Navel Contemplation

Paperbark Alley...

2008-06-22T20:12:00.001+08:00

The calm before the storm...

2008-06-03T13:20:00.001+08:00

Is there something wrong with our education system?

2008-05-16T08:52:00.001+08:00

Who let the work experience kid near the cashews?

2008 Perth Motor Show

2008-04-26T00:44:00.001+08:00

Last night I went on up to the 2008 Perth Motor Show to have a look at the current, and possibly future, offerings from a good portion of manufacturers. A couple of notable absences of official stands in BMW and Mercedes Benz, but they were represented outside in the foyer. Seems odd, that in a state where there are a shitload of cashed up folk, and more moving here, that the two main prestige brands don't officially show their wares at the only real car show we have.

Now onto the cars:

Fiat 500

I was looking forward to seeing this little car, as it has received tons of praise from Europe. I wasn't disappointed, the retro-modern look works really well and the quality seems quite high too. I am sure these will be a good seller when they finally go on sale in a few months time. Can't wait to see, and drive, the Abarth version.

Alfa Romeo Brera

I had heard a fair bit about this car, Top Gear's James May was enamoured with it and lots of other folk have raved how good they look, and I would have to say this is one of the best looking cars I have ever seen. Sure, it may be an Alfa and spend a fair bit of time in the shop, but it is god-damn near perfect in its execution. And then I saw this...

Alfa Romeo Spider

The old Spider was a bit of an odd design and very much a product of Alfa during hard times. But now that Alfa has regained some marketshare and profitability, they are starting to take chances with their design and this new Spider is a winner. The great proportions of the Brera, but without a roof. It doesn't need to be fast or a good handler, it has pose appeal by the bucketload. And it will be priced high enough that hairdresser's won't be able to afford it.

Proton Satria RRR

Proton seem to be moving ahead quite slowly but their feature car was a big let down. A company that has Lotus as one of its subsidiaries is still putting out a car based on old Mitsubishi Mirage. The Satria looks about 15 years old and the addition of stickers (some in reverse), wheels and exhaust does not make it a performance car. Proton, get your Malaysian minds back to the drawing board and make an Turbo AWD Gen 2. You might actually rate a real mention then.

Proton Jumbuck

Currently the most affordable ute on the market in Australia. The car isn't the focus here though, it is the free ATV they are giving away with every Jumbuck sold. Have a good look at the pic of the ATV and tell me how the hell you remove the ATV from the tray without taking the barwork off or deflating the tyres...

Nissan GT-R

I think this car would be one of the reasons why I decided to go to the motor show. And I think it was the same for many other attendees at the motor show. I have seen, read and watched so much media about this car and I really wanted to see it in the flesh. Some people reckon it is ugly, I don't. Ugly is where a designer tries to make something look good and fails miserably, the GT-R is a case where the designer had a function to perform and designed it to meet that function, and they succeeded. Stunning car. I just want to drive one...

Skoda Genuine Accessories

Not a car really, but from a car manufacturer. The Skoda bikes (road and mtb) that they had strapped to an Octavia were really impressive. Carbon fibre with Shimano XT gear, they were nice. Didn't see a price tag though.

Volkswagen Passat R36 Estate

The Passat is a nice car, pretty much a cut price Audi, but throw in a big V6 and the quattro system and you have a winner. Pity about the stupid stickers on the side though. This car should be a sleeper and with a 0-100 time of only 5.8 seconds, you can scare some bogans whenever you feel like it without worrying about a cop pulling you over whenever you are out for a drive.

Ford G6E

The new FG Falcon is a very anticipated car, if it fails then the future of the Falcon, and manufacturing in Australia, is not going to be good. But I think they are on a winner here. The mods they have made from the BF Falcon have been executed quite well, especially the rear door openings (as shown above), you can actually get into the back seat without banging your head now. The G6E, in particular, is one very nice looking car, it certainly carries the new Ford design language that can be seen on the new Mondeo very well. I'll let you play spot the difference with the Mondeo :)

Honda Civic Hybrid

The Civic Hybrid has not been doing well in competition with the Toyota Prius and from the car that Honda had on hand, I think they believe it is due to the Civic Hybrid not looking different enough to the normal Civic range. Their solution, let's paint the thing to make it stand out as a green car. Excuse me Honda, pardon me for saying, but it still looks boring.

Subaru Impreza WRX STi

I'm sure you have all seen the latest STi and it does look good. Much better than the plain Jane WRX. Amazing what a set of pumped guards, suspension and bumpers can do. But the tail lights still look really shithouse. C'mon Subaru, we all know you can do better. These lights look like something you might find at Super Cheap Auto with a made in China badge attached to it.

Audi A4

It has taken a few years but it seems that Audi is starting to find its feet with the whole front end as a grille design theme they have been going for. The new A4 is starting to look good. The previous model is really woeful. There are better executions of this theme and that can be found on the...

Audi R8

Now this is a good looking car. I really don't know why Audi didn't put this car at the front of their display, instead they hid it behind an A4 and Q7. This car is stunning, the proportions are just right and the engine is proudly on display under the rear window. The LED running lights look really cool too.

Peugeot 207

What the hell were the stupid French bastards thinking? Last year I had a whinge about the trend of creating oversized head lights, now Peugeot in an effort to be different has decided to make their tail lights as big as possible. Damn, they look bad.

Kia

Can you hear the crickets? Kia didn't really choose their position or the cars they had on display very well. It was the only stand where there was not one person looking at the cars. Easy night for the sales reps.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Lancer

The new Lancer looks pretty good, but as a competitor for the WRX, I dunno if Mitsubishi has the goods. Sure it may have a detuned Evo motor and a cool suspension and AWD package, it is still a Mitsubishi and carries all the quality issues they have. The Impreza may look bland, but the WRX would be a better buy.

Mitsubishi Panther Series

Mitsubishi had five cars done up in their Panther Edition getup as the centrepiece to their stand. All black with grey decals and big chrome rims. No other mods done, but oddly enough they seemed to be getting a lot of attention. I don't get it.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

The latest in the long line of Evo Lancers. Looks good but looks cheap. Prolly goes like hell too. I won't judge until I drive one.

Holden Commodore Sportswagon

I have never been a big fan of the VE Commodore, it just seemed like it was trying to be something bogans aspire to. But what the Holden folks have done by putting a glasshouse on the back of the sedan is pretty damn cool. Definitely given the car a more Euro Estate look, rather than the kid hauler the the Falcon wagon is. The amount of space it gives is huge (not as big as the old one) and the excellent hinge setup requires minimal space at the rear to open. NB: Have a close look at the fit and finish in the interior.

Holden Coupe 60

As a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Holden (and to try and take attention away from the FG Falcon), the bods at Holden have rolled out a really cool looking Commodore Coupe (don't call it a Monaro). Based on the new Camaro platform, it wouldn't be too hard for Holden to produce this. But the official stance is that this will never reach production, all effort is going to the Camaro at present. My bet is that because the Camaro has taken so long to reach the market, the Camaro will fail and this Coupe will be produced to try and recover the money dropped into the development of the Zeta platform.

BRP Can-Am

A weird hybrid between a Lotus Seven and a motorbike, this thing is pretty cool. I dunno what it feel like to ride this, especially when attacking a nice set of twisty curves, but you have to give points for the effort.

KTM 1190 RC8

This KTMs new bike, a very nice looking bike, and their aim is to compete at the top in the World Superbike Championship. 1190 cc and only a twin cylinder, this thing is bound to sound great (not nearly as good as a Ducati though) :)

Peaceful

2008-04-07T10:28:00.001+08:00

Sunrise over Perth

2008-04-02T08:13:00.001+08:00

Canon EOS D60, Sigma 10-20mm EX DC HSM @ 10 mm

HDR using Photomatix using 3 exposures - 6, 13 & 22 seconds @ f/22

My new lens...

2008-03-26T12:52:00.001+09:00

I finally got my shit together and purchased a new lens for my camera. I got myself a wide angle lens made by Sigma. I read many reviews and although the lens has a few minor flaws (visible distortion at ultra wide angle), the general consensus is that it is a great bargain.

10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM

I love this lens. It just opens up a new world of taking photos to me. My widest angle lens previously was a 28mm and on the APS-C sensor I have, it is equivalent of ~45mm, it isn't wide enough. This new lens comes out to an equivalent 16-32mm.

Here are some shots I have taken with the lens in the last few weeks:

What do you think?

Takes me back...

2008-03-13T01:05:00.001+09:00

I started watching a movie tonight called 'The Bucket List' (directed by Rob Reiner, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) and it dredged up some stuff I had forgotten, some good and some bad.

From IMDB:

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find the joy in life.

The first 30 minutes or more take place in a hospital room while both Carter (Freeman) and Cole (Nicholson) are going through chemo. I haven't thought about my chemotherapy experience for a fair while, but the portrayal of the effects of chemotherapy was pretty much spot on.

My memories of chemo are quite mixed but three things stand out in my mind: Lots of time sitting in a hospital bed, lots of time spent spewing your guts up and lots of time dealing with people tip-toeing around your situation. Those are the three things I never want to go through again. The dead time laying in that hospital bed and the massive stomach muscle exercises involved in spewing your guts up for a week straight. The people tip-toeing around being careful of saying the wrong thing was probably the worst. The simple fact of people not saying what they want to, or trying to make me feel better only seemed to accentuate the bad in the situation.

It is coming up to 8 years since my first chemotherapy treatment (March 29th, 2000). I don't think I have the survivor mentality that most cancer survivors I have met seem to possess, but I don't see making 8 years as a milestone (does that make me a traitor? :) ). I see it as 8 years since I had a life changing experience.

My wife, Donna, went through the whole experience beside me and was the steady point that helped keep me on the right track. She was only my fiance back then, of course. Donna saw me at my worst over that 5 months and never once tried to tip toe around me. Always honest and always there for me.

But back to the movie and the point of this blog post, Jack Nicholson's character, Edward Cole, had a very funny line early on:

"I love the smell of chemo in the morning"

I googled the quote and found a cancer survivor's merchandise website. Found some amusing graphics that they put on a range of merchandise there:

But anyway, take a look at the movie, it ain't half bad.

Fitting end or just Rockingham?

2008-03-02T20:11:00.001+09:00

Fitting end or just Rockingham?
Originally uploaded by supercujos

Sun 02/03/2008 16:39 02032008107

Accidental Freaking...

2008-02-28T21:29:00.001+09:00

Let me set the scene. There you are walking down the street and about 10 steps in front of you is a young lady and she is visibly uncomfortable with your presence behind her. It has probably happened to you, either as the follower or as the leader. It happened to me yesterday while walking back to my car in Fremantle and it made for a little bit of personal fun.

I know my shaved head, dark glasses and goatee (which is quite long at present, I really should trim it, the missus hates it long) may not be all that normal, but I think her reaction would have been the same regardless of how I looked.

At first I could tell the chick was a bit uncomfortable with me being behind her, there would be a sideways glance as she turned her head to look in a shop window, other times she would use shop windows as a mirror to look back. I was in a bit of a rush to get back to the car because I had to be somewhere, so I was a little reluctant to stop and let her get away a bit.

I probably should have stopped but I didn't and I started to enjoy making her feel uncomfortable. I know, I know, I'm a bastard. As we kept walking she started to weave back and forth across the sidewalk, sometimes glancing back when she changed direction, I just kept walking down the middle of the sidewalk.

This continued for another 100 or so metres until she made a sudden move to cross the road without checking for the traffic. Luckily, she stopped before getting hit by a Corolla. But as soon as that Corolla was past she nearly ran across the road. I had a little chuckle to myself and kept walking, I did refrain from looking in her direction again after that, but I knew she was looking at me to make sure I wasn't going to follow her.

Are people so untrusting of the world today that anyone following them makes them worry that they are going to be attacked? Crime rates are actually down from what they were 15-20 years ago yet people seem more scared than ever. Why is this? Can we blame the mainstream media for this?

Please, can we?

My new phone...

2008-01-12T15:42:00.001+09:00

My new phone...
Originally uploaded by supercujos

Sat 12/01/2008 13:39 12012008009 A picture of the box my new phone came in. Photo taken with my new phone. 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics.Oh, and this was blogged straight from the phone too.

I'm sure there is more than 3...

2007-12-20T15:46:00.001+09:00

Can Grant Dorrington be a bigger idiot?

2007-12-03T13:06:00.000+09:00

From ABC News:

The Motorcycle Riders Association of Western Australia has urged the State Government to look at ways to improve road safety for motorcyclists.

The group spoke out in the wake of the death of a 24-year-old man on the Goldfields on Saturday, taking to 33 the number of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists this year.

Police say the man's motorcycle and a semi-trailer collided on the Goldfields Highway.

The Association's President David Wright says the increase in the number of fatalities is a worrying trend.

"The year isn't over yet so hopefully we don't get any more, but obviously there's a lot more motorcyclist's on the road and there's a lot of people who come back to motorcycling that have sort of retired and have been out of it for a few years, " he said.

"We think there should be a bit more training for novice motorcyclists.

"A lot of the other state governments, Victoria, Queensland do an awful lot of education for motorcyclists and training and also for other road users for keeping an eye out for motorcyclists basically.

"Over here the State Government doesn't seem to do anything at all in the way of advertising."

The WA Motorcycle Riding Association is trying to be proactive in the area of road safety because motorcyclists make up an disproportionate amount of deaths on WA rads (33 out of 205 so far this year). There have been more than a few where it is the fault of the car that has killed the motorcycle rider by pulling out in front of them either because they didn't see them, thought they could beat them or just didn't look for them.

Grant Dorrington's response:

He says motorcyclists should be responsible for their own safety.

"It's just very obvious, you get on a motorbike, they're very powerful, you drive the thing quicker than you should, you're just very vulnerable and unfortunately the road deaths with motorcyclists is an alarming statistic," he said.

So if we use that reasoning, why is Grant supporting even more restrictions of car drivers, and in particular, P-platers. Why can't we all 'be responsible for our own safety'?

And why does the Road Safety Councils recommendations almost always consist of lowering speed limits and more speed cameras when speed is only a factor in 17% of all fatal accidents?

How can we get rid of the current Road Safety Council and put some people there with a real clue in helping save lives on the roads through better training and improved roads, not just by setting arbitrary speed limits with cameras around every corner?

Some Thursday fun...

2007-11-22T10:59:00.000+09:00

A guy at work put me onto a meme that has appeared on YouTube where people condense entire movies down to 5 seconds. I went and did a search on YouTube and the first one I found was this:

That is just great.

Here are some more:
Rocky in 5 seconds
300 in 5 seconds

Here is a search page on YuTube for all these clips.

FUD and Interest Rates...

2007-11-07T13:36:00.001+09:00

Another RBA meeting, another interest rate rise. Seems to be a common occurence lately. And, of course, during an election campaign an event like this, in a country addicted to credit like we are, brings out all the fear mongers and blame stormers.

Back at the last election, John Howard made a promise to keep the interest rates low if he was reelected. Part of the electorate knew it was complete hogwash and ignored the statement, but the rest of them who over extended themselves in the wuest to get into their 'Australian Dream' got scared and believed the snivelling little ~~cunt~~ fellow and proceeded to vote to keep him in power. That said, Latham wasn't really an effective adversary and wouldn't have been a good choice anyway.

Now we come to this election and the Coalition have changed their tune to try and keep the voters they scared last time round by saying that even though interest rates are high now (13 year high actually), the rates would be higher if Labor gets into power. The Coalition use the 17% interest rates that lead to the end of Keatings reign as the reason to say this. Sadly, it seems that the voting population are believing this tripe. Do any of them learn about the things that affect them? Or do they just rely on the spoon fed garbage that passes for news in this country?

A quick history lesson... Back in the 70s when the Fraser government was in power, the interest rates were still controlled by the government and thus were kept low as a government policy, consequently inflation was high. Then came along the Hawke government, which gave the RBA the job of setting monetary policy to keep inflation down and employment high as well as floating the Australian dollar on the world market. As a consequence of this, interest rates ballooned to over 17% to control inflation and spending.

