Harbhajan monkey comment
My last words on the cricket monkey furore:
I think New Zealand Judge John Hansen reached the obvious conclusion. No disrespect to match referee Mike Procter, but the judge knows what he’s doing. Far-reaching decisions like this need to be based on evidence.
I found this part of the transcript interesting: Read more
Reward good drivers
I wrote a few weeks ago about the road toll and an idea to reduce it.
I suspect that most traffic-related charges these days result from cameras and ray guns. When was the last time you heard of someone charged with overtaking on double lines, failing to indicate when turning or failing to stop at a stop sign?
And how many times have you seen someone fail to indicate? I see it almost every day on the road.
That’s my rant over with. Read more
Charles’ heir record
Prince Charles has set a new record as the longest heir in waiting for a world monarchy, notching up a record 59 years and 74 days in his wait to be King of Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Charles has surpassed the previous record set by Edward VII when he finally succeeded Queen Victoria to the throne in 1901.
That’s a tough gig, enough to make anyone start talking to flowers.
Unlike some others though, I think Charles will make a good King. He’s not afraid to get involved with social issues and he seems to have a genuine sense of compassion.
Critics will point to his failed marriage and quirkiness. I say he’s human, and unlike most other humans, he’s well trained for the role he will inherit.
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist dropped a bombshell by announcing his retirement from all forms of the game during the Adelaide Test.
As a young boy I idolised Allan Border and thought nobody could replace him in the pantheon of cricket greats. Gilchrist came close.
He is a sensational batsman and a great bloke. I won’t compare him with Border, because they had different roles and played in different eras (perhaps another post).
I just want to pay tribute to the great man, an unsung hero of Australian cricket, a man who has changed the way the game is played, certainly for wicketkeepers.
Never say never, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being as good as Gilchrist with the bat and the gloves.
Home again
We left Falcon at 9am and arrived home in Kalgoorlie at 6pm. The nine-hour journey was much better than the 13-hour detour we had to endure on the way out because of the highway closure.
I took some back roads this morning via Boddington, Pingelly, Brookton, Corrigin and Narembeen to Merredin. It might have been a little further but wasn’t much longer in time considering we had quite a few stops.
Ah, the joys of travelling with children. Why is it they need a toilet break 10 minutes after you’ve stopped for everyone to relieve themselves? Read more
Cricket sledging
Sledging is part of cricket and some examples are better than others. Sometimes it rebounds on the bowlers who deliver the words.
Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath to lower-order Zimbabwean batsman Eddo (chicken farmer) Brandes: “Why are you so fat?”
Brandes: “Because every time I “f**k” your wife, she gives me a biscuit.”
In an interview, Indian bowler Sreesanth said: “He (Lara) defended a ball with an exaggerated back-and-across movement and I just stood there and murmured my disapproval. Next ball he was beaten and I said, ‘is this the King Charles Lara? Who is this impostor, moving around nervously?
“I should have kept my mouth shut for the next ball - mind you, it was a length ball - Lara just pulled it over the church beyond the boundary! He is a true legend.”
I don’t have much personal experience of this. In the under 12s I was once heckled by a wicketkeeper who made abusive remarks I can’t remember while I was facing to bat. My response was to pull the bowler up half way into his run-up, which of course they hate.
It worked.
Mobile phone plans
My mobile phone plan with Telstra expires soon, or so I’ve been told four times in the past week. In addition to answering four calls from salespeople I’ve missed about six calls to my phone from the same Melbourne number.
When the first bloke rang, I told him to email the information. “No worries,” he said, but nothing ever arrived. I told the second one that I was waiting for an email. I told the third one I never received an email and he offered to post me the information.
The fourth bloke, who incurred my wrath, said: “To be honest, we can’t email or post anything.” He tried to sell me a new phone plan with a $6 rebate for the last two months.
I asked him to remove me from the sales list. I wonder if I’ll get any more calls? Seriously, this sales pitch is overkill. If it wasn’t for NextG and the wider coverage area I’d switch today.
Beach moments
We had a particularly enjoyable day on our beach holiday with some interesting moments.
The waves at Florida Beach looked bigger than they had been for a few days, but were still moderate, then literally out of the blue some giant swells rolled in. By that stage Juliet and I were holding Maggie and Jim respectively with their floaties on.
When the first monster came, your hero surrendered himself to the wave and lifted Maggie high into the air. I’m told Juliet did the same with Jim, but actually threw him airborne.
Needless to say, Juliet and I were dunked. Michael Jnr, who was watching from the shore, said Maggie didn’t even get her face wet and Jim came through remarkably unscathed.
The little ones then departed the water. A few minutes later kids near us shouted the alarm for a stingray. I’ve heard false alarms before for sharks, but this one sounded genuine.
I headed towards dry land and saw a five-foot wide dark stingray in the water about 10 feet away. I’ve got no idea if it was deadly or not but had no intention of finding out. Steve Irwin RIP. Read more
Beach erosion
We visit several beaches on a regular basis while on holiday. Two are nearby at Falcon and one is about 5km away called Florida Beach.
Last year we visited Preston Beach a couple of times as well, but the surf is much stronger there and we were concerned the twins could be caught in a rip.
Florida Beach is good because it usually has moderate waves with not too much undertow. Some days it has no waves but there is nearly always a pleasant swell.
Compared with last year though, we’ve noticed the sandy area between the water and the vegetation has diminished. In fact, there’s a three-foot drop from a narrow strip of sand to the waterline, which varies depending on the tide. The drop remains constant though and it didn’t exist last year.
The bigger waves flow into the sandy cliff and sometimes go above. It seems inevitable that more beach will cave in to the sea. Climate change, man or nature? I don’t know, but in two years I doubt that beach will exist if the trend continues.
National Party review
John Anderson was a strange choice to review the structure and operations of the National Party following its disastrous Federal Election performance, considering he was an architect of the party’s demise.
The Nationals were indistinguishable from the Liberals under his leadership. It’s difficult to pinpoint any National Party legacy from the former Coalition Government.
The National Party (formerly the Country Party) has existed for 90 years as a collective of state-based organisations. Each state party has a unique history. Read more
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