My Six Word Memoir

Not being one of many words, this little challenge from Lady Banana shouldn't be too hard. She has all the rules here. I am sure she won't mind me borrowing an appropriate image from her excellent collection.

So here goes. You can start carving now.

Sarcastic, Cynical, Humorous, Irreverent, Dour Scot

I want a big statue however.

Ryanaldo starts his Football Career

This article took me back to my childhood. We used to be let loose for hours at a time to wander around the countryside, climb trees, visit farms and pass the time. I know that we control our kids much more than my parents did. All their activities are scheduled and we arrange transport for them there and back. Normal now, but my mum couldn't drive when I was my kids age and my dad had the car most of the time. We had to be independent.

Ryan had his first football (soccer) game today. He is playing for his school and we got him new boots and stuff, which he is very proud of. Football at that age is played a little like Aussie Rules Football with all the little kids running in groups wherever the ball is. Eighteen kids around the ball was quite normal. The windy and rainy weather brought back great memories of the freezing windy and wet days that I spent freezing playing for Largoward. We used to have to get up by ourselves, cycle at least part of the way there and back by ourselves regardless of the weather and deal with some very competitive team mates who didn't take too kindly to my wimpy play. Ryan on the other hand can expect to have his bag packed, schedule arranged, chauffeured to the game, snacks provided, encouragement offered and warm clothes provided on cold and wet days and his strip washed. Not complaining, just very different.

I hope he looks back on this stage of his life and doesn't feel that we controlled him too much. It's a tough one as the first commenter on the linked article notes. Every parents worst nightmare. How much should we cotton wool our kids?

Ryan's Australian cousins are being fast tracked for the Premier League by their over enthusiastic father. His game plan is to pay off the mortgage with their first contract, I think. I am just not that competitive and if any father thinks that they can run the sideline and coach a seven year old, they are mad. Just watch where the ball is, with its magnetic attraction and that is where the kids will be. The chances of positioning your child ready for a breakaway pass by yelling at them is reasonably good if you have a loud voice. The chance of the ball coming to them is about as low as winning the lottery.

All good fun all the same.

Royal Flying Doctor Service Hits Eighty

Reverend Dr John Flynn, (1880-1951), featured here on the Australian $20 bill, was a South Australian Presbyterian minister in charge of the Australian Inland Mission, an organisation dedicated to bringing church services and health care to the outback. He established the RFDS in 1928 after recognising the potential for combining aircraft and radio to reach out to remote parts of Australia.

The first flight, on 17 May 1928, from Cloncurry was made using a De Havilland named ‘Victory’ hired from the fledgling Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (QANTAS) for two shillings per mile flown. The aircraft was a single engine, fabric covered, cabin bi-plane capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers at a cruising speed of just under 80 miles per hour. 'Victory', was greeted at the Julia Creek airstrip by more than 100 people. The distance travelled was 85 miles. 'Victory' went on to fly 110,000 miles in the service of the Flying Doctor until 1934 when it was replaced by QANTAS with a DH83 Fox Moth.

The first pilot, Arthur Affleck, had no navigational aids, no radio and only a compass. He navigated by landmarks such as fences, rivers, river beds, dirt roads or just wheel tracks and telegraph lines. He also flew in an open cockpit, fully exposed to the weather, behind the doctor's cabin. Airstrips were, at best, claypans or, at the worst, hastily cleared paddocks.

The service now has 50 high tech flying emergency rooms and still services the bush.

When I was little our Australian relatives sent us a book of Australiana and the Flying Doctor and education over the radio really captured my imagination. That and the koalas in the back yard.

Childhood Hero Day June 13th

Image via WikipediaMegan at Imaginif is promoting Childhood Hero Day on June 13th.

As the website explains:

Every child needs a hero. Heroes don’t need superpowers. Heroes are adults who can help children to understand and feel safe in a rapidly changing world. In a time when children are feeling uncertain about their future, heroes give children confidence, share their worries and celebrate their successes. Heroes help children work out their relationships, understand what is happening to them as they grow and develop and share time with them.

Heroes play a pivotal role in the lives of children. In the increasingly hectic pace of life and with the pressures of work, it can be easy to lose sight of the heroes children need us to be for them. Children need adults to care for them, be interested in their lives and keep them safe. Childhood heroes make a profound and lasting difference for children throughout their entire lives.