The peak interest rate of 17% was reached in January 1991, after which the interest rates starting dropping rapidly during the 'recession we had to have' and by January 1995, interest rates were back below 9%. When John Howard came to power in the 1996 election, interest rates were continuing on a downward path. By December 2001, the rate had dropped to 4.25%. Since then however, the rate has been climbing in line with Australia's booming economy.

Even though the Howard government enjoyed taking credit for the lowest interest rates in 20 years or more (actually it was from programmes put in place 10 years earlier), in reality, the government no longer has a direct say in what interest rates are doing. The policies of the government can influence the economy and that in turn drives the decision of the RBA.

You can almost guarantee at least another 2 rate rises over the next 6-9 months regardless of who wins the election on November 24. But after that, I don't think anyone knows for sure. Both parties are promising loads of tax cuts (up goes inflation) as well as large projects (up goes spending) which will no doubt affect the economy and influence further rate rises. If rates keep climbing, it will put pressure onto a sizable segment of the public who are already close or are over extended in their borrowings and all sorts of excrement will hit the rotating air movement device if they go to the wall.

In the end though, I wish the electorate would see through the tax cut and welfare gifts and just want things to be properly funded and properly managed and then we might start to get a decent government. But, I don't see that happening anytime soon...

Damn you universe...

2007-11-01T12:01:00.001+09:00

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.

Going brown...

2007-10-31T13:42:00.001+09:00

It seems that absolutely every product on the market these days is going pink in support of or raising money for breast cancer research. There is bottled water, MP3 players, t-shirts, lighting, hair products, chcoclate biscuits, soft toys, etc.

And now even portable storage devices are going pink...

From enagdget:

Just weeks after Western Digital colorized its Passport line of external hard drives, the firm is at it once more with a metallic pink iteration. This particular unit, however, promotes something a bit more important than your obsession with nightly backups, as WD has pledged to donate an undisclosed amount of cash to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for each one purchased from now until February 29, 2008. The drive comes stocked with 250GB of space, gets its juice directly from your USB port and is available now for $199.99 for those interested.

The pink wave that is flooding into all consumer products may just be a good marketing move by companies looking to cash in on those that are considered to be the most consumerist of the sexes, females. The companies make a good PR move, increase their profits a bit and keep their shareholders happy.

The bad side to this obvious manipulatiopn of our consumerist culture is that other cancers are being left out of the research funding pie, even though they affect just as many lives.

What I want to know is when the brown coloured products are going to start appearing to raise money for prostate cancer research. Prostate cancer affects more men than breast cancer affects women. In Western Australia alone, the incidence of protate cancer is approx. 120 cases per 100,000 population and the incidence of breast cancer is approx. is 115 cases per 100,000 [abs.gov.au]. Yet breast cancer receives more publicity and more funding. In 2004, the Federal Government gave $6.4 million to breast cancer research and only $2.5 million to prostate cancer research [National Health and Medical Research Council].

With Movember starting tomorrow, hopefully a whole heap of guys growing bad porn moustaches might start to even up this skewed playing field. If you can, flick some coin to two of my friends that are growing a mo':

Nick - Member No: 91097
Dale - Member No: 66071

5 Car Design Fads that I wish would go away...

2007-09-27T23:04:00.001+08:00

Fender Vents

This trend is only a relatively recent phenomenon but everytime I see a vent on a modern car, it is nearly always a non-functional device designed to hold an indicator lamp.

Fender vents like those on the Holden HG Monaro and the classic Aston Martin DB4 actually served a purpose in releasing hot air from the high pressure zone inside the fenders aiding cooling and reducing drag.

Holden HG Monaro

Aston Martin DB4

The absolute worst offender in the modern of the fake fender vent is foisted upon by the bogans at HSV with their E-Series HSV Commodores.

Here are a few examples:

Holden HSV GTS

Jaguar XJ

The Starter Button

Probably the wankiest of all ideas in recent times. I can understand a seperate starter button in a race car, where all the electrical circuits are isolated from each other to reduce the chances of failure. But why does a car like the Jaguar XK8 need a big red starter button?

Jaguar XK8 Cockpit

What was wrong with a single hand needed to put the key in the ignition and twist it? Was it really that hard?

They have gone backwards in adding a starter button to most cars, starting your car has gone from a single hand, single motion action, to a two hand, two motion action. Even worse is the completely ostentatious starter buttons that are starting to turn up in cars like the new Ford Mondeo.

Ford Mondeo Starter Button

Clear tail lights

The Lexus IS200, or Altezza in Japan, was the first car to come with clear tail lights. In certain colours like silver or black the clear tail lights looked okay, but when you moved to white, in particular, the tail lights just seemed to blend in and ruin the look of a decent looking car.

Lexus IS200

I don't blame Toyota for this fad, I blame this one on the aftermarket 'tuners' and their quest to turn something gimmicky into a fad. And then I blame car manufacturers for thinking they needed to use clear tail lights to appeal to the younger demographic. There are some absolutely horrid examples of OEM clear tail lights:

Mazda 6

Subaru Impreza

I won't go into the 3rd party clear tail lights, because they are usually much worse than an OEM attempt. If you want to see some crappy clear tail lights, just go to SEMA's website.

Bangle-Butt

From Wiki:

Bangle-butt is a derogatory term for the current rear-end styling paradigm among automobiles. The name comes from controversial BMW designer Chris Bangle.

If you haven't seen a Bangle-butt up close, you have yet to see one of the worst pieces of design ever to occur on an automobile. A Bangle-butt is defined by the bootlid being much higher than the rear guards with a squared off edge to both the boot and rear guard, creating a stacked appearance. The best (worst) eaxample of the Bangle-butt is the BMW 6-series. Here it is:

BMW 6-series

As with the clear tail lights, I really don't mind if a single car or manufacturer has a bad or ugly design theme. What I do mind is when other manufacturers pick up on that bad design and apply it to their cars. In this case, the Bangle-butt has been used by Mercedes, Toyota and Honda. The sooner the Bangle-butt has a thighplasty, the better.

Mercedes Benz S-Class

Toyota Camry

Oversized Headlights

A good car design is all about getting the right proportions between the different parts of the car. The Ferrari 250GT, Jaguar E-type and Datsun 240Z are perfect examples of getting the bonnet length and rear overhang proportions just right.

But there seems to be a fad running through car designers that are having a competition at our expense. They seem to be trying to make the headlights on cars as big as possible whilst still making sure they sell.

Way back when, a headlight had a purely functional purpose. All it did was provide light and concessions were made in body shapes to accomodate this important piece of equipment. But over time, as with all other parts of a car, the headlight has become another piece in the stylists and designers little box of tricks.

The first car that came to mind with oversized headlights was the Honda Fit/Jazz:

Look at the size of those headllights. They nearly go all the way to the back of the bonnet. Admittedly, the bonnet is pretty small, but those lights are still huge. The last Celica is another good example of headlights that have grown too big for their britches:

Toyota Celica

Both of the examples shown are pretty girly cars (yes, the Celica is a girly car and has been for 20 years). Just like the way that females find big baby seal eyes to be cute, it may just be working on these cars. I don't care, I hate them.

Common sense ain't so comon...

2007-08-22T11:21:00.000+08:00

I must be in quite a shit stirring mood today. I received the email below from my mum today and I couldn't help but send a reply...

Best email I've had for a while from the land of the long white cloud.

It certainly applies here too I think, so this is a message from another hard worker!!!

Message from a hard-working Kiwi

================================

I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit.

In order to earn that pay cheque, as I work in the timber industry, I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem in passing.

What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.

Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare cheque because I have to pass one to earn it for them??

Please understand - I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet.

I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sit on their arse drinking piss & smoking dope all day.

Could you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a DPB cheque???

Please pass this along if you agree or simply delete if you don't.

Hope you all will pass it along though, because something has to change in this country, and soon!

Nevermind that you are required to take a urine test for safety and financial reasons for the company. The safety reason is an obvious one, the financial is not so obvious. Compensation payouts, lost production, reduced productivity all affect the bottom line of your employer.

But, you must take this whinge in context.

Of the total welfare budget of $96 billion, it is broken down in the following way:

$34.5 billion for the aged
$29.7 billion for familes with children (day care allowances, family assistance, baby bonus, etc.)
$13.1 billion for those with disabilities
$6 billion for veterans and dependents
$5.3 billion for the unemployed
$2.4 billion for administration (running Centrelink)

[figures from the 2007 Federal Budget]

The current rate of regular cannabis (most common illegal drug) usage in Australia is approximately 20%.

So we can estimate that 20% of dole users (maybe more) use cannabis on a regular basis. If you drug tested these people and eliminated them from the dole pool, you would save around $1 billion.

That $1 billion represents less than 0.4% of the total federal budget. Chasing 300,000 people for a urine test would be a big undertaking. How much would that cost, a few hundred million?

Really, is it worth it?

When $3 billion has already been spent on deploying troops to an illegal war, I reckon chasing some dole bludgers is the least of our concerns.

FIRST!!!

2007-08-19T22:31:00.000+08:00

In addition to John Gabriel's Greater Internet Dickwad Theory, comes a tidy little video from College Humor that illustrates John's theory perfectly.

Pure gold!

Wondrous...

2007-07-09T08:53:00.000+08:00

After a vote, the New 7 Wonders of the World has been announced. As expected, the event didn't pass without some complaining (but that is just Sydney people for you).

The new list is:

Colosseum, Italy

Taj Mahal, India

Great Wall of China

Petra, Jordan

Christ the Redeemer, Brasil

Machu Picchu, Peru

Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico

For the most part, I agree with the list. But there is one glaring 'Wonder' that is the odd one out. The only 'Wonder' in the list that is less than 100 years old.

I really think that the City of Angkor in Cambodia should have been on the list. Built between 900 and 1200 AD, the city ruins contain over a thousand temples. The most impressive of these being Angkor Wat, which holds the distinction of being the world's largest single religious monument.

3. Profit!!!

2007-07-08T15:18:00.001+08:00

As with any winter, there are always a few good influenza viruses that get passed around and we all get sick at least once. Some of these viruses give you a headache and make you feel crap for a few days, while others that hit you and you are confined to bed with fevers for days on end.

Last weekend Calvin (3 and half now) came down with a massive fever and slept for nearly all of Sunday. His fever was quite severe but we did what you should do and gave Nurofen or Panadol to bring the fever down and if necessary put him in a tepid shower to help bring the temp down.

By Wednesday he was back to normal, although he has had a nose like a dripping tap for the last few days.

Then on Thursday the news came out that 3 children under 5 died in Perth due to the flu and issued a warning through the media that medical help should be sought if a child started showing signs of respiratory illness. The full announcement by the health department gave details on how to spot the symptoms. Now the fun starts...

The news, at their sensationalist best, reported the 3 deaths and that parents should be on the lookout for a high fever and a cough. Pretty much standard fare for any good flu.

Here is the result:

Hospitals packed in flu scare
HUNDREDS of concerned parents have packed hospital emergency departments across Perth following an influenza warning from health authorities after the deaths of three young children.

Their action was prompted by a call from Western Australia's Department of Health urging parents to seek early medical attention for young children showing signs of respiratory illness.

What a wonderful way of making sure you have something to report over the weekend.

Now multiple news outlets are reporting that hospitals have been inundated and have started turning the reports into attacks on the government for not funding the hospitals properly. Of course, the media don't accept any fault in the panic they caused.

The 3-step program for mainstream media:
  1. Half-report and sensationalise a potentially serious issue
  2. Sit back and watch the panic
  3. Profit!!!

I hate mainstream media...

Stop ya whinging...

2007-07-02T16:35:00.001+08:00

From News.com.au:

Farmers miss out on rain

FARMERS in WA's drought-stricken wheatbelt region have received only scattered rain from powerful storms which lashed parts of the state.

Several frontal systems passed through WA's south-west at the weekend and today brought more than 60 millimetres of rain to parts of Perth.

But struggling farmers in the central and northern wheatbelt, including three communities receiving exceptional circumstances funding after six years of drought, have largely missed out.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Steve West said those areas received little rain.

"It's been patchy, the falls in general have been between 5mm and 10mm. There are showers off the coast there now so there are a few more millimetres for them," Mr West said this afternoon.

WA Farmers Federation president Trevor De Landgrafft said it was not enough.

"It's unfortunate, they were quite small showers," Mr De Landgrafft said.

"They keep things going, keep the dream alive."

"But most people haven't had any good falls at all to have made an impact on being able to seed some land or getting a germination of land that was seeded."

"The central and northern Wheatbelt are really looking quite dire."

I've had enough, when will these farmers stop bleating about a lack of rain and doing something to try and fix their problems?

The farmers are a victim of their own profession, the very process of creating their farmland is reducing the rainfall they get. In recent years, lots of study has gone into the effects of deforestation. It has been found that deforestation is linked very closely with reduced rainfall [1, 2, 3]. With reduced vegetation less moisture is transpired back to the atmosphere, and with the accompanying increased ground exposure, base cloud levels are driven upward (warmer air) and are less likely to produce rain when they reach areas of increased altitude.

If you go for a drive through the wheatbelt of Western Australia, you can drive tens of kilometres in between seeing sections of native bush. The wheatbelt was once covered with bush that was cleared to make way for the crops. Removal of this much vegetation has got to have an affect on the environment, in particular, the hydrological cycle.

As with rising salt and erosion, I would be pretty confident that (re)planting more trees would help rectify these situations. It won't have an immediate effect, just like clearing the land in the first place didn't have an immediate effect on the climate but it is a start. It may mean the loss of some farmland but isn't that a bit better than losing your whole farmland and livelihood through lack of rain?

Farmers aren't the only ones to blame for this, but they are the ones whinging loudest. Stop your bleating and do something about it...

Slow news day...

2007-06-29T12:44:00.001+08:00

The people over at Rupert Murdoch's news empire must be finding it hard to find some real content for their news site News.com.au.

Just look at what the biggest story of the day is:

The sub story anout Prince WIlliam being snubbed by John Howard to be a future Governor General of Australia is non-news as well.

Can't they find something better?

This sums it up...

2007-06-28T12:01:00.001+08:00

...about the new Apple iPhone that everyone seems to be wetting themselves over:

iPhone: the Paris Hilton of gadgets. Pretty, thin, expensive and missing some key features.

Until the iPhone gets 3G connectivity, it ain't worth buying for the price.

Meat raffle or brothel poker...

2007-06-24T23:26:00.001+08:00

A Victorian strip club has hit upon a great idea, the winner of their weekly poker night gets a free half-hour voucher for the local brothel. This is marketing at its best, instead of the standard in advertising of alluding to sex (although some go way further than others), this strip club just gives it away.

But, of course, there are some folks who think this is a bad thing...

A VICTORIAN strip bar has sparked outrage by rewarding the winner of its Saturday night poker tournament with a brothel voucher.

Alley Cat Hotel owner Fred Scharkosi says the prize has made it the busiest Texas hold 'em poker house in Geelong.

"Some venues offer a drink card or a chicken parma - ours is a free half-hour session at the local bordello," Mr Scharkosi said.

Family groups are disgusted.

"We are seriously disappointed that a local business thinks that a brothel voucher is an appropriate prize to hand out in a public venue," Australian Family Association president Angela Conway said.

What the fuck is this family group smoking. It isn't exactly a public venue. It is a strip club for god's sake. The people who frequent these establishments are looking for a specialised form of entertainment and the prize for twinning the poker tournament is the pinnacle of that entertainment.

And anyway, if people don't want to win a half-hour voucher at a brothel, they don't have to enter the tournament. And even if someone that was married and/or had a family, I reckon he would give the voucher to a single mate in exchange for a carton or three. Everyone wins...

Whenever there is a complaint like this, the Australian Family Association are generally the wankers responsible for the ruckus. What happened to the notion that people can choose their own path. With my, albeit limited, experience with strip clubs, I would be guessing that there would be a fairly wide crossover between the patrons of strip clubs and brothels.

I went looking for some more information about the Australian Family Association and found it here http://www.family.org.au/, in all its 90s HTML goodness.

