Alpine News
Cleaning up before a big move always reveals some nostalgic items. Today I came across CDs containing copies of the Alpine News.
This was a weekly newspaper that Juliet and I produced from our home in Porepunkah for six months from July 2002 to January 2003.
It circulated in the Bright area and reached a peak of 2400 copies when we also distributed free in Myrtleford. (more…)
Anzac Day in Kalgoorlie
I’ve never been one to attend the Dawn Service! However, I always make a point of attending the main late-morning ceremony.
Today I went to the Kalgoorlie parade (there was also one in Boulder). The crowd wasn’t as great as I expected, but apparently there were 3000 people at the Dawn Service.
The march went from the Post Office to the Town Hall. People then proceeded inside, which was also unusual in my experience.
What followed was a moving ceremony with a choir, band and enthusiastic participation from the audience. I was highly impressed.
I estimate there were fewer than 20 veterans in the parade (I was told about 60 participated at Boulder). I compared this with Bright, where despite a smaller population of about 3000 people some 100 ex-service personnel usually marched.
That says nothing except to remark on the different demographics in terms of age groups.
Kalgoorlie weather
I found a nifty Word Press plugin called EzStatic. It enables static pages to be called within a Word Press template, so the look and feel is the same.
An example is my use of the Kalgoorlie weather update from Weatherzone.
While mentioning Kalgoorlie weather, I’ve compared long-term averages between there and Bright. Maximum temperatures are roughly five degrees higher every month, eg January is 35 instead of 30, July is 17 instead of 12. Minimum temperatures are between five and eight degrees higher.
Better ‘prospects’ in the Goldfields
Go west, is the saying, and we are! I’ve accepted an offer to become Editor of the Kalgoorlie Miner in the Western Australian Goldfields.
Unlike my last proposed shift several years ago to Renmark, I’m excited about the role and the opportunities.
It’s a daily newspaper in a city with a strong economy and a young population. At this stage I’ll be heading over in mid January and the family will follow in late February.
The career prospects for me are much stronger in Western Australia. The company I’ll be working for is well established, with many other newspapers. The state itself is the future growth engine of Australia, I believe. The world needs resources and WA has them.
The kids will benefit from a wider choice of schools and sports. The shopping is better than Bright and the climate is warmer.
There are things I will miss about Porepunkah, but I’m really excited about Kalgoorlie and the new job.
Waugh’s African idea
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh made an interesting suggestion recently that a composite African team should be given Test status along the lines of the West Indies.
West Indies isn’t a country. It’s a collection of islands and nations from the same region that share an interest in cricket. Some of the nations have very small populations and could never expect to compete at test level in their own right.
Waugh was concerned for the future of cricket in Zimbabwe, and he commented that the game is making great strides in Kenya and Uganda.
He also mentioned that composite East African teams competed at World Cup level in the 1970s.
I think the idea has much merit. Zimbabwe is no longer competitive and the future doesn’t look bright.
It makes sense to establish a federation that includes Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya and Uganda, with a first-class competition involving their national teams.
Columba Mail worth a look
I’ve come across a relatively new, open source email client based on Java called Columba.
I’m finishing the reinstallation of Windows XP on a spare computer and had to decide which mail program to use.
I don’t mind Thunderbird, but did a web search for free alternatives and found Columba. It’s cross-platform, with a user-friendly graphical interface. Columba has built-in anti-spam filtering, various plugins and the ability to create "virtual subfolders" for mail storage based on keywords. (more…)
Pass the baton
My photo appeared on page five of Victoria’s highest-circulating daily newspaper yesterday, the Herald-Sun from Melbourne.
It was to do with my non-selection to run with the Queen’s Baton in the Commonwealth Games relay.
The article quoted me correctly, but missed my main point, which was that Porepunkah has been snubbed by the relay organisers. (more…)