Ryan wore a Spiderman outfit almost every day for over a year when he was around 4. It was very important. Other Superheros have been around, but not as important as that.

Here is the current hero, Captain Underpants, inspired by the books by Dav Pilkey. Both Hannah and Ryan are reading them at the moment. Ryan wore this to school yesterday and entertained his class with his outrageous swaggering and his Bucktooth Monster sock puppet that he had made the previous night at Joey Scouts.

I'll do my bit, but I am not wearing underpants on my head.

Sun Sets on Solar Rebate

Who would have thought that a Howard Government Renewable Energy programme would be so successful that the Rudd Government are proposing to throttle it, such that it becomes non viable for many users, potentially putting many businesses up against it after gearing up to implement solar power on peoples houses. Mind boggling.

The solar power industry is predicting a dramatic decline in people installing solar panels, causing millions of dollars in lost business and job losses, after the Federal Government made it harder for households to receive an $8000 rebate.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced in the budget that only households earning less than $100,000 would qualify for the rebate, effective immediately.

It follows a surge in applications — up to seven times more a week, businesses say — since the Howard government doubled the rebate from $4000 to $8000 a year ago.

Clearly this is a budget management exercise rather than sensible public policy. If the government wants to promote the development of renewable energy then some combination of lowering the bar for people who want to do the right thing and increasing the tariff that homeowners can get to recover the cost of the system quicker and to promote measures to reduce demand particularly during peak periods.

Monash University senior lecturer Jeff McLean, who co-ordinates a management climate change course, said the means test was a retrograde public policy step.

"It would appear they are thinking of the rebate as middle-class welfare," he said. "What we need is to massively move to renewable energy. You can debate whether panels on roofs are the best way to go, but they are certainly a very public symbol of the move."

We looked into this for our new house. South Australia has the perfect climate for these systems. It would have been a stretch for us, but we were interested in doing the right thing. In the end we decided to reduce our monthly mortgage payment by making a larger deposit. The economics were very weighted to paying down the mortgage rather than supporting renewable energy. That would be even more so with the increase in interest rates since we bought our home.

The growth of many of the franchises built around these rebates will be brought to a very rapid halt. So much for building new capabilities, tackling a global and local issue.

Baffling. Come on Mr Garrett, The Beds are Burning!

Facebook Quibbles

On balance I like Facebook, just not this stuff so much. I like some intermittent interaction, but not too much daily poking and inviting.

Zemanta is interesting. My suggested tags for this post were Digital Camera, Olympus, Economic, Jim Flaherty, Photography, Economic Club of Toronto, Arts, United States

Huh?

Thanks from No More Poking Ever! Cellobella

Man Goes Solo to Join Mile High Club?

Is having to give up your seat to a grumpy air hostess to join the One Man Mile High Club worth $2 million?

Talking of that, there are a lot of ways to describe it.

Life Choices

I am very much on the right side at the moment, wishing I was on the left.

Downfall of the Third Coming (Goodbye Hillary Version)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Fantastic find from Todays Apathetic Youth

What was that flashing on the webcam?

The owner of a stolen Mac computer was able to log on remotely and take photographs of the low lifes who took her computer and had gone online.

To cut a long story short, she got her computer back when somebody recognised them.

Personal CCTV crime fighting system.

Science Discovers New Element - Governmentium

New research has led to the discovery of a new element - the heaviest yet known to science.

The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- to 6 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Thanks Pommygranate who pointed it out and this which inspired it.Who thought physicists were funny?

Mothers Day 2008

We never celebrated Mothers Day when I was growing up. It is a big deal here in Australia. I am getting to appreciate it. The kids have a great time getting ready. Enjoy it all you Mums.

Questionable Behaviour?

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. My best buddy is the comma.

Come on Down for Photo Hunt

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Witches Cauldron Money Scam

I just doubt that I could keep a straight face, even if I could find somebody to listen to this pitch. I wonder if they sell the sauce in the supermarket?

The victim of the con, who was not identified, was reportedly told by the Frenchman to leave a mixture of real cash with blank bills to marinate in a special liquid overnight, and the next morning he would have double the amount of cash at his disposal.