There aims:

The objectives for which the Association is established are as follows:

(i) to cultivate within society an appreciation that the integrity and well being of the family is essential to the stability, morale, security and prosperity of the Australian nation;

(ii) to analyze laws and policies for their effect on the family and to formulate and promote corrective measures as necessary;

(iii) to support initiatives taken by other individuals and organisations in support of the traditional family;

(iv) by means of conferences, seminars and the active involvement of individuals and groups, to create public awareness of the fundamental importance of the family unit;

(v) to facilitate research and act as a resource centre for the effective pursuit of the Association's objectives;

(vi) to facilitate programs in family education;

(vii) to promote and encourage the development of services to assist families in difficulties; and

(viii) to do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.

How does complaining about a strip club poker tournament fit into those objectives? I'd really like to know.

They have action plans in the following areas:

Stem cell research - They are against all stem cell research on embryos, regardless of whether they have been fertilised or not. Nevermind the non-fertilised embryos would never have been a baby in the first place...
Internet pornography - They actually want all internet traffic in Australia to be filtered to stop all porn from being accessed by anyone, that includes adults who apparently aren't mature enough to make their own decisions.
Gay marriages - No gays allowed to marry.
Abortion - I don't think this will ever be resolved, regardless of religious intervention.

How does banning stem cell research affect most families in Australia? Thinking about it, I would have to say that banning stem cell research would be more detrimental to a family. Embryonic stem cell research seems to offer the most hope for finding the answer to cure many illnesses that rip families apart. The eggs that are used in somatic cell nuclear transfer stem cell research are eggs that are donated and would probably never be fertilised and be discarded after 3-5 years on ice.

As a long time user of the internet (>12 years now), I think I have seen a fair proportion of what is out there. There is some pretty sick stuff and I would never let my kid see it. But I don't see why the government should be made to enforce a ban on all internet pornography. Why doesn't the AFA push for more education to help parents know how to protect their own children from porn? Of course they wouldn't do that because they want to control us, not let us make our own informed decision.

It seems like most of their action areas have more to do with controlling how people choose to live their lives, rather than improving the situation of families.

Don't they have anything better to do with their time? It seems not.

Richmond Tigers fans are gay...

2007-06-22T13:33:00.001+08:00

Or 70% more likely to be gay.

Roy Morgan did a survey into sports fans and their habits. Primarily
to help advertisers know how effective or how worthwhile it is to
sponsor a footbal club.

You can find it here.

And going by some of the results, I reckon there would be some big companies that were quite happy with spending their sponsorship dollars. See the following:

West Coast Eagles supporters are 35% more likely to have eaten at a Hungry Jack’s outlet in the last four weeks
Essendon Bombers supporters are 20% more likely to have 3 Mobile as their mobile phone service provider
Sydney Swans supporters are 38% more likely to have Vodafone as their mobile phone service provider

Along with the serious results of the survey, it managed to find a few results that I found amusing:

Richmond fans are gay - Richmond Tigers supporters are 70% more likely to agree that "I consider myself a homosexual"
Carlton fans are gay too - Carlton Blues supporters are 36% more
likely to agree that "I consider myself a homosexual"
And we now know why the Eagles play harder to beat Carlton and
Richmond - West Coast Eagles supporters are 17% more likely to agree
that "I believe homosexuality is immoral"
Adelaide fans are dole bludgers - Adelaide Crows supporters are 11%
more likely to agree that "I think it's the Government's duty to
support those who can't find work"
Brisbane fans are a little slow - Brisbane Lions supporters are 45%
more likely to agree that "I need a mobile phone to access the
Internet"
Freo fans like BBQ Chicken - Fremantle Dockers supporters are 99% more likely to have eaten at a Red Rooster restaurant in the last four
weeks
Freo fans are a group of handy folk - Fremantle Dockers supporters are
35% more likely to have made a purchase from Bunnings in the last four
weeks
Saints fans are bogans or ricers - St Kilda Saints supporters are 54%
more likely to have made a purchase from Autobarn in the last four
weeks
West Coast fans are (surprise, surprise) snobs - West Coast Eagles
supporters are 50% more likely to agree that "It only feels like a
holiday if I leave Australia"
Footscray fans are tossers - Western Bulldogs supporters are 118% more likely to have made a purchase from Colorado in the last four weeks

Here is the full list of results:

When compared to all AFL supporters:

Adelaide Crows supporters are:
• 77% more likely to have eaten at a Pizza Haven restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 40% more likely to have consumed Sunkist in the last seven days;
• 21% more likely to agree that “If I could afford to eat out every night I would”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I would have difficulty coping with a demanding job or career”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I avoid staying at accommodation that does not have genuine environmental policies”;
• 16% more likely to agree that “I believe homosexuality is immoral”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “TV advertising often gives me something to talk about”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “Quite often I find TV advertising more entertaining than the programs”;
• 11% more likely to agree that “I think it’s the Government’s duty to support those who can’t find work”;
• 23% less likely to agree that “I seldom have time for breakfast”;
• 12% less likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket”;
• 10% less likely to agree that “I enjoy buying magazines”.

Brisbane Lions supporters are:
• 45% more likely to agree that “I need a mobile phone to access the Internet”;
• 39% more likely to have eaten at a Red Rooster restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 26% more likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket”;
• 23% more likely to agree that “If I didn’t have to carry a mobile phone for work, I wouldn’t have one at all”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I buy the same food every week”;
• 14% (of respondents aged 18+) more likely to agree that “I like promotions that offer free gifts with a purchase of alcohol”;
• 13% (of respondents aged 18+) more likely to agree that “I drink alcohol mostly at home”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I use coupons I find in magazines or on packets”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “My job often takes me outside of mobile phone network range”;
• 11% more likely to have Vodafone as their mobile phone service provider;
• 11% more likely to agree that “I often notice the advertisements on the tops and backs of taxis”;
• 11% less likely to agree that “I choose a car mainly on its looks”.

Carlton Blues supporters are:
• 41% more likely to have consumed Pepsi Light in the last seven days;
• 39% more like to have eaten at a Nando’s restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 36% more likely to agree that “I consider myself a homosexual”;
• 31% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 30% more likely to agree that “I sometimes use force to get things done”;
• 20% more likely to agree that “Quite often I find TV advertising more entertaining than the programs”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “There’s too much change going on these days”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I choose a car mainly on its looks”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I’m worried about interest rates at the moment”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 24% less likely to agree that “Computers and technology give me more control over my life”;
• 12% less likely to agree that “I’m a bit of an intellectual”.

Collingwood Magpies supporters are:
• 104% more likely to have made a purchase from Dimmeys/Forges in the last four weeks;
• 67% more likely to have made a purchase from The Athlete’s Foot in the last four weeks;
• 22% more likely to agree that “I avoid dairy foods whenever possible”;
• 21% more likely to have consumed V (energy drink) in the last seven days;
• 20% more likely to agree that “The food I eat is all, or almost all, vegetarian”;
• 19% (of respondents aged 18+) more likely to agree that “Australian beer is the only beer worth drinking”;
• 16% (of respondents aged 18+) more likely to agree that “Imported beer is a waste of money”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I choose a car mainly on its looks”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “None of this stuff about the information super-highway makes sense to me”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I’m constantly watching my weight”;
• 21% less likely to agree that “I regularly go to church or my place of worship”;
• 11% less likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”;
• 11% less likely to agree that “I like things to stay the same”.

Essendon Bombers supporters are:
• 92% more likely to have consumed Red Bull in the last seven days;
• 35% more likely to agree that “I prefer the bright lights and big cities when I travel”;
• 34% more likely to agree that “I was born to shop”;
• 23% more likely to agree that “I need a mobile phone to give me more control over my life”;
• 20% more likely to have 3 Mobile as their mobile phone service provider;
• 20% more likely to agree that “I wear clothes that will get me noticed”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “It’s important to look fashionable”;
• 16% more likely to have eaten at a KFC restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I buy more of a store’s own products than well known brands”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I would seriously consider buying a 3G phone”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”;
• 18% less likely to agree that “I often notice the advertisements on the tops and backs of taxis”.

Fremantle Dockers supporters are:
• 99% more likely to have eaten at a Red Rooster restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 35% more likely to have made a purchase from Bunnings in the last four weeks;
• 27% more likely to have Telstra as their mobile phone service provider;
• 23% more likely to agree that “I always think of the number of calories in the food I’m eating”;
• 22% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 21% more likely to agree that “Crime is a growing problem in my community”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “I’m concerned about my cholesterol level”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “I feel less safe than I used to”;
• 26% less likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket”;
• 26% less likely to agree that “I often notice the advertisements on the tops and backs of taxis”;
• 25% less likely to agree that “I love to do as many sports as possible”;
• 11% less likely to agree that “I can’t miss seeing those big billboard signs”;
• 11% less likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”.

Geelong Cats supporters are:
• 40% more likely to have made a purchase from Harris Scarfe in the last four weeks;
• 34% more likely to have made a purchase from the ABC Shop in the last four weeks;
• 21% more likely to agree that “I try to buy organic food whenever I can”;
• 20% more likely to agree that “I avoid staying at accommodation that does not have genuine environmental policies”;
• 33% less likely to agree that “I need a mobile phone to access the Internet”;
• 21% (of respondents aged 18+) less likely to agree that “Beer is often a good way to start the night”;
• 19% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 17% less likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 14% less likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”;
• 12% less likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”.

Hawthorn Hawks supporters are:
• 16% more likely to agree that “I often buy take away food to eat at home”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “Terrorists deserve the same rights as other criminals”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I’m a bit of an intellectual”;
• 29% less likely to agree that “I always think of the number of calories in the food I’m eating”;
• 28% less likely to agree “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”;
• 28% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 24% less likely to agree that “TV advertising often gives me something to talk about”;
• 22% less likely to agree that “I would have difficulty coping with a demanding job or career”;
• 15% less likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”.

Kangaroos supporters are:
• 83% more likely to have consumed Red Bull in the last seven days;
• 38% more likely to have 3 Mobile as their mobile phone service provider;
• 27% more likely to agree that “I wear clothes that will get me noticed”;
• 24% more likely to have eaten at a Subway restaurant in the last four weeks;
• 19% more likely to agree that “Freedom is more important than the law”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I enjoy buying magazines”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I’m shy in social situations”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I think it’s the Government’s duty to support those who can’t find work”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I’m a bit of an intellectual”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”, but
• 21% less likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket” and
• 17% less likely to agree that “I often redeem coupons to get discounts or special offers”.

Melbourne Demons supporters are:
• 37% more likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”;
• 27% more likely to agree that “I like to drink wine with my meals”;
• 24% more likely to have 3 Mobile as their mobile phone service provider;
• 18% more likely to have made a purchase from David Jones in the last four weeks;
• 15% more likely to agree that “A low fat diet is a way of life for me”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “The Government is doing a good job running the country”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “The Australian economy appears to be improving”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I believe a percentage of everyone’s income should go to charities”;
• 36% less likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket”;
• 33% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 19% less likely to agree that “I use coupons I find in magazines or on packets”.

Port Adelaide Power supporters are:
• 197% more likely to have made a purchase from Harris Scarfe in the last four weeks;
• 37% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 34% more likely to agree that “I don’t like to know too much about what’s going on in the world these days”;
• 30% more likely to agree that “Freedom is more important than the law”;
• 23% more likely to agree that “My pet is a fussy eater”;
• 21% more likely to agree that “For my next holiday, I’d really like a total ecotourism experience”;
• 20% more likely to agree that “I avoid staying at accommodation that does not have genuine environmental policies”;
• 19% more likely to have Vodafone as their mobile phone service provider;
• 16% more likely to agree that “I sometimes use force to get things done”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I don’t read the ads in newspapers and magazines”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I believe in taking risks”;
• 11% more likely to agree that “It is important to have a full social life”;
• 19% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”.

Richmond Tigers supporters are:
• 70% more likely to agree that “I consider myself a homosexual”;
• 38% more likely to have consumed Pepsi in the last seven days;
• 38% more likely to agree that “My job often takes me outside of mobile phone network range”;
• 36% more likely to agree that “I need a mobile phone to access the Internet”;
• 31% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 24% more likely to have Vodafone as their mobile phone service provider;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I look for new experiences every day”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “Quite often I find TV advertising more entertaining than the programs”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I like to be with a crowd of people”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “Threats to the environment are exaggerated”;
• 15% less likely to agree that “I often redeem coupons to get discounts or special offers”;
• 12% less likely to agree that “I use coupons I find in magazines or on packets”.

St Kilda Saints supporters are:
• 54% more likely to have made a purchase from Autobarn in the last four weeks;
• 52% more likely to agree that “The food I eat is all, or almost all, vegetarian”;
• 50% more likely to have made a purchase from Clint’s Crazy Bargains in the last four weeks;
• 31% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 16% more likely to agree that “People often compliment me on my cooking”;
• 14% more likely to agree that “I always think of the number of calories in the food I’m eating”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”;
• 30% less likely to agree that “I’d consider doing some of my grocery shopping on the Internet in the next 12 months”;
• 25% less likely to agree that “Imported beer is a waste of money”;
• 21% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”;
• 17% less likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;

Sydney Swans supporters are:
• 42% more likely to have made a purchase from Gloria Jean’s in the last four weeks;
• 38% more likely to have Vodafone as their mobile phone service provider;
• 23% more likely to agree that “It only feels like a holiday if I leave Australia”;
• 19% more likely to agree that “I often notice the advertisements on the tops and backs of taxis”;
• 19% more likely to agree that “I believe a percentage of everyone’s income should go to charities”;
• 18% more likely to agree that “I regularly go to church or my place of worship”;
• 15% (of respondents aged 18+) more likely to agree that “I drink more premium beer now than I used to”;
• 15% more likely to agree that “I love to do as many sports as possible”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I often take advantage of the special offers on the back of my supermarket shopping docket”;
• 11% more likely to agree that “TV advertising often gives me something to talk about”;

West Coast Eagles supporters are:
• 59% more likely to have made a purchase from Dymocks book store in the last four weeks;
• 50% more likely to agree that “It only feels like a holiday if I leave Australia”;
• 37% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 35% more likely to have eaten at a Hungry Jack’s outlet in the last four weeks;
• 24% more likely to agree that “I always think of the number of calories in the food I’m eating”;
• 22% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 22% more likely to agree that “I buy the same food every week”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I believe homosexuality is immoral”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “The Australian economy appears to be improving”;
• 16% more likely to agree that “I don’t like to know too much about what’s going on in the world these days”;
• 13% more likely to agree that “I often notice the advertisements on the tops and backs of taxis”;
• 14% less likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”;
• 12% less likely to agree that “Homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children”.

Western Bulldogs supporters are:
• 118% more likely to have made a purchase from Colorado in the last four weeks;
• 81% more likely to agree that “I usually notice the advertisements on shopping trolleys when I go grocery shopping”;
• 40% more likely to have consumed Sprite in the last seven days;
• 38% more likely to agree that “Quite often I find TV advertising more entertaining than the programs”;
• 37% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions which are on packets or labels on products”;
• 35% more likely to agree that “I find TV advertising interesting”;
• 27% more likely to agree that “I always read the business section of the newspaper”;
• 22% more likely to agree that “TV advertising often gives me something to talk about”;
• 19% more likely to agree that “I enjoy buying magazines”;
• 17% more likely to agree that “I often enter competitions run by newspapers, magazines or radio stations”;
• 12% more likely to agree that “I use coupons I find in magazines or on packets”;
• 22% less likely to agree that “Nearly all TV advertising annoys me”;

Assume the position...

2007-06-08T13:36:00.001+08:00

I sure hope that Telstra does not get the opportunity to build the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network in Australia after reading this article on News.com.au:

TELSTRA chief executive Sol Trujillo has warned the Government that Telstra will cancel any plans to build a $4.5 billion high-speed fibre broadband network if there is no decision on who should build it by the end of next month.

Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo has given the government a month to settle the Broadband stalemate
The private threat came as Telstra also attempted to ratchet up the public pressure on the Government by revealing the cheapest price for its proposed broadband network.
In a briefing to journalists yesterday, Telstra executives said the company would charge $59 a month to its rivals for access to a basic service.
But this would give users relatively slow speeds of 512kbps -- only double the current basic model and just 1 per cent ofthe maximum speeds of 50Mbps possible with Telstra's proposed new fibre network. Customers wanting higher speeds would have to pay much more and Telstra is understood to have plans to withdraw its $59-a-month price after two years.

