaire?

And live in Zimbabwe?

If you did, then this humble millionaires residence wouldn't be bad. Unfortunately, a mean dictator lives here and has to be kicked out first. No wonder he is keen to hang in there.

And he is so humble as he disclosed in a recent interview.

How would you describe yourself in a few words?

"I feel I am just an ordinary person. I feel within me there is a charitable disposition towards others, just as I find charitable positions towards me from others. And I don't make enemies, no. Others may make me an enemy of theirs, but I make no enemies. Even those who might do things against me, I don't make them enemies at all. No."

Astonishing. Everyone in the country is a multi millionaire and (almost) everyone is miserable.



The government just issued a $50 million dollar note, which is just about enough to buy three loaves of bread.

I think I will stick with being a multi thousandaire.

Photohunt: Glass

Currently I prefer my glass full of South Australia's own Coopers Pale Ale.


I definitely prefer it full to empty.

photohunt

Job of the Day: Late Night Arctic Circle Kebab Salesman

Doing it tough in Longyearben is an Iranian, who is providing a valuable late night service to frozen drunks in the Arctic Circle.

How the native of hot and bustling Tehran went on to win the unofficial title of "world's northernmost kebab seller" comes down to the vagaries of early 20th century geopolitics.

Under a 1920 treaty, Svalbard is an international zone under Norwegian sovereignty that requires no tourist or resident visas. So when Norway rejected Ariaiwand's asylum application in 2003, he fled as far north as you can fly on a commercial flight - to this land of legal limbo.

When he arrived in Longyearbyen, the main settlement of about 2,000 people, he had no job or accommodations. Left behind on the mainland were his son, then 15, and ex-wife, who both won permission to stay in Norway.

Realising his stay could be a long one, he went into business last year as a kebab seller, opening The Red Polar Bear in his bright red truck parked on a public lot at the centre of tiny Longyearbyen.

I wonder if he also serves dessert? That and think of all the cold weather foof franchise opportunities. And also consider some of the geographies that this concept may work. And also diversification into polar bear burgers could be considered. The options are endless.

Being a refugee can be tough. I have moved countries many times, but my moves have been a lot easier than this Iranian refugee. My sister in law is Iranian and has managed to build a successful life in the UK after leaving Iran with her brother in the 1980s. Her barriers were a little less challenging than this guy.

Donating Online to the Homeless

The Big Issue taken to the next level for homeless people. Forget the Big Issue. Just go straight to Cash/Credit or Debit. Guilt free giving.

Non of the Will Work for Food baloney. Just Give.

Thanx Max

Happy Birthday Doris Day

What a fantastic singer. Born this day a few years ago. Happy Birthday Doris Day.

Too bad this song was appropriated by drunken football fans.

Alex the Flying Finn

No he is not a ski jumper.

Meet Alex Stubb, the new Finnish Foreign Minister. He makes Alexander Downer and Stephen Smith look a little stodgy.

Alex got the job when his much more dour looking predecessor was a bit too free and easy with texting cute girls.

Thanks Scottish Goss Master in Chief, Mr Eugenides

Coal Miners Rest Easy with Rudd Government Backing More Coal Power Stations

The Rudd Government has backed coal as a major long term player in Australia's energy mix.

New coal-fired power stations in Australia are inevitable and proposals to bury carbon dioxide emissions deep underground are essential if the country it is to tackle climate change, federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson stated yesterday as he launched the world's first scientific demonstration of so-called carbon sequestration.

This involves pumping near-liquid carbon dioxide underground for permanent storage in geological formations such as dry oil and gas reservoirs.

The largely government-funded $40 million testing plant near Nirranda will pump carbon dioxide from a naturally occurring reservoir and then compress the gas and inject it 2km underground into an old oil and gas reservoir.

The CO2 will then be monitored for two years to assess the risk of leakages and the potential for the gas to corrode the porous rock that would house it beneath a layer of impermeable rock.

Nearby natural CO2 reservoirs are currently used as a source of CO2 to carbonate soft drinks.

Australia sources about 80 per cent of its electricity from coal.

"We must succeed on this front because Australia as a nation is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for energy," Mr Ferguson said. "Clearly there will be growth in renewables but we are a fossil fuel dependent economy and our major export is coal. In my opinion, we'll see at some point in the future new coal-based power stations in Australia. There is no alternative," the Minister said.

Look for happy news on renewables and the green light for more polluting "clean coal" power plants.

Thanks to the Australian.

Pet of the Day - Higgins the Pig

Our friend Joanne has an interesting pet which she inherited from her son, who had a very serious car accident. She got the pig because she is a Buddhist and vegetarian and was the most likely not to roast it.

Every day she prepares a meal like this for him. She has to go around bakers and vegetable shops and pick up supplies, cook up some past and lentils to keep in the style that he is accustomed. Two thirds of her very nice fridge is filled with his supplies.