But when he showed up the next morning to collect his prize, both the cash and the suspected con-artist, whose name was not revealed, had disappeared.

"He has given a statement that leads us to believe that he really believed this was possible. But we are of course having a hard time understanding how someone could actually believe such a tall tale," police officer Ragnar Ingberg told RB.

Imagine going into the police station and telling them that you had put your life savings in a pot of soup to double your money?

Dumayat Hill Race

Notes from our Scottish Hill Racing Correspondent, Jocko McMasochism.


I ran Dumyat Hill Race on Wednesday. First time I've done it. It was a great evening with good weather and great views. The mess below is the read out from my Garmin. Off to do Ben Lomond today!




My brother must be a grade A masochist. I did this race in 1982 when I was involved in sports at Stirling University. The view of of Dumyat is the view from my office when I was President of the Sports Union in 1983. I can remember that my time was a lot more than Neil's and that I was totally knackered at the end. I used to like to meander slowly up hills, not run, although running down some sections was great.

Photo Hunt: Any Photo

Hannah and her friend, the Glam gals parade in the garden.

photohunt

Expensive Habits

Six Million Dollar Man

Three Hundred Thousand Dollar Man

SA Prisons and Transport to have Similar Strategies

Kevin I'm Tough on Crime Foley's Prison Strategy

"Rack 'em Pack 'em and Stack 'em"

Pat Fat Controller Conlon's Transportation Strategy

Track 'em Pack 'em and Stack 'em



Morons!

Madame Tussauds votes on El Gordo

I wonder which one will have more life?

Update: Ginro gives the not very surprising result.

All he has to do is dream the impossible dream and fight the improbable fight and win and election and they will have to put him in.

Olympic Torch Finally Shakes off Protestors

Just a cheer squad.

Our New Cactus Garden and New Cactus Variety Discovered?

We're all Cactonistas Now!

I am Data

I was interested that the most popular Science Fiction character is Galadradriel, a wispish ethereal type from the middle earth universe. Never heard of her.

Tree Climbing

When I was growing up, we used to love climbing trees around our house. I grew up in the country, so there are lots of them. My dad built us a tree house, which was well used for many years. In our new house, we have no trees in the garden, so we have had to search around for good ones. We found a couple in our local park and the kids have had some great monkey sessions.

Ned Kelly Eat Your Heart Out

Smiling Financial Assassins Chartwell, based in Geelong took money from investors for two years without investing it.

In essence, the monies coming in were used to pay trading costs, to return monies to investors, to take some monies out for the directors, and payments to some significant consultants.

Investors were seduced with promises of returns of up to 70 percent. Some were even hired to develop further business. So much of Australias much vaunted financial regulation.

Talk about the wild west. The receiver said that the funds invested of up to $500 million from Ma and Pa investors were as good as gone. One of the owners was on the radio today saying that his model was great and just needed a few bugs fixed. Imagine running a business where you apply for as much credit as you can get and then spend it. Not very sustainable.

Sad. If it looks too good, it probably is.

Porridge Break

For those of you who can tell the difference between a spurtle and a soup spoon, you may like this weeks Scottish Blog Roundup lovingly crafted in the early hours of this morning, a few hours before the starter motor in the car finally gave up. The trip to the garage was the last time it cranked over. We will have to cough up a generous portion of our meagre employee allowance to our friendly local license to print money motor mechanics. Luckily they could do it this morning. The only up side is that I cannot get into work and back to pick up the kids, so a day at home is in order.

Ah can awa an mak ma porridge noo. Pass the Spurtle.

Funkay Dancing

Great dancing and a very young Stevie Wonder.

Groooovy.

Photo Hunt: Time

Important to show your opening times. This is our local laundromat that we will likely be using a little over the winter. We don't have a drier, which is environmentally friendly and works well for about 10 months a year.

photohunt

The Dog Ate My Homework for Adults

A Frenchwomen has gone to jail for twelve years for slicing off her husbands penis and blaming the dog for biting it off and eating it. The seriously traumatised penisless husband is confined to a psychiatric hospital. The police have not been able to recover the penis.

I wonder what he did to piss her off that much? Speaking for myself, that would be quite an adjustment.

At least this guy got his back.