$59 wholsale for a pissy little 512 kbps connection. You may as well sign up to Optus or Vodafone's wireless internet and get 1-1.5 Mbps for the same money. Optus labelled the announcement as an "insult to all Australian businesses and consumers". Which is pretty much standard Telstra practice.

The insult continues:

Despite the $59 entry-level pricing announced yesterday, Telstra wants its average wholesale price to be about $85 a month and its top price is understood to be well over $100 a month.

Averaging $85 a month for what I presume to be a 1-4 Mbps connection is outrageous. Is Telstra trying to find a way of not spending $4.5 billion on a new network, when they can rip off people on an old existing network?

What a fucking joke...

2007-06-07T23:10:00.001+08:00

"I saw the ad for electric scissors during an episode of The Simple Life, which is a show that glorifies these two rich, giggling cunts who have no respect for anybody -- just vile people, awful human beings who get away with everything because they're rich...and then the blonde one'll blow you, apparently. But here's the thing: I saw that ad for electric scissors during one of the highest-rated shows in America, about these two rich fuckin' mean pieces of shit, and I vowed that I'm gonna retain that image every time I hear President Bush say 'The terrorists hate our freedom.' You know what? I hate our freedom. Me. Little old me, I'm an American (and) I fuckin' hate it. We are assholes, man." - David Cross, It's Not Funny

I thought that when Paris Hilton was sentenced to jail, the world might be coming to their senses and start treating that rich giggling cunt the same way the rest of us are. But it seems that some people are more equal than others:

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was released from prison on Thursday for medical reasons after serving just over three days of a 23-day sentence but she will be confined to her home for 40 days, officials said.

Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said Hilton had been "reassigned" though he declined to give specific information on her medical condition for privacy reasons.

So due to some mystery medical issue after just 3 days of her 23 day sentence, she gets to go home and stay there for 40 more days. I'm sure being confined to home at Paris' place is a bit different to the rest of us.

What medical condition can show up in just 3 days of being in prison. 23 hours of her day are spent in her cell. Ummm... at what point does detox side-effects kick in after stopping drug use? Am I just starting a vicious rumour, maybe so, but it does seem a little fishy to me...

Holy shit!!!

2007-06-05T21:58:00.001+08:00

I just found this at Engadget:

You won't be seeing one of these sensors in your fashioncam any time soon. Canon has built a 50 megapixel CMOS monstrosity, which is reportedly almost twice the resolution of its nearest competition, and is prepping it as a sort of large format surveillance camera for monitoring large, busy areas such as parking lots and theme parks, along with detailed work like factory part inspections. Despite the sensor's clear industrial-end aims, Canon has managed to build its prototype at 19 x 28mm in size, the same dimensions of the sensors in its DSLR cameras, so who knows where this tech could end up in the long run. So far Canon hasn't even announced release plans for this current incarnation, so we aren't going to go hawking our existing shooter just yet.

Wow!!!

50 megapixels would be amazing. Although it introduces so many issues like processing the data in real-time and storing all those bits. Imagine the size of the RAW files that come out of this thing. If my camera (a Canon D60, 6.3 megapixel) produces a RAW file anywhere between 5 MB and 9 MB, multiply that resolution by 8 and using the lossless compression you would have to estimate (depending on the algorithm) the RAW files would be 40 MB or more...

A chilly morn...

2007-06-04T22:09:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, I dragged myself out of bed to go up to East Perth to get some shots around sunrise. After a small issue of having a flat battery in my car (thanks Calvin) I got up there and got some great shots. Here are some of the good ones...

Damn...

2007-06-03T13:40:00.001+08:00

Stupid me. I got done for speeding this morning. 74 in a 60 zone measured, rounded down to 72 in a 60... My fault, I was watching the road (2 or 3 cars in the vicinity) and forgot to constantly look at my speedo to make sure I never went 1 km/h over the speed limit.

And thanks to double demerit weekend, it ended up being $150 and 4 points. Oh well, it was my first speeding ticket in 4 years. Grrr...

Crazy French music - Daft Punk "Around the World"

2007-05-31T21:57:00.000+08:00

I was listening to my MP3 collection (over 13 GB) on random today and this song came on. Probably a good thing I didn't have the video on hand, because I would been hooked on watching this and would have got no work done at all.

I still find it amazing that these Frech guys managed to create such an amazing song with only 3 words repeated again and again. Then add this hypnotic video and you have a combination that would reduce someone's productivity to zero.

Here are a couple of others songs by Daft Punk:

Aerodynamic - Very cool manga styled clip
One More Time
Digital Love

Enjoy!

Updates...

2007-05-31T21:51:00.000+08:00

This blog has been a bit neglected lately with the exception of a few rants here are there. It seems that having a full time job and a family is quite time consuming.

But I am going to start a new regime of making a blog post every day. I don't care if anyone reads my posts because I find the act of writing something is a good mind exercise other than programming or working out how to answer my sons favourite question of 'Why?'.

Anyway, new blog post coming soon.

Be a good citizen...

2007-05-18T08:49:00.001+08:00

The Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, has released some sample questions from the citizenship test that will be used for potential immigrants from later this year. Some of the questions are complete no-brainers, but others I reckon most Aussies would be taking a guess at. Wouldn't it be great, immigrants will know more about Australia than the people born here.

Have a go at them and leave your score in the comments.

An exclusive insight into the likely content of a new 'Aussie values' test for potential Australian citizens which will come into effect later this year.

Sample questions devised by the Federal Government:

1. Which colours are represented on the Australian flag?
a. Green and yellow
b. Red, black and yellow
c. Blue, red and white
d. Orange and purple

2. Indigenous people have lived in Australia for ...
a. At least 40,000 years
b. About 8000 years
c. About 800 years
d. Less that 400 years

3. Australia's national flower is the ...
a. Rose
b. Wattle
c. Kangaroo paw
d. Banksia

4. Which is a popular sport in Australia?
a. Ice hockey
b. Water polo
c. Cricket
d. Table tennis

5. Australia's political system is a ...
a. Parliamentary democracy
b. Monarchy
c. Dictatorship
d. Socialist state

6. The Capital of Australia is...
a. Sydney
b. Melbourne
c. Hobart
d. Canberra

7. Which animals are on the Australian Coat of Arms?
a. Wombat and echidna
b. Kangaroo and emu
c. Kangaroo and dingo
d. Lion and unicorn

8. Where did the first European settlers to Australia come from?
a. Spain
b. France
c. England
d. Ireland

9. Who is Australia's head of state?
a. Prime Minister John Howard
b. Queen Elizabeth II
c. Governor General Michael Jeffery
d. Premier Steve Bracks

10. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?
a. Sir Edmund Barton
b. Sir Henry Parkes
c. John Curtin
d. Sir Robert Menzies

11. What song is Australia's national anthem?
a. God Save the Queen
b. Star Spangled Banner
c. Advance Australia Fair
d. Waltzing Matilda

12. What do you call the elected head of a state government?
a. Governor
b. Premier
c. Mayor
d. Prime Minister

13. Which federal political party or parties are in power?
a. Australian Labor Party
b. Australian Democrats and the Australian Greens
c. National Party
d. Liberal Party and National Party

14. Which of the following are Australian values?
a. Men and women are equal
b. `A fair go'
c. Mateship
d. All of the above

15. Australia's values are based on the ...
a. Teachings of the Koran
b. The Judaeo-Christian tradition
c. Catholicism
d. Secularism

16. What does Anzac Day commemorate?
a. The Gallipoli landing
b. Armistice Day
c. The Battle of the Somme
d. Victory in the Pacific

17. In what year did the first European settlers arrive?
a. 1801
b. 1770
c. 1788
d. 1505

18. How many states are there in Australia?
a. 5
b. 6
c. 7
d. 8

19. Australian soldiers fought in ...
a. World War I and World War II
b. Korean War
c. Vietnam War
d. All of the above

20. What is Australia's biggest river system?
a. The Murray Darling
b. The Murrumbidgee
c The Yarra
d. The Mississippi

Answers:
1) C, 2) A, 3) B, 4) C, 5) A, 6) D, 7) B, 8) C, 9) B, 10) A, 11) C, 12) B, 13) D, 14) D, 15) B, 16) A, 17) C, 18) B, 19) D, 20) A

I got 20/20, but I'm a nerd and actually listened when I went to school...

Stupid masses...

2007-05-17T09:28:00.001+08:00

Got a question for you, if you ran a business supplying a much sought after and decreasing product, would you try to A) make as much money as you can now or B) sell the product at a modest profit to keep your customers happy even though they will buy the product even if you doubled the price?

Like most people in business, I am guessing you chose option A. Now apply that situation to the oil companies. Lately as petrol prices have started to creep up, even though the price per barrel of oil has levelled off, the oil companies have been copping it from all sides. Sure they are making big profits, but that is outweighed by the limited lifespan of the business they are in.

Do people believe they have a right to get cheap petrol? Oil companies aren't there to be a charity for the masses. They are there to serve their shareholders and to make money for them. If they could charge AU$2 per litre (~US$6.50 per gallon) for fuel and people would pay for it (and the government not regulate them), I think they would. I think an old saying said it best 'Make hay while the sun shines'. At present the sun is shining for the oil producers of the world, production is at its highest levels ever and we are consuming every bit of oil that they can give us.

The oil comnpanies know that oil will eventually run out, estimates of between 20-80 years are common and there are new technologies in the pipeline (electric, hydrogen, etc) that will reduce the world's reliance on oil which will either put the oil companies out of business or force them to cut back on the scale of their operations significantly.

If people were truly pissed off with paying the current AU$1.40 per litre in AUstralia, $3 a gallon in the US or 94p per litre in the UK they would just reduce the amount they drive and use other methods of transport.

The same people whinging are also the same people that drive 4WDs, Falcons and Commodores, some of the biggest fuel users on our roads. Why don't they get a smaller car, or at least a car with a smaller engine, or convert? Stop ya whinging and find a way around it. Whinging about fuel prices won't mean shit when we run out.

Ethanol is coming...

2007-05-11T09:23:00.001+08:00

I read with some surprise this morning that the NSW Government has decided to put in place a compulsory ethanol percentage in all fuel to be sold in NSW.

From ABC Online:

Ethanol to be in every NSW car

New South Wales is set to become the first state to mandate the use of ethanol in petrol.

The Minister for Rural Affairs and Regional Development, Tony Kelly, says the plan is for fuel to contain 2 per cent Ethanol from September onwards.

Mr Kelly says the move will have many benefits for the environment and rural Australia.

"The time for talk on Ethanol is over," he said.

"The Federal government has gone missing on biofuel, so it's up to the states and territories now to lead the way."

"I've outlined to Parliament the Government's intention to implement the 2 per cent mandate to meet the desired timeframe, and we'll shortly bring legislation before parliament."

"It's also fantastic for the environment. It helps reduce the effect on the environment particularly smog particles."

"It also replaces the fuel we import from overseas. A decade ago we imported $488 million worth of fuel from overseas. Last year we imported $10 billion worth."

Is this really worth an announcement? 2 per cent? Is that all. At least make a real damn effort and make it 10 or 15 per cent.

No matter what the percentage the increased use of ethanol will be good for CO2 emissions as it is much closer to being carbon neutral than the current oil based products are.

But the piece of information that got me was this:

"It's also fantastic for the environment. It helps reduce the effect on the environment particularly smog particles."

What a blatant lie to give to the public. Ethanol actually creates more smog through the emission of unburnt ethanol from a car's exhaust.

From a New Scientist article on a Stanford environment model:

The findings run counter to the idea that ethanol is a cleaner-burning fuel. Cars running on gasoline emit a number of pollutants – including nitrogen dioxide and organic molecules like acetaldehyde – that react with sunlight to form ozone.

Along with many of the same pollutants as gasoline, a large amount of unburned ethanol gas escapes into the atmosphere. That vapour readily breaks down in sunlight to form acetaldehyde, which can send ozone levels soaring.

While ethanol-burning cars will emit fewer carcinogens such as benzene and butadiene, they will spew out 20 times as much acetaldehyde as those using conventional fuel, Jacobsen found.

Ozone is one of the main constituents of smog, which carries a number of health risks.

My biggest concern with the use of ethanol is what plant matter is used in the production of the ethanol. At present in the US, the main crop that is used to produce ethanol is corn, which can produce 3461 litres of ethanol per hectare, which is considered to be quite low, and at a cost of US$142 per ton. There are many other crops which are far more efficient producers of ethanol than corn is.

A few other ethanol crops source (from Wikipedia):

Miscanthus - 14031 L/ha, US$70/ton

Switchgrass - 10757 L/ha, US$40/ton

Sweet Potatoes - 10000 L/ha

Sugar Cane - 6192 L/ha, US$315/ton

Corn - 3461 L/ha, US$142/ton

As you can see there are many other better crops for ethanol production than Corn, and for that matter Sugar Cane. I can't find the figures now, but I have read that Hemp produces 4 times as much ethanol as corn and is cheaper to produce as well.

Another very major concern with using ethanol is diverting food crops into the production of ethanol which will cause the price of food to increase. We have already had some major increases in food prices due to the drought, you just imagine what would happen if more crops and water were diverted into the production of ethanol. There is also the concern of farmland reduction due to salinity.

I don't think ethanol is the answer to the world's dependence on oil, but it could be used in the medium term until a better solution comes along. For example, there has been a fair bit of research into a process called 'Thermal Depolymerization' which is explained as follows:

Thermal depolymerization (TDP) is a process for the reduction of complex organic materials (usually waste products of various sorts, often known as biomass and plastic) into light crude oil. It mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels. Under pressure and heat, long chain polymers of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon decompose into short-chain petroleum hydrocarbons with a maximum length of around 18 carbons.

At present the process is in operation, but the cost of its oil is around US$80 a barrel, a bit higher than the dino juice that it could replace. But as oil costs increase, the TDP process will become more viable. And there is no shortage of waste production from humans (US EPA estimates 4.4 pounds of waste per person per day), this process can use a wide range of waste products from offal to vegetable waste to sewage in the production of oil.

What is wrong with Digg...

2007-05-06T20:52:00.001+08:00

What is Digg?

Digg is a user driven social content website. Ok, so what the heck does that mean? Well, everything on digg is submitted by the digg user community (that would be you). After you submit content, other digg users read your submission and digg what they like best. If your story rocks and receives enough diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the millions of digg visitors to see.

Digg.com, the first of now many social news sites started off as a purely tech site that did a great job of using its users to aggregate the very best news stories. As soon as I found digg.com it was added to my daily read list (now my RSS reader) as it managed to get tons of stories much quicker than any other tech news site like Slashdot or Engadget.

According to Alexa, the unofficial internet site ranking company, Digg is now in the top 100 web sites out there and with that comes a massive readership. Unlike its forbears, as Digg became more popular, Digg diversified from purely tech news and spread into general news, politics and even video links.

All this is good stuff as it makes it easy for me to get all the news I want, albeit only the popular stuff makes it to the front page. But it has it's problems, which are listed below:

Story Rigging - As with anything on the web, anybody with anything to sell or an agenda to push try many methods to get the maximum numbers of readers visit their site. These people have researched the Digg alorithms and worked out ways to promote their stories to the front page with amazing regularity.
Dupe Commenters - At the speed that stories are submitted to Digg and go through the digg cycle, it is very easy to miss many stories unless you are 'plugged in' every second of the day. There is a habit for people to complain about a story previously being on Digg maybe only 4-6 hours before, but enough time has past for the story to fall off the front page.
Zealots - Digg is not alone on this one, but through Digg's diverse nature it has attracted many types of zealots to one spot, where Slashdot seems to have the Linux zealot crowd, Digg has large amounts of Mac, Nintendo, X-Box, PS3, AMD and Linux zealots.
Groupthink - Shown to be most evident in the recent HD-DVD debacle, there seems to be a massive sheep fest on certain issues like: the aforementioned HD-DVD issue, anti-Bush stories, Steve Jobs lovers, etc. It seems that a very loud minority gives Digg a bad name through there very vocal and sometimes vitriolic support of certain issues. I don't think that all these commenters actually believe what they push but seem to love the power given to them as a group to hide anything that goes against the groupthink.

It seems that Digg's strength of letting the users decide what gets to the front page and gets the most exposure is also its biggest weakness. No matter how it is implemented, taking any sort of editorial control will start to limit the range of stories available on Digg and then it will become just an semi-independent extension of the mainstream media. And we definitely don't need more mainstream media.

Perth Auto Show - 2007 - My views...

2007-05-01T21:54:00.001+08:00

The Good

Volkswagen Caddy Life

One of those odd cars that only VW could produce. Take a Golf and stretch it vertically, add a bike carrier to the roof (nevermind low clearances) and add a million storage places in the wagon for all those bits every young adventurer would need. The idea seems a bit odd, it is, but somehow it all seems to fit together quite well. They won't sell many but that will be part of the allure for the very brand conscious demographic it is targetted at. Add in a frugal turbo diesel and you'll get the green market too.

Lotus Europa S

Based loosely on the Elise chassis, it is the car for those who want a bit more luxury than what the Elise offers. Admittedly, that isn't hard. The only downside is the pissy little 2.0 litre turbo GM Ecotec motor that is used. It needs a small grunty V6 with the option of a supercharger.

Honda Civic Type-R

I don't know if it was the colour or not, but this car demands your attention straight away. The shape is really good, it takes the bubble look of the Pug 206/207 and improves on it. The bonus of a 150 kW VTEC motor under the bonner just makes the thing seem all that more cool. If priced right, this car will be a serious contender in the hot hatch market. The question is, would you take this over a Astra VXR?

Mitsubishi Lancer Concept Sportback

Think of the Lancer and one of two things pops into your head, pov-pack Lancer coupe/sedan with steel wheels and breathless 1.5 litre single cam motor (optional Milo tin exhaust and Bob Jane special rims) or the fire breathing EVO models. If you haven't seen the new Lancer, the front end mathes this perfectly, even the base models. They have finally put some class into the Lancer line. Lets just hope the build quality improves as much as the looks have.

Mercedes Benz CL-Coupe

It is a Merc. It is a big Coupe. It is loaded with luxury and techy tricky bits. I reckon this is one of the best looking Benz' in a long time (no more bug eyes).

Subaru Factory Tarmac

At $160,000+, it would be the best way to get into a Targa capable to run at the front. If you could drive it that is. The Factory Tarmac comes with integrated roll cage, race seats, blueprinted engine, active centre diff, carbon fibre bits, FIA fuel cell, etc. A perfect way to get into tarmac rallying.

Volvo C30

Finally a small Volvo that looks good. Can you ever forget the Volvo 440? Oh, the horror...

Ford Fiesta XR4

As one of the tiny hot hatch brigade this is gonna sell like hot cakes. The stripes look naff but the rest of the package will compete well with the likes of the Polo GTi and Swift Sport. 0-100 in 7.9 and less than 8L/100 km (PULP) should be adequate.

Nissan 350Z Convertible

The 350Z has always been one of those cars that gets a look when it drives by and the Convertible is no different. Especially in this colour. My photos don't do justice to this amazing colour. Although the colour may date quickly.

Volkswagen Golf R32

Take a VW Golf that already has adeqauate power and handling and add a 3.2 L V6 and the quattro all-wheel-drive system and you have the Golf R32. Tons of grunt and tons of grip.

Proton Gen 2

Proton previous offerings of slightly modified 5+ year old Mitsubishi models were absolutely woeful vehicles. Finally it seems Proton have developed some sort of style and engineering and produced the Gen 2. A good looking car in itself with suspension tuning by sudsidiary Lotus. The build quality still sucks but at least it has some balls to run with before the doors fall off.

The Bad

Holden Epica

Another Daewoo sourced piece of shit to replace a much superior European made vehicle. 'Nuff said.

Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio

The answer to the question that nobody asked. I have one question and one question only. Why? A total of 6 was sold in Australia in the first 3 months of this year so Chrysler must have high hopes.

The Ugly

Toyota Corolla

Some were hoping the new Camry and Aurion were an indication that Toyota got rid of its bland design squad, but then the new Corolla comes along and I think the bland boys and girls have been given a raise.

Ford Focus Convertible

Unexciting convertible variation of a good car. I'm sure this will drive well and be a good car overall but the boring styling just doesn't cut it.

Nissan Micra

When will the Japanese manufacturers work out that the JDM micro car styling just doesn't work outside Japan. Take a frog and put a glass tumour on its back and you have the Micra. Of course in colours like shown above, some people (women and gay folk) will see it as cute and buy it. Use the Daihatsu Copen as a previous example.

The Absolutely Terrible

Hummer H3

I know American made cars aren't the best made cars in the world (Chrysler 300C interior for one), but the Hummer took my opinions much lower. Let me list the things I picked up on this piece of crap in my very brief encounter with the H3:

Doors could be moved on the hinge pins creating a loud clunking sound
Rear door could be replaced with a timpani drum and be quieter when it was closed, plus it was possible to pop the front doors open just by shutting the rear door
The middle rear seat passenger has to sit on a concealed dual Big Gulp capable drink holder
Interior plastic trim comes off with a small tug, how it would survive an off-road excursion puzzles me

At this point I vacated the vehicle and escaped before the car (term used loosely) before it killed me.

If you ever needed another reason not to buy a Daewoo...

2007-04-19T09:17:00.000+08:00

...or a Daewoo badged as a Holden.

Just watch this crash test video of a 2006 Holden Barina (nee Daewoo Kalos):

From ANCAP:

Each vehicle model tested in ANCAP is subjected to an offset crash test into a barrier, a side impact test and a pedestrian impact test. A pole test is optional. The vehicles purchased for the test program were typical of those vehicles available to new car purchasers.

The offset frontal crash test simulates colliding with another vehicle.
In this test, 40% of the car, on the driver’s side, initially makes contact with a crushable aluminium barrier at 64km/h.

The side impact test consists of running a 950kg trolley into the driver’s side of the test vehicle at 50km/h. The trolley has a crushable aluminium face to simulate the front of another vehicle.

A pole test is an optional extra test, available at the manufacturer’s cost, if the vehicle performs very well in the side impact test and is fitted with head protecting side airbags. The vehicle impacts a steel pole lined up with the driver’s head, at 29km/h sideways.

ANCAP rated the Barina at 2 stars. I reckon that car would go close to killing you in accident where the impact was 80 km/h or higher. Check out the way the A pillar deforms!

As a comparison, here is a video of a Toyota Yaris doing the same test:

The Yaris received a crash rating of 4 stars.

People make the choice to save $3,000 at a dealer, only to increase their risk in the long term. Stupid, stupid, people.

Spin, spin, spin...

2007-04-12T13:39:00.003+08:00

I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy and not much has piqued my interest or pissed me off enough to write about it. Today, that changed with the release of the March unemployment figures.

From News.com.au:

West leads jobs boom

AUSTRALIA'S jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 4.5 per cent in March to a 30-year low and plunged to just 2.7 per cent in Western Australia, reflecting the commodities boom.

The unemployment rate dropped from 4.6 per cent in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.
Total employment rose 10,500 to 10.370 million, seasonally adjusted, while full-time employment rose by 31,700 to 7.4 million and part-time employment fell 21,200 to 2.9 million.
The report follows a long run of data that suggests last year's three interest rates have not dampened activity in the economy, leaving open the risk of renewed inflationary wages and price pressures.

Of course, I expected a gloating Little Johnny to appear soon and sprout how this was all his doing and he is mankind's saviour. I wasn't disappointed.

From The Age:

PM: WorkChoices driving jobs boom

Prime Minister John Howard says the contentious WorkChoices legislation - and the rewriting of unfair dismissal laws in particular - is responsible for today's record unemployment rate.

Speaking in Canberra, Mr Howard said that, 12 months after its introduction, there was "no doubt in my mind" that WorkChoices was driving employment.
"I do believe after a year, and in a year in which 276,000 new jobs have been created, it is reasonable to assert that one of the contributions made to this spectacular growth in employment has been the removal of the unfair dismissal provisions under WorkChoices,'' Mr Howard said.
"I think the unfair dismissal laws have made the single greatest contribution to reducing unemployment."

What a load of bullshit. Howard must be getting mighty dizzy with the amount of spinning he is doing.

Australia's economy is driven by primary industry and the resources sector. At a time when China is consuming resources at a rate that could not have been predicted 10 years ago and resource prices are at extremely elevated levels, it is kind of obvious that the Australian economy is receiving a huge boost right now. If anyone has been looking for new staff in the last 12 months, you know that the main problem is finding people with the skills you want. Especially here in Western Australia where it seems every man and his dog are heading off to work in a mining related area.

Employers are not thinking about how they can sack people at the end of the boom, as there is no real indication of when the boom will end. Employers are concentrating on securing the work now. The old saying of 'making hay while the sun shines' is particularly apt in the current boom.

The WorkChoices issues seems to be worrying only 2 groups of people, politicians and union reps. One group sees it as a way of helping out some mates in the private sector and the others see it as a threat to their cushioned and undeserved privileged existence. To the rest of us, WorkChoices doesn't seem to rate too highly, expecially those not in an award situation.

Of course, the mainstream media will jump all over this story like a sugar-starved kid at Easter and spread this FUD to the uneducated masses that make up the voting public. What I hope will happen is that it will be duly ignored and the arse-licker will still get booted at the fedaral election later this year.

While Kevin Rudd isn't the most ideal person you want as PM, a major reshuffle of the political landscape in Australia is needed for a short while to bring back some sanity. Kinda like pressing the reset button on your computer, only it will take 4 years to reboot. I just hope that it boots back to a stable configuration, just without the little bits of malware floating about.

I went looking for the real definition of spin in terms of political massaging of a message and found the following:

spin (spn)
v.tr.
[...]

4. a. To relate or create: spun tales for the children.
[...]

7. To provide an interpretation of (a statement or event, for example), especially in a way meant to sway public opinion: "a messenger who spins bogus research into a vile theology of hatred" William A. Henry III.
[...]

n.
[...]

5. The flight condition of an aircraft in a nose-down, spiraling, stalled descent.
[...]

Two of the definitions apply to what the Howard government perform, and the third applies to what is going to happen later this year to the Howard Government, hopefully ending in a very large and destructive impact with the ground.

Finally...

2007-03-18T19:30:00.001+09:00

Some fucking logic in the road safety argument/shitfight, after a bad weekend on WAs roads:

Weekend deaths bring WA road toll to 63

Western Australia's road toll has climbed to 63 for the year, with eight deaths in the past 48 hours.
A motorcyclist was killed when he came of his bike in the Perth hills suburb of Lesmurdie this afternoon.
Seven other motorists have been killed since Friday night.

Grant Dorrington would have practising his mantra's and getting his propaganda cronies all warmed up, and then someone brings some logic into the situation:

Despite the high number of fatalities, WA Police Minister John Kobelke says the Government's road safety strategy is working.

"More people are being saved by our strategy but because of the increased number of vehicles, the millions of kilometres more being driven we are not seeing a marked reduction in the deaths overall," he said.

WA Police Minister John Kobelke says he is horrified at the loss of more lives on the roads.

"What we do know is that the current road safety strategy has been working, that is on average there have been 34 deaths less each year than what there were in 2000, so more people are being saved by our strategy," he said.

Grant Dorrington's ears would have been searing in pain...

I don't get fashion...

2007-03-05T11:30:00.001+09:00

I really don't get fashion. I really don't.

Last night while I was out at the park enjoying the summer night, a girl wearing those in-vogue hipster jeans came along and sat down on the grass a little way away from me. Of course the view was similar to that shown above. She was conscious of her ass crack showing so she covered it up with her jumper/cardy thing.

My question is... why do people choose clothes that they don't feel comfortable in at all times? It just seems damn silly to me that you wear something that shows off parts of you that you don't want others to see. What is the point of wearing anything at all?

Last night's photos...

2007-02-23T09:04:00.000+09:00

I am a member of a photography club and this month's theme is night/sunset shots, so last night after worked I jumped in my car and scooted up to the city to see what shots I could get.

Apart from the lack of cloud in the sky, I reckon I got some decent shots. The cloudless sky did go a really nice shade of indigo but I still would have preferred a few bits of feature in the sky.

Perth City

This panorama was stitched from 3 photos using Panorama Factory V4

P.S. Decoy @ Mends St. Jetty

Kwinana/Mitchell Freeway

The Family Truckster...

2007-02-21T22:53:00.000+09:00

A few weeks ago, we picked up our new car. A Subaru Liberty 2.5i and what a great car it is. Drives very nice, tons of room, climate control is great, excellent stereo and the very cool dual sunroof (which is just perfect for those balmy summer evenings).

We gave it a wash this afternoon and before it got dirty again I took a few pictures.

Click to enlarge (Opens in a new window)

One thing I noticed the other day, there is not one place on the exterior of the car where the word Subaru is placed. Only the Pleiades ("Subaru" is the Japanese word for the star cluster Pleiades that is depicted in the company logo) in the grille and tailgate. I wonder why that is... Even the interior requires a good look before finding the word Subaru.

A Claytons policy...

2007-02-21T10:25:00.000+09:00

Does anyone still remember the ad campaign from the 80s for a soft drink called Claytons? The catchphrase was "the drink you have when you're not having a drink". It has since entered common use as a way of describing something inferior or false. So for instance before an election is officially called there is the "Claytons election campaign": the election campaign you're having when you're not having an election campaign.

As there is a federal election later this year in Australia, it seems we are already experiencing a Claytons election campaign. As part of the 'campaign', there has been some policy decisions made by both sides of politics regarding everything from water shortages to the war in Iraq. But the latest policy release by the Howard Government was released yesterday and it is Howard and his boys at their very best.

From news.com.au:

Household light bulbs get the flick

THE initial cost of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs will be offset by longer-term savings, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning announced standard incandescent light bulbs would be phased out within three years in a bid to reduce energy consumption.
"We are introducing new energy efficiency standards and these old lights simply won't comply, they will be phased out and basically over a period of time they will no longer be for sale," Mr Turnbull said.
Compact fluorescent or low-wattage bulbs cost about $5 more, but are more energy-efficient and save an average of $30 per year.
"They'll be a bit dearer to start off with but over time they'll be less expensive and they'll last four to 10 times longer," said Mr Howard.

On the surface it seems like a good idea. On a nationwide scale, using Compact Flourescent Lights (CFLs) will reduce power use in a very big way leading to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

CFLs have many benefits, the most notable being 20% of the power use compared to incandescents for similar light and a much longer lifespan.

However, I have a few concerns with this policy as CFLs aren't the perfect solution:

Lifespan - CFLs are more suited to locations where the light is left on for extended periods of time (a kitchen or lounge light that is left on for hours at a time). Their efficiency is maximised when left on for long periods of time and actually use more power on startup. If used in an area where the light is switched on for short periods of time (toilet, hallway, etc) the lifespan of CFLs is equal to or less than incandescents.
Mercury - All CFLs cannot small amounts or mercury, not enough to be a problem in the home but when concentrated in landfills it poses a serious health risk. When a CFL tube is broken it mercury is released as both a gas and solid (white coating inside the tube).
Household Fittings - CFLs cannot be used with dimmer switches.

Don't get me wrong, the move to ban incandescents is a good thing, but it seems like this is a play from the John Howard playbook. Appear to do something while doing the minimum possible. This policy is only a small part of what should be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a Claytons environmental policy.

There needs to be a bigger push toward renewable energy sources. I am not talking just solar panels and wind farms. There are many other renewable sources, that Australia is well suited to, that are worth looking into:

Geothermal - Australia is a very geologically stable place and there are large amounts of solid rock available for drilling.
Solar Furnace - Example With lots of spare land and lots of sunlight, I don't see why we aren't doing this now.
Solar Updraft Tower - There are plans to build one in north-western Victoria. (Video)
Tidal Power - Northern Australia experiences some of the biggest tidal ranges (Darwin has an 8 metre tidal range) in the world, I'm sure that could be put to good use somehow.
Wave Power - Likewise Southern Australia with large waves pushing up from the Southern Ocean.

You from Yurp?

2007-02-13T10:03:00.000+09:00

I always thought the stereotype of people from the southern states of the US was just a exaggeration...

Sadly, when the boys from Top Gear made their way across to the US, the stereotype was confirmed. Jeremy, Richard and James headed across to Florida with $1,000 each to buy a rust bucket and drive from Miami to Florida. To spice things up they decided to paint some choice 'slogans' onto the sides and other panels of the vehicles. Hilarity and some headshaking follows...

Enjoy...

When is a toothbrush not a toothbrush?

2007-01-17T09:38:00.000+09:00

When is it a multipurpose oral cleaning tool...

Yesterday I did some shopping and it was time to buy a new toothbrush. And do you think I could find a normal toothbrush?

The toothbrush shelves are packed with all kinds of monstrosities that are deisgned to clean your mouth better. Some have mini rubber pads on the back of the head so you can clean you tongue, some have extraeneous rubber blades to help get in between the teeth and massage your gums, others have extra large heads to help clean more effectively, some even whiten your teeth as you brush and there is even one where the bristles are arranged looking like crop circles...

I think the oral care industry is a lot like the razor industry. Always looking for more fantastic ways to sell what is basically a boring, single-function object. If it weren't for the fairly basic fixed size of the human mouth, I reckon we would have triple and quad heads on our toothbrushs.

As someone who has used more than his fair share of razors shaving his head every 2-3 days, I have used a fair range of different razors and to be honest the dual blade razor does just a good a job as the 4 blade razor. The trick is to get a decent brand where the edge won't dull as quickly. It must be cheaper to produce a 4 blade cheap razor than it is to make a really good quality twin blade razor. Plus you have the marketing mileage to be made from 4 or 5 blades...

Oh shit, now they've gone and done it...

2007-01-11T13:16:00.000+09:00

YOUNG drivers caught speeding will automatically lose their licence under new State Government laws that could take almost 20,000 P-platers off the roads.

As most enthusiastic drivers agree, anytime the government does anything related to the road toll, there is much skepticism and name-calling.

The NSW Government, in an effort to look like they care about the road toll, has introduced a raft of new laws aimed specifically at reducing the deaths of P-platers. And as always is the way, when one state government has the balls (or not, as the case may be) brings in a new set of laws, it slowly spreads like a virus across the nation. This is a case where the NSW didn't have the balls to do what needed to be done, they did what made them look like they are doing something.

Some of the new laws are:

Any first year P-plater caught speeding will automatically lose their licence for a minimum of 3 months
All P-plates have to be displayed on the outside of the vehicle
Hazardous condition driving to be part of the licence test (I'm sure getting rain on command anywhere in NSW is easy...)
All first year P-platers will be banned from carrying more than one passenger under 21 between 11pm and 5am
All first year P-platers will be banned from using a mobile phone whilst driving, even with a hands-free kit

I have a few issues with these new laws. Firstly, when the majority of speeding offences are registered via speed cameras, how is banning a driver for 3 months going to work when all they get is a letter in the mail to turn in their licence? And how many times do other people take the responsibility for another person's speeding fine, cos they have the points to spare?

Also, the curfew on carrying passengers goes against the whole designated driver idea that has been pushed for the past however many years. What this will do is get more P-platers out onto the roads after parties, probably increasing the chances that there will be drink drivers among them. It will certainly discourage people from offering someone a lift if they have a few too many to drink when they already have a passenger to carry.

I feel that P-platers are being used as a massive scapegoat for the whole road toll situation. Recently, there has been much noise about limiting the types of cars that P-platers can drive, in a similar way to the restrictions placed on motorcyclists. But, if you have a look at the photo that was used by news.com.au for the story about P-plater deaths, you can see the car is a lowly 80s Civic with hardly enough grunt to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Limiting power is not the answer, I'm sure anyone being stupid enough can kill themselves just as quick in a Civic/Excel/Charade than in a Falcadore (although suicide is a bigger problem with P-platers driving mum and dad's Magna).

What needs to be done is a look at how these drivers are trained and how the skills that are learnt hold on all through their driving careers. Here is my plan:

Mandatory advanced driver training courses for all learners. Training course to include:
- Hazard awareness and avoidance: teach them how to spot that a stupid mother with a pram, doddering old fart or kid chasing a ball is going to walk out onto the road. Contrary to the idea spread by the ads on TV, sticking to the speed does not that you magically always have time to stop.
- Emergency stopping: Set up a series of road surfaces (wet, sandy, rough, gravel, muddy, concrete/ashphalt) and make sure the driver knows how to stop quick on these surfaces.
- Car control on lees-than-perfect roads: teach them how to recover from loss of traction in different conditions. Make sure that when it all does go wrong they can at least try to minimise the damage to themselves and others on the road.
Mandatory retesting of licence every five years for all drivers, with the elderly (above 65) and young (below 21) having a retest every year or two. I have seen more than my fair share of close calls at roundabouts where the older drivers among us don't know how to use them because they were never shown.
And parallel to the manadatory retesting of licences, is a vehicle inspection every 2 years, except if the car is less than 4 years old. P-platers invariably drive cheap cars that are often poorly maintained, how much of a factor are shoddy brakes and tyres in the deaths of P-platers? An added benefit is that well maintained cars are less polluting and more efficient.

What needs to change is the attitude towards driving in this country. At present it is seen as a right to get your licence when, in fact, it is a privilege that can and should be taken away anytime that you cannot meet the standards set. You wouldn't dare entrust your life to an airline pilot who has had his licence for 30 years without a retest would you? Yet, you gladly jump in a car with your 60 year old mother/father/grandfather/etc when there is a good chance that if an emergency arose, they wouldn't be able to handle it.

Of course, any government to subject the whole driving public to regular scrutiny is just inviting election defeat. That is why it will never happen in my lifetime.

The rate of deaths on the roads has been steadily declining for the past 30 years. How long until we reach that point that the deaths on the roads are unavoidable in relation to policing? Will there be more and more laws and restrictions placed on drivers to try and get the road toll to zero?

Fuckin-ay

2007-01-11T08:21:00.000+09:00

A new blog, 'Violent Acres', has caught my interest of late. Written by a married woman in her 30s, she has the knack to write inflammatroy posts quite well. Pity she doesn't allow comments on her posts as it would generate some serious flamewars.

From her about blurb, I think it sums up the tone of the blog quite well:

I'm a married woman in my early 30's with so much sand in my vagina that I give myself burns walking across my living room floor. But hey! It sure beats being you.

The latest post that caught my interest is this. I think she hits it pretty dead on.

What are Ford thinking?

2007-01-10T09:34:00.000+09:00

No wonder Ford is in trouble. They have taken a quite good looking car in the Focus and turned it into this:

What were they thinking?

You can't make shit like this up...

2007-01-03T09:34:00.000+09:00

This report from BBC had me quite amused.

An overweight woman who got stuck in a South African cave trapped 22 fellow tourists for more than 10 hours and had to be prised free with liquid paraffin.

The woman became trapped in the Tunnel of Love obstacle in the Cango Caves in Western Cape on New Year's Day.

The fact that the woman was warned before entering the cave that she might not fit makes it all the more amusing.

Mr Gerstner said the woman was "told at the ticket office that she was too big to take part in the specific section".
He said she was again warned by the guide but that it was "very difficult to discriminate".

But one thing puzzled me...

The tourists, including two asthmatic children, were given blankets, water and chocolate bars as the rescue proceeded.

One rescuer was able to climb over the woman to deliver insulin to the diabetic.

If a rescuer could climb over the stuck woman, why couldn't the tourists climb out over the woman?

I must be strong, must refuse to make any jokes that only 1 out of every 5 chocolate bars passed through to the trapped tourists made it... oops, too late.

On a sort of related note, here is one angry woman's take on obesity.

Technorati tags: obesity, news, fat, south africa, stuck, digg, BBC

2006-12-21T08:43:00.000+09:00

Parking, Fifth Gear style...

This looks like so much fun.

I would love to have the time and spare cars to practice stuff like this, just for the hell of it.

I hate Dr. Phil...

2006-12-14T12:26:00.000+09:00

I hate Dr. Phil. If ever there was a more manufactured talk show host than Dr. Phil, I have yet to see it.

At least Jerry Springer and Maury Povich are pretty up front about the show they produce. We know that half of all Jerry's guests are actors, and the other half high class trailer trash.

Dr Phil's guests, on the other hand, are supposedly real and he offers his solutions on what they should do to fix their lives. It seems to resonate with his target audience. What is Dr Phil's target audience you ask? The same as Oprah's audience: female, probably a fan of 'Grey's Anatomy' and a little heavier than before she had the kids.

I think Dr Phil has found his ratings flagging and needs some controversy to boost the fortunes of his show. The following video is pretty close to proving that correct...

There are a few things wrong with this video:

If Dr Phil really wanted to not publicise the Bumfight videos, why did he even invite the guy onto the show? I'm sure a lot more people now know about Bumfight than they did before.
The would have to be the lamest attempt at looking like you were taking the moral high ground. It may work with the stupid women who watch your show, but for the majority of society they can see right through it. I'm sure Dr Phil saw the video before the show and if he was so pissed off about, why did it even get broadcast?
Even before Dr Phil said "Stop the tape", the tape had already stopped with quite a lame static effect.
Congratulations to Ty for mocking Dr Phil quite well. That haircut was great.

I think I might go download some Bumfight videos...

Angry, angry man...

2006-12-12T17:24:00.000+09:00

Henry Rollins, probably one of the angriest men on the planet, has always had a lot to say about social issues which has kind of turned him into a cult figure for the disaffected. Whether you believe with the man's views or not, you have to say he does is quite passionate about whatever he chooses to talk.

I have been a casual observer of Henry for a few years now, I was lent a few of his spoken word releases on CD, and he really does know how to use language quite powerfully. Maybe that is part of him being a songwriter.

What I have found for you below is a pretty passionate video of Henry teeing off on the issue of net neutrality, an issue some see as a US government sponsored effort to take a voice away from the people.

He starts the rant like this (transcript here):

Freedom is under attack. Under attack by hysterical and well funded Christian psychotics, intellectually undernourished leaders who lie and manipulate information, overfed Baby Huey coward bitch motherfuckers like Karl Rove and their suck up weakling apologists like Sean Hannity. To question authority is to be somehow unpatriotic, unAmerican and in league with terrorists worldwide?

Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: henry rollins, rant, net neutrality, Black Flag, freedom

Banned by MTV

2006-11-24T15:33:00.000+08:00

Faithless has another single out for consumption by the masses. Following on from the last few releases from them, it follows the same theme of war.

What sets this song apart is the cool video that has been made for it. Have a look below:

Directed by: Howard Greenhalgh

MTV refused to broadcast this clip.

Director said "I didn't see the video as particularly political, pro war, or anti war. It's actually a representation of where we are all at right now. War infects all our lives; recently it feels that this has increasingly become 'our way of life'"

The only reason why this won't be shown on MTV is solely due to the coffin with the US flag draped over it. The US seem a little too sensitive when it comes to seeing their soldiers come home dead. It's a fucking war, people die.

Or maybe it is guilt of sending these troops to their deaths all based on a myriad of lies.

Daylight Savings, finally!

2006-11-22T13:13:00.000+08:00

WA will get a three-year daylight saving trial after upper house MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the controversial bill.

Just after 3.30pm yesterday, upper house MPs voted 21-10 in favour of the bill, despite last week's delays and debate.
The state's lower house passed a bill last month which would introduce daylight saving from December 3 for a three-year trial, to be followed by a referendum in 2009. - From News.com.au

About time goddamit. Not about time we have daylight savings, but about time the pollies actually made a decision on the matter. The last week or so, the DLS bill has been discussed in the upper house at great length. It was even quite clear that MPs opposed to the bill were deliberately stalling the process in order to try and stop the clocks being moved forward this year.

There has been all sorts of outcry over this subject. The list of grievances include:

The decision was undemocratic - We vote democratically to have our representatives in the houses of parliament vote on matters for us. In this matter they voted for a trial of DLS, to be followed with a referendum.
We have already voted 3 times on this - Since the last referendum on DLS 14 years ago, the population of WA has grown by about 400,000 people. Take into account the people who were unable to vote previously and you have a very different population voting on this issue in 3 years time. Just because a decision was made 14 years ago, does not mean that it is to stay that way forever.
Parents will have a hard time putting kids to bed - Forget about the faded curtains and cows that won't produce milk, this whinge is the new age anti-DLS argument. Parents just need to learn how to say 'No' to their kids. And conversely, having it be dark much longer in the mornings will probably mean the kids sleep a bit longer.

I lived with DLS as I grew up in various states of Australia and I thought it was great. Being able to have dinner and still have an hour or so to play was great. I am hoping in 3 years time when the people of WA have experienced DLS as part of normal life will vote to keep it part of our calendar.

YMYT*

2006-11-22T11:17:00.000+08:00

* Yet More YouTube

Lots of film of Jeremy Clarkson destroying cars...

More good stuff from YouTube

2006-11-21T20:59:00.000+08:00

I know I have already put up a few videos today, but fuck it, this is my blog and I can do what I want.

Here is a couple more videos.

First one is a very funny looking movie. I hope it lives up to the trailer.

The french seem to like taking something fairly normal and taking to an extreme, Le Parkour is a good example. Here is a French dude who thought rollerblading on two feet wasn't enough, so he strapped another couple of dozen wheels and castors to his body.

No wonder they end up dead...

2006-11-21T15:53:00.000+08:00

US Death toll in Iraq: 2,865

With fun activities like what is shown in the video below, that score is bound to go higher...

What goes around...

2006-11-21T13:33:00.000+08:00

John Safran has been aptly described as a guerilla filmmaker and the following clip demonstrates his inflammatory methods quite well. Enjoy.

The tide has turned...

2006-11-21T13:20:00.000+08:00

Just a few short years ago, the following video would have got MSNBC and Keith Olbermann labelled un-American and a terrorist sympathiser. But now, as the US (and the world) is waking up to the lies spewed forth by Bush and his cronies, the following video is viewed as good reporting.

Keith Olberman on Bush and Vietnam

Did you notice the little cameo by our 'arse-licking' PM in the footage from Vietnam? Snivelling little fuck.

This guy wants to be PM?

2006-11-17T13:15:00.000+08:00

The leader of the federal opposition, Kim Beazley, seems to be trying really hard to look mentally deficient.

He has made yet another name mix up when offering condolences to Rove McManus on the death of his wife. Instead of expressing sympathy to Rove McManus, he instead expressed his sympathy to Karl Rove, George Bush's deputy head of staff.

FEDERAL Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has committed a major blunder, confusing grieving TV host Rove McManus with White House strategist Karl Rove.

McManus's wife, actor Belinda Emmett, was farewelled at a funeral in Sydney today after succumbing to cancer last weekend at the age of 32.
Mr Beazley began a press conference in Sydney today by expressing his sympathy - but to the wrong Rove.
"The first thing I want to say is this - today, our thoughts and the thoughts of many, many Australians will be with Karl Rove as he goes through the very sad process of burying his beloved wife," Mr Beazley said.
"And I just want him to know that my thoughts and the thoughts of my colleagues are very much with him today." - from News.com.au

Listen to it here (mp3).

Is Kim going senile?

This isn't the first time he has made a major mistake like this, last year he referred to accused druggie Michelle Leslie and Michelle Lee, and earlier this year mixed up the Reserve Bank Governor and Resources Minister, both have the same name Ian Macfarlane.

Like the Democrats in the US, the Libs don't even have to try to discredit the Labour party. They do it quite well on their own.

Fremantle, the stinky port city...

2006-11-08T23:30:00.000+08:00

Fremantle, a city that tries really hard to be a hub for tourists and locals alike with its great range of pubs, restaurants and other attractions, has a problem. A really big problem. And I'm not talking about the homeless folk and the drunk aboriginals having a corroboree down the park with that bags of goon and slabs of Emu Bitter.

The problem is that every couple of weeks the city smells like an ovine toilet (for those in the know, the Trilogy toilet was on a par). The livestock carriers that turn up to be loaded with anywhere between 70,000 and 125,000 sheep for transport to the Middle East.

I'm not against the transportation of live animals by ship (from what I have seen, the conditions have improved for the animals by a huge amount in the last few years), but when you get thousands of sheep that shit and piss in a very small space, you are gonna get some serious issues. Out in the middle of the ocean it doesn't really matter, but in port it is a horrible thing.

Fremantle has been a place where all tourists that visit Perth usually head to. I wonder what the tourists take away with them (other than an upset stomach) when they get a whiff of the horrible smell that wafts around the city every few weeks.

What about the people who live in Freo? They seem to be silent on the matter. Do they have some strange affection with the smell of sheep urine? And do these people really think spending over half a three quarters of a million dollars on a (small) house with harbour views that also has harbour smells is a valuable investment?

GMail for mobile

2006-11-08T22:58:00.000+08:00

Google have taken another step towards being omnipotent with the release of their new product, GMail for mobile.

It is an excellent little Java app for your Java-enabled mobile phone. It doesn't just allow you to look at your email from your phone, it also supports viewing images and even PDFs.

Sure, it isn't exactly easy to compose and read emails on a 5 cm, 320x240 resolution screen using a alphanumeric keypad, but for those times when you need to keep an eye on your email it works really well.

The only downside is the stupidly expensive GPRS data rates that all the mobile carriers have.

Rally Australia 2006 Wrap-up

2006-11-08T22:38:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I know it is a bit late but last week was totally nuts with car, kid and work stuff.

But here is the best of the photos I took from the weekend:

To view all the good photos from the weekend, go see my Rally Australia 2006 Flickr set.

We're off to see the rally, the wonderful rally of Oz...

2006-10-27T16:44:00.000+08:00

...for the last time in Western Australia for the forseeable future.

My favourite time of year has rolled around again. Rally Australia 2006 kicked off last night at the Gloucester Park Super Special Stage. Today I off down in Dwellingup having a hoon on some nice gravel roads in an effort to get to spectator points before the first cars came through.

Here are some of my pics from today:

I must send a big thanks out to an Officer Naydin (I think) of the WA Police Service who didn't give me a ticket for 70 in a 60 zone on the way out of Pinjarra this morning. He said to me: "Doing 70 in a 60 is not a heinous crime. I'm not going to book you but watch your speed.". After he took my details for their log book, he bid me good day and sent me on my way, albeit slightly slower.

Coming soon: Miss Rally Australia Finalists 2006

Where the streets probably have a name...

2006-10-24T07:45:00.000+08:00

But you don't care because the noise is so fantastic...

This video is just plain amazing. After the Brazilian Grand Prix on the weekend, where the World Drivers Championship was awarded to Fernando Alonso and the World Constructors Championship was awarded to Renault, Red Bull Racing put one of their cars out on the streets of Sao Paulo in a wonderful bit of marketing for Red Bull.

What an absolutely amazing sound that is...

I don't know if it would be more spectacular if it was dry or not. Seeing Christian Klien fight the car when he hits the white lines, large puddles or even puts some throttle on.

My ears! My ears!

2006-10-18T13:19:00.000+08:00

From News.com.au:

BE warned: Peter Andre and Jordan's appalling new duet is four minutes and twenty-two seconds you will never get back.

A recording of the Australian singer and his ultra-tanned bimbo wife singing the song "A Whole New World'' has been doing the industry email rounds in recent days.

Apparently set to end up on a Christmas covers album in the UK, the tabloid couple ramble tragically through the song they danced to at their wedding last year.

I thought I would give it a listen thinking 'it can't be that bad'....

Well I was wrong. Very very very wrong. I think I need to listen to some Hendrix or Black Sabbath turned up to 11 just to cleanse my ears of that awful rubbish. Some people should never be allowed near a microphone.

Anticipation...

2006-10-10T09:29:00.000+08:00

One of the most aniticipated cars in a long time seems like it is nearly ready for general consumption. What you see below are photos of the new Nissan Skyline GT-R. It seems fairly close to the concept shown at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.

Let's just hope those canvas panels aren't covering up some ugly features.

Thanks to Winding Road for the scoop.

Looking very close to the sensational GTR-Proto concept shown back in 2005 at the Tokyo Motor Show, the 2008 Skyline appears to be in its final stages of development, as evidenced by these KGP Photography shots of the car caught testing at the Nürburgring.

While all previous Skylines were sedan-derived, the new model will reportedly gain its own two-door architecture, which bodes well for the car from a performance standpoint.
Prevailing rumors have the car taking on a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6, itself derived from the engine in the 350Z. Power bogeys put the mill in the range of 450 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of twist. In true Skyline fashion, the car will be all-wheel-drive, with a further evolution of the GT-R’s electronic ATTESA ET-S torque-sensing system, tied into a four-wheel steering system.
All of which should be good for a 0-60 miles-per-hour time of well under 4 seconds, and a top speed somewhere on the ambitious end of 180 mph.

Hamster crash footage...

2006-10-10T09:07:00.000+08:00

Guest Post: So speaking about crappy manufacturing....

2006-10-09T21:49:00.000+08:00

North Korea, that crazy old uncle of China and South Korea tested it's first nuclear weapon... Now when other countries test nukes it's always a little like them wondering if fire is still hot. North Korea on the other hand doesn't have the most stellar record getting it's missiles to work. The Tae Po Dong tests for example conducted recently were spectacular failures mostly breaking up over the ocean.

So it's little wonder really that they feel the need to test them. Should the world really be that worried though. South Korea which hasn't been crippled by sanctions or a crazy old uncle in charge (that's you Kim Il Jong in case you're reading :P) took many, many years to get building a car right. I'm sure we all remember the first Hyundai Excels that were "tested" on the world. Some would argue that even now they're only just starting to catch up. So if it takes 15 years for the smarter country to get something as simple as a car right (or at least passable) how long will it take the crazy, dog food eating, cardigan general?

Even if they do manage to get it to 'work' (by which I mean not blowing up in a silo, launchpad or over one of their own cities) what would they want to do with it? They might think having a crack at South Korea is a good idea... but that's a pretty close target so the fallout would undoubtedly affect the North as well (probably doing billions of dollars in improvements however). What about Japan? Those two have never really seen eye to eye but they are a little further away and to get there they'd probably have to fire it over China or at least Chinese air space. Even a crazy like Kim would have to know that pissing off a country with a massive (bored) standing army, nukes of their own and a billion people who live just across a line in the jungle from you might not be a good idea... China had no trouble at all getting a lot of soldiers into Korea in the 50s to help the North so I'm sure they still know the way to the border.

Of course Nth Korea isn't the only country with a nutter in charge. There's a religious zealot in this far off land of the United States of America who has "nucular" weapons all of his own. So perhaps what it might come to is two crazy uncles sitting on their porches with big guns trying to shoot garden gnomes off each others porches. In that case I'm not sure who I'd pick as the winner. Uncle George has more weapons and they work but he's not quite as crazy as Uncle Kim which could count against him.

Jong Deh Electronic Factory...

2006-10-05T21:32:00.000+08:00

The other day I had to get the screwdriver out to fix the DVD player that Calvin uses to watch Bob the Builder, Hi-5, The Wiggles, Nemo, Monsters Inc. and Little Red Tractor. And no, Calvin didn't try to watch them all at the same time, one of the little tension springs that keeps the drive bay door shut came away and was causing some sticking issues. I removed the cover of this $79 DVX Strathfield cheapie DVD player and was surprised at the lack of hardware contained inside. The contents were:

One DVD drive
One power supply module PCB
One logic and video processor PCB
One control panel PCB...

So much spare space in a fairly small unit really. I had a close look at the DVD drive to see what sort it was and what I found gave me some amusement.

Look closely at the image above and have a look at the location where the unit was made.

XINGDAKENG LONGDONG LONGGANG SHENZHEN CHINA

I would hate to have to write that as my return address on tax returns and other semi-important stuff, but in Mandarin it probably translates to just 4 or 5 characters.

The drive it turns out is a fairly standard unit that is used in a lot of generic brand DVD players. It is probably used in brand name players too but those companies would at least relabel the drives to their own specs.

Whinge, whinge...

2006-10-03T12:44:00.000+08:00

When Microsoft does something wrong, there is a deafening roar when the anti-MS crowd take up their loudhailers and scream to the world that Microsoft is evil. But when Microsoft does something right, those same people roar again that Microsoft is being anti-competitive and abusing the monopoly. I'm sorry guys, you can't have it both ways...

The latest subject that the anti-MS crowd are going nuts about is the PatchGuard system that has been included in Windows Vista. This new feature is an attempt by Microsoft to stop malicious programs having access to the kernel of Vista and creating all sorts of havoc. Finally Microsoft are implementing a security feature that nearly all other mainstream operating systems have in place.

Enter Symantecand McAfee, two anti-virus software vendors that have built a ~~good~~ profitable business on protecting Windows users from malicious programs and viruses, have started complaining about the move towards a more secure Windows kernel. My personal experience with some of the products that Symantec and McAfee produce has always eneded with pain and a reformat. Software that doesn't remove itself fully when you ask it to be uninstall is a fundamental sin in my mind.

An article from Ars Technica regarding Symantec's attack on Microsoft:

Symantec and Microsoft have always had an uneasy relationship: the former depends on the latter for a platform for its products, yet often finds itself in direct competition with the software giant. Now, with Microsoft's new operating system Vista still on pace for release in January 2007, Symantec is warning that the OS may harm it and other security software companies. In a statement released today, Symantec communications director Chris Paden said that Vista will "reduce consumer choice" when it comes to computer security.

Paden's beef is with the new Windows Security Center, an update to the control panel that made its first appearance with Windows XP's Service Pack 2. He claims that the interface comes with default programs to handle virus protection, a software firewall, and a spyware scanner, and that the user can install replacements for these applications but not access them through the security center program.

At least as of Windows Vista RC1, some of his claims are true, but not all of them. A clean install of Vista does come with a firewall (based on an enhanced version of the Windows XP SP2 firewall) and anti-spyware courtesy of Windows Defender, but does not come with any anti-virus software (the Security Center complains about this via an orange shield with an exclamation point in the taskbar notification area, and urges the user to install a third-party AV program). The default Windows Vista "Welcome Center" contains an icon to subscribe to Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare, which includes AV support, but the icon is not visible from the Security Center. As far as the firewall and anti-spyware applications go, the Security Center doesn't appear to have any easily-accessible way to swap out these programs for third-party equivalents. Indeed, the firewall panel even warns that "Two or more firewalls running at the same time can conflict with each other."

This article from Reuters about McAfee taking out a full page ad that attacks Microsoft:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft is working to hamstring software companies trying to overcome "inherent weaknesses" in Windows security, rival McAfee Inc. charged in a full-page ad in Monday's Financial Times.

McAfee, Symantec and other security software companies argue Microsoft's new Vista operating system will make it more difficult to protect customers because for the first time, they have been denied access to the core of the operating system.

Microsoft says it may withhold shipping Vista to European Union states when it distributes the operating system next month to computer makers and companies, out of concern about enforcement action. But no decision has been made.

"Our goal is to deliver a fully innovative, secure version of Windows Vista that is compliant with EU law. We have an ongoing and constructive dialogue with the Commission on these issues," a Microsoft spokesman said.

McAfee's ad echoes comments by Symantec officials in a recent interview that Microsoft has withdrawn cooperation as it moves to substitute their security software with its own, giving its own product a leg-up in Windows.

They say they are denied access to the heart of the operating system through built-in software locks, which makes it much harder to protect.

I really think that Symantec and McAfee can fuck off and die. Their reliance on a flaw in the older Windows kernels has allowed them to create a business based on the very insecurities that they are setting out to protect the users from. This is a questionable position to sit in and is bound to end in disaster from the outset. Now, when they see their whole business plan going down the drain, instead of coming up with another way to secure Windows, they go running to the EU and see if they can get some protection from them. Losers.

A comment on Digg says it much better than I ever could:

What the text should have said:

"We at McAfee have a serious problem. We bitched and moaned for over a decade about the lack of security in Microsoft Windows. We even built a business on cleaning up after them. So after all the years and all of the nasty comments we had made, imagine our surprise when Microsoft actually tightened security and even provided their own anti-virus software. Well we're kind of in a bad place spot now. While Microsoft has essentially done what we have asked, they have also pretty much put us out of business.

So we would like to ask you, the consumer, to take pity on us and convince Microsoft to not give you something for free that you could pay us for. Thanks :)"

The art of the parody...

2006-10-03T11:42:00.000+08:00

Weird Al is back with a new album and the master of parodies has done another great job. This time parodying Chamillionaire's piece of rap Ridin'.

Here are the videos:

This shit is fucked up right here...

2006-09-29T15:57:00.000+08:00

I really don't know what to make of this... Which part is more important?

The fact the soldiers did a runner and left 3 contractors to die or that this guy is whinging that he got shot and nearly killed in a war zone while he was chasing the big dollars from a fucked up multinational corporation...

God Save The Queen...

2006-09-29T10:02:00.000+08:00

No, I haven't suddently become a monarchist, I am talking about the song this F1 car plays. You read that right, an F1 car pumping out some tunes.

Enjoy!

F1 Engine Song - video powered by Metacafe

Lucky girl...

2006-09-27T20:07:00.000+08:00

This is an amazing crash. 165 mph into a wall and the driver came out just a little shaken. Katherine Legge is one lucky woman.

Family Truckster

2006-09-22T15:02:00.000+08:00

The Paris Motor Show opens in a few days and one of the main show cars there will be a Ford Mondeo Concept. As you can see by the photos below, this is one good looking wagon. Whether these great looks migrate across to the production version remains to be seen though.

The new Mondeo lifts several cues from the Iosis concept that debuted in Frankfurt, which, according to Ford, is defined as 'kinetic design.' The wagon sports an aggressive front fascia, with very pronounced air dams that compliment a set of tautly drawn headlamps. Aft of the a-pillar is typical wagon fare, donning a strong crease in the beltline, which flows into an equally aggressive LED taillight arrangement. Beginning with the S-MAX and Mondeo, Ford maintains that this new "face" of the Blue Oval's European line will carry over to all its models over the coming years.

Hmmm... Has Subaru lost it?

2006-09-22T12:15:00.000+08:00

Since 2000, Subaru have been doing a lot of playing with the Impreza to try new looks and much of their work has received fairly bad reactions. But, people are still buying Impreza's in decent numbers so brand loyalty and quality may count for a lot.

The infamous bug-eyed Impreza started the trend and the current 'plane grille' look seems to be holding up to the ugly stick quite well. Now that the man responsible for some of the bad decisions has being given the boot, and Toyota has bought in, the look of the Impreza is changing again.

From drive.com.au:

In an attempt to shed its boy-racer image, Subaru has toned down the look of its cult car, the Impreza WRX. As these spy shots show, the Japanese manufacturer has opted for a more conventional European hatchback look for the new Impreza.

The disguised WRX hatch was spotted undergoing hot-weather testing in California. Engineers in a Volkswagen Golf GTI were tailing the car, giving an indication of where Subaru is aiming.

If the spy pics below are any indication, the Subaru designers have more than toned down the Impreza, they have turned it into a boring fuckin' Corolla.... Oh well, at least they haven't taken it to Camry levels of boredom.

Here are the pics:

Beer, glorious beer...

2006-09-20T23:52:00.000+08:00

And don't forget some sort of ignition...

I love the beer can disappearing into the TV at 1:19. Just great...

Now for the trusty spud gun... (Sorry for the flashbacks James)

Now this is original...

2006-09-19T08:17:00.000+08:00

While on the drive home yesterday afternoon, I was listening to Robbie Buck on triple j and he was talking about how some band put a home made music video onto YouTube and Google Videoand have now gone big.

I went and hunted down the music video and here it is:

For a music video that cost $1000 to make, it certainly puts to shame a fair few 'professional' videos that cost ten to a hundred times as much to produce.

Here are some more links if you want to find out some more:
- Wikipedia entry for 'OK Go'
- 'A Million Ways' (Google Video)
- 'Invincible' (Google Video)

Something borrowed... (from The Simpsons)

2006-09-18T10:20:00.000+08:00

Can't advertising types get a little more original than the crap they seem to be producing. For most people the following ad would seem to be quite original and clever...

But for those that watch The Simpsons will scream plagiarism... As the haze of nostalgia floats over your eyes, watch the following clip...

We have a winner...

2006-09-14T15:31:00.000+08:00

We have a winner for what you may well ask. Have a look at the picture below and the category for the winner will become self-apparent...