Personally that is way too much. We could probably feed our whole family for a week with most of this food.

Spotty was extremely nervous when we went to visit last weekend. I am sure Higgins might have him for lunch. I am not sure how long I could share the love with a pig.

My personal ambition is to get a kangaroo or a wallaby. Very impractical. Perhaps we could rent one for a few weeks. I recently watched the Spike Milligan documentary made with the cooperation of his family. I loved his Australian connection and his friend with the steel bath that they lit a fire under who had kangaroos in the back yard. Now that would be stereotypically Aussie.

Update: Nunyaa will save you Higgins if things are looking barbacueish.

Can't say that I have ever considered this before

43%

I seriously doubt that I would do this. I hate the sight of blood and plucking chickens or deboning fish are beyond me. Besides I don't want to be known as Campbell the Cannibal.

Thanks Nunyaa, who is less likely to eat her friends.

April Fools Wrap Up

Chicken Yogurt had a classic for April Fools Day. Sufficiently credible to make you think, but with enough doubt to make you question it. I visited for the first time in a while, randomly yesterday. Very good.

From the BBC (so it must be true), we have a list of 10 shoulda been coulda been April Fools stories (but they're not). I didn't even participate other than to offer my son some "yucky" soup for breakfast.

It's here again, the day when jokers set out to make fools of the rest of us. But not every bizarre story is a hoax. Here is a round-up of some of the day's seemingly spoof news stories which are actually true (and one that isn't).

1. A new pay-per-view funeral service scheme is being launched today. The Daily Mail says the scheme at Southampton Crematorium allows mourners to grieve from home by watching proceedings online.

2. A turtle is addicted to nicotine. He became addicted after picking up the smouldering butts in his owner's garden, in Kouqian, China, and sulks if he doesn't get his fix. The Daily Express, which picked up the story from Chinese news agency Xinhua, includes a gob-smacking picture of the turtle doing a rather good impression of Dot Cotton.

3. The menopause is caused by the age-old battle between wives and mothers-in-law, reports the Times. As long as 50,000 to 300,000 years ago, competition for food in a family unit was a battle won by the younger women who fed their offspring, which led to the older women losing their ability to breed. With food hard to find, mothers-in-law tended to help rear the grandchildren rather than have more children themselves.

4. An injection that allows women bigger and better orgasms by increasing the size of the mysterious G-spot is being launched in the UK, says the Sun. The £800 collagen jab takes less than half-an-hour and is given under local anaesthetic.

5. School desks and chairs are to be enlarged to meet the needs of the UK's ever-heavier schoolchildren, reports the Express. On average British children are a centimetre taller than they were 10 years ago, and there are more obese youngsters, so desks supplied to UK schools will reflect this.

6. Wind turbines or solar panels built by UK companies anywhere in the world could count towards Britain's renewable energy targets under controversial government proposals, according to the Financial Times.

7. You will soon be able to have a tattoo on your teeth, reports the Sun. Steve Heward, the dentist who started the craze in the US plans to set up in Britain.

8. The traditional Chinese martial art T'ai Chi can help control diabetes, reports the Daily Mail. Apparently, researchers have found the flowing movements and deep breathing involved can result in a fall in blood sugar levels.

9. A thief walked out of a busy Norwegian aquarium with a crocodile that was over two feet long, says the Independent.

10. Drinkers have been banned from calling barmaids "love". An outraged Daily Star says new discrimination laws mean landlords that allow punters to chat up staff could be hauled before a tribunal and face unlimited fines.

And finally, a genuine spoof. Have you heard the one about the penguins that can fly? A BBC camera crew filming a colony of Adelie penguins were astonished when they did something "no other penguins can do" and took to the Antarctic skies.

You can see the flying penquins on the BBC website if you are in the UK.

More proof that life is stranger than fiction.

Scottish Politicians Huff and Puff Patriotically

Scottish politicians in Scotland have forced an enormous back down by their Scottish colleagues in Westminster.

Public buildings in Scotland will be allowed to fly the Saltire year-round following a government climbdown in response to pressure from nationalists.

UK ministers will this week announce the lifting of restrictions on flag flying that have been in force since 1924. The rules stipulate that the Union Jack must must take precedence over all national flags on 18 days each year.

Scottish government buildings with only one flagpole must take down the Saltire and replace it with the Union Jack on specified national days including the Queen's birthday, Remembrance Day and Commonwealth Day. The decision to give the Saltire equal status has been welcomed by the Scottish National party. “It's a recognition that we are in charge of our flag flying arrangements,” said a senior Scottish government source.

Wow! Important stuff. The Scots are now in charge of flag flying. Now that they have won the big one, how about fixing the roads?