Isn't that the ugliest car ever seen? Well maybe not yet, the current holder of that title is the Porsche Cayenne. I think we will have to wait to decide on who the real winner of this prize.

Source (and here, translated from French)

Fuckin' Fuck Counter...

2006-09-14T13:09:00.000+08:00

Now this is fuckin' comedy!

WARNING: Language warning!

If you want to see more of Chopper, watch Channel 10 at 9 pm on Thursday nights.

5 years...

2006-09-12T14:55:00.000+08:00

Well, 5 years has passed since September 11. A date that will no longer be remembered for anything other than the terrorist attacks on the WTC towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washinton DC.

5 years on and the world has changed.

Afghanistan is experiencing great internal struggle, with assassinations and car bombings becoming commonplace. Afghanistan has been returned to the world's largest opium producer. Osama bin Laden is still out and about, probably plotting some more attacks against the US. Iraq is in the process of falling into civil war, with the US-led invasion the catalyst. Getting on a plane is more painful and time consuming than it should be, even worse if you look like a muslim (whatever a muslim looks like). You can't seem to wear the clothes you want anywhere near an airport. Even if you have done nothing wrong, it doesn't stop the powers that be from either imprisoning you without charge or controlling who you talk to. Israel and the US are well advanced in planning an attack on Iran.

In a lot of ways it has changed for the worse...

Who will be next?

2006-09-08T15:25:00.000+08:00

After some more bad news, someone with a sense of humour has put together a poll on who the next Aussie will be to fall off the perch...

Poll here

If you think of anyone else, leave their name in the comments. I think Rolf Harris is an obvious omission...

RIP Peter Brock

2006-09-08T13:51:00.000+08:00

After the tragic news that was Steve Irwin's death from a sting-ray, it has just been released that Peter Brock this morning in a race crash during the Targa West tarmac rally in Western Australia.

Sky News and ABC News are reporting that while driving a Daytona Coupe in Targa West he left the road and hit a tree:

Racing legend Brock killed in car crash

Australian motor-sport legend Peter Brock is dead after his car hit a tree east of Perth today.

Brock was competing on the first day of the Targa West Rally when his vehicle hit a tree near the small community of Gidgegannup.

His co-driver has been taken to hospital but his condition is not known.

Brock was 61 years old. No other cars are believed to have been involved.

Known as 'Peter Perfect' and the 'King of the Mountain', Brock won the Bathurst 1000 nine times in the 1970s and 1980s and won the 1979 race by a record six laps.

He retired from full-time racing in 1997 but returned to Bathurst to win the 24-hour race in 2003.

The news of Steve Irwin's death was a shock, but this has been a bigger shock. I grew up watching Peter Brock racing in the Australian Touring Car Championship and especially his wins at Bathurst. I remember watching his huge crash in the Chev Monza at Adelaide International Raceway back in the mid 80s and people were shocked he escaped from that one.

I'm sure we will find out more of the next few hours and days...

Peter was a legend and will be missed by the hordes of fans (not just Holden fans either) around the country...

Non-Tech related Wiki for Developers

2006-09-07T11:02:00.000+08:00

Most of us develop to pay the bills (not exclusively though), and while there is an abundance of information on the web to navigate an API or object model, there isn't much information on how to navigate your career!

read more | digg story

Crikey...

2006-09-04T13:52:00.000+08:00

Oh well, I can hardly say it surprises me but not having Steve Irwin around to take the piss out of will be hard to get used to.

THE Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is dead.

He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said today.

It is understood he was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest and reportedly into his heart .

He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary when the tragedy occured.

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) was called about 11am (AEST) and an emergency services helicopter was flown to the crew's boat on Batt Reef, off the coast near Cairns, with a doctor and emergency services paramedic on board.

Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.

I suppose we can all be sure that he died doing what he loved... provoking dangerous animals until they fucking snap...

I think Steve just met the most dnagerous sting-ray in the entire world...

Always bigger and better...

2006-09-04T10:02:00.000+08:00

The US has a long history of making sure their efforts always end up being the biggest, longest or brashest. Well they have managed to do it again.

Nearly 5 years on from the (supposed) terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US has just reached a milestone in their War on Terror. The 3rd of September marked the point that the US death toll from the War on Terror has surpassed the death toll from September 11. Of course this death toll includes the US deaths in Iraq only because the US Government says the invasion of Iraq was for terrorist reasons, even though it has now been shown to be false.

One has to ask, if the US people were given the choice to seek revenge on real and supposed enemies in a double-or-nothing death toll deal, would they have taken it?

Where do the empties go?

2006-08-31T11:15:00.000+08:00

Take a close look at this picture found on ORSM.net

Click to enlarge

How bad would you feel...

2006-08-28T20:36:00.000+08:00

A couple of parents in New Zealand believed they were teaching their son a lesson when they reported him for stealing the family car. But instead of just teaching him a simple lesson, it turned into a lesson that cost him his life.

The parents of 17-year-old Liam Ashley, who was beaten to death en route to prison, say they were the ones who charged him with theft.

Ashley was found badly beaten in the back of a Chubb Security van on Thursday night. Although he was revived by paramedics at the scene, he died on Friday.

Ashley's family say his parents wanted to teach him a lesson about the consequences of breaking the law. He had taken his mother's car without permission so they had him charged him with theft.

On Thursday Ashley appeared at the North Shore District Court. The judge offered him bail but his parents chose to send him to prison as a deterrent.

But on the trip to Auckland Central Remand prison, he was believed to have been strangled and assaulted by two others in the van.

How must the parents be feeling at this point in time? It isn't their fault he was strangled and assaulted but they had their chance to save him from going to jail and refused to take it. That has to play on their minds for a long time.

Go Dockers...

2006-08-27T10:01:00.000+08:00

Today is the second Derby of the year between the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles and is should be the closest matched teams in a long time. A win to the Dockers will virtually guarantee them a top 4 finish for the second chance in the finals. And with that comes a home final. Go Dockers!!!

I wonder if the Eagles crowd will boo if a Docker wins the Glendinning medal when an Eagle was easily the best player on the ground...

Rally Oz has found a new home...

2006-08-24T11:25:00.000+08:00

And it isn't in Western Australia.

The beureaucratic mess that is the Australian Rally Comission has finally come to an agreement with a promoter to stage Rally Australia for 5 years from 2007.

From rally.com.au:

After more than 12 months of speculation on the future of Australia’s Round of the World Rally Championship it can be revealed exclusively that the event has found a new home in Queensland, to be based within 50 kilometres of Brisbane. rally.com.au received confirmation earlier this afternoon that CAMS has sent word to the FIA that it has secured a long-term agreement with a local promoter.

The future of Rally Australia was originally thrown into turmoil when it was unceremoniously dumped by the West Australian Government in early 2005, the organisers and local Government sighting return on investment as the key factor in its decision to discard the event. Under the existing contract with CAMS the event was obliged to continue to run for both 2005, and 2006 unless a new home was found in the interim.

While speculation and rumour have abounded during that time, with Queensland and ACT consistently regarded as the front-runners, specific updates or details have been few and far between.

Australian Rally Commission Chairman Garry Connelly had indicated earlier this year that he was hopeful of an Easter announcement, however with that date coming and going Connelly remained quietly confident whenever questioned on the topic that a new location for the event would be found.

The confirmation this afternoon that the event will be based in the South-East corner of Queensland comes as a significant boost to the sport. With details still relatively light on, it can be revealed that the new event will run from 2007 onwards, although this is subject to FIA calendaring, and that the current agreement is set for 5-years with two further 5-year options.

The most intriguing detail though concerns the precise location of the base for the rally and the proposed stages. The statement delivered to rally.com.au specified a new, permanent facility within 50 kilometres of Brisbane; however actual details are still to be announced.

It has long been assumed that the event would utilize forestry stages in and around and Sunshine Coast’s Glass House Mountains. Therefore it is within reason that the event could be staged from of one of Brisbane’s outer major centers, for instance Caboolture, which would place it well within easy drive of both the CBD and the Sunshine Coast forests.

Full details are expected to be delivered to the rallying world’s media at the final Rally Australia in Western Australia in late October.

All well and good. It at least keeps a round of the WRC in Australia. And it might just provide a nice excuse to go to Queensland each year for a holiday. If they stage it at the right time, you might even be able to take in another event (Bathurst, Indy, F1) whilst on the same trip.

But isn't there rules about having a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship before a WRC event can be held on those stages?

Stacked Actors...

2006-08-24T08:21:00.000+08:00

Stack dead actors
Stacked to the rafters
Line up the bastards
All I want is the truth

Is it just me, or does it seem that Steve McQueen is getting more work as a dead actor in commercials than he ever did when he was alive?

We all know about the old Shell Great Escape ad from the late eighties, yesterdays Hummer ad had an appearance by Mr McQueen, here are some more modern ads, both from Ford:

False advertising...

2006-08-23T09:37:00.000+08:00

Totally false advertising. This is really irresponsible by Hummer...

No H3 has been or will ever go offroad. They will be used to ferry kids to and from school and for the drive down to Wal-mart. Just like nearly every other privately owned 4WD on this earth.

And the winner is...

2006-08-21T14:29:00.000+08:00

I think we have just found the Moron of the Year winner. No more nominations accepted...

Ingredients:
- Balcony
- 2 litres of carbonated beverage
- Handful of Mentos
- Idiot

Pigs with Muscle...

2006-08-16T21:36:00.000+08:00

The NYPD have just taken delivery of some of the coolest cop cars to ever cruise NY streets.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced Monday the department would be testing 15 flashy new 2006 Dodge Chargers on regular patrols, giving the NYPD a new top speed of 150 mph. The cars go from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds and stop much faster than NYPD's current fleet of Chevrolet Impalas and Ford Crown Victorias, which max out at 110 mph.

They also get better gas mileage than the Crown Vic.

I think the title of coolest cop car in the world goes to the Italians with the Lamborghini Gallardo (even though it was donated by Lamborghini and not a real purchase).

Zoom-Zoom

2006-08-15T00:11:00.000+08:00

Have you ever had the opportunity to have a fairly unrestricted drive of four performance oriented cars back to back without a car for breaking the car?

How about getting a hot lap from a legend in Australian motorsport in one of the aforementioned cars and seeing what it is capable of?

Well today I got an invite through a guy at work (thanks Chris) to a special Mazda drive day at the AHG Performance Driving Centre out near the airport. The purpose of the day was to showcase the very new Mazda3 MPS and also try to sell some of the other sports machines in the Mazda line-up.

The cars available for a drive:

Mazda3 MPS (manual)
Mazda6 MPS (manual)
RX-8 (manual)
MX-5 (sadly an auto)

I will go through the cars in order that I drove them. Note: We were under strict instructions to leave all DSC switches in the ON position in the cars that had them.

RX-8

As I have driven Mazda rotaries (RX-3, R100) before and was quite looking forward to driving the RX-8. Sadly my expectations weren't met by this car.

I hopped in to the very low cabin and found it incredibly easy to get a comfortable driving position. Once I was comfortable in the very adjustable leather seat I looked out the windscreen and it struck me that visibility is a big problem. The A pillar is quite thick and because of the sweep on the windscreen the thick piller comes back close to your head emphasising the thickness even more. I then checked the mirrors and the rearward visibilty, which isn't too bad. The suicide door centre and rear pillar and both quite thick but the small side window helps 'see' through the bodywork. Driving this car on the road would require constant mirror surveillance and would cause some trepidation performing lane changes on the freeway.

I fired up the engine and gladly it sounded like a rotary, albeit a very quiet one. The wave came from the 'fat controllers' to go out onto the track. At this point it crossed my mind that I have been given the keys to a car that retails for $62,000, but the thought evaporated quite quickly moments later. Easy does it away from the line to avoid stalling the beast and some nice light throttle around the first corner. Out onto the long straight and I applied a fair bit of throttle. Being someone who has predominately driven 4 cylinder cars that rev to 6000 before they run out of breath, I found myself changing gears way too early in the RX-8. The rest of the first lap was a bit of a sighting lap and familiarisation with the car.

But the second lap was completely different, the first corner was taken with a lot more gusto and some very early throttle application onto the long straight. At the braking markers I glanced at the speedo and I was going 150 before the excellent brakes started slowing things down. The rest of the lap was spent blancing the car on throttle through a combination of tight and sweeping corners. The rear wheel drive platform is very easy to drive and changes direction quite well.

By the end of the lap I was eating up the gap with the car in front at a very quick rate. Honestly it didn't feel that quick. The Renesis rotary engine really puts out good power (177 kW @ 8,200 rpm) once you gets the revs up and does it work with zero fuss, but really in the end it is a very good car for cruising rather than having a seriously spirited drive. The excitement levels in the RX-8 are quite low and it really didn't do it for me.

Mazda6 MPS

I have heard many good things about the Mazda6 MPS, namely about the power from the 2.3L turbo (190 kW @ 5,500 rpm) and the AWD system. A few bad things have been written about the weight of this car and let me tell you, they aren't wrong.

Now that I knew the track I decided to go nuts straight away with the 6 MPS and really put the boot in from the first corner. The first thing I noticed was the turbo lag. You put your foot down in second gear from two-and-a-half grand and wait for the engine to catch up. Once it wakes up this thing really moves. Keeping it up on boost during gear changes is essential to keep everything moving at a rapid rate. To do this, it requires you to take needle close to the redline in every gear. The suggested brake markers were coming up fast and a quick glance had the speedo near 160. I jammed on the brakes hard and things were not slowing down quickly enough. If you have ever been to the AHG Driving Centre you know the whole area off track is a sparse covering of grass over a hell of a lot of very soft sand. The giant 'sand trap' was approaching fast and I continued to pressure the brakes and hoping this thing would slow down. The corner was here and although I hadn't slowed down anywhere near enough I tipped the 6 MPS in and hopped it would hold on. With a howl of the tyres and an attitude an America's Cup yacht would be proud of, I managed to stay on the black stuff.

The rest of my time in the 6 MPS was spent seeing how much body roll I could get before I lost traction at either end. Getting the backend to go out was only possible with a sharp stab of the brake pedal in the middle of a corner. Getting the front to lose traction was a much easier prospect. Applying the throttle mid corner started the front end pushing ever wider round the corner. By the end of the lap the brake pedal had put in its leave application form and was packing its bags. With over 1600 kgs to pull up, this car is seriously in need of some bigger stoppers. It also requires some more work on the suspension. The body roll the 6 MPS experiences doesn't match the Zoom Zoom image it portrays.

As an aside, at the start of the driving, all the cars had pristine alloy wheels. By the end the 6 MPS easily had the most brake dust accumulation on the wheels. It looks like Mazda realise that the brakes are not up to par so they fit some really soft pads for the best braking possible, which is still not enough.

MX-5

MX-5s have always been seen as a bit of a girls car and the one supplied by Mazda for us to drive did nothing to dispel that. Sadly, it was an automatic. The only nice thing I have to say about this car is that the chassis is wonderful, everything else really sucked but nothing moreso than the automatic. The auto box in this thing has horrible gear changes and when left in full auto it constantly seems to be hunting for the right gear to be in. The engine is seriously underpowered (118 kW @ 6,700 rpm) for such a great chassis.

Not much more to say about this one as I was seriously underwhelmed...

Mazda3 MPS

As one of the newest entrants to the rapidly growing hot hatch segment, the 3 MPS has been much anticipated. Well, that anticipation is well deserved. The 3 MPS is to put it simply, fucking awesome.

From the moment you first put your foot down you know you are in something special. The 190 kW 2.3L direct injection turbo engine (nearly the same as the 6 MPS) is so strong off the line it isn't funny. Not a hint of turbo lag to be found. My first punch of the throttle was rewarded with a very pleasing induction howl and the roar of the exhaust. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing to attention. After driving all the other cars I had a good knowledge of the track and previous drivers had said that this car has loads of grip so I pushed harder than any of the previous cars. Exiting the first corner I plunged my right foot down hard and before I could expect the turbo lag I was being shoved in the back towards the horizon. By the end of the straight I was getting near the quickest speeds I had done in the previous three cars and this was just my out lap.

The corner at the end of the long straight where I had the scare with the 6 MPS was taken with no fuss with later baraking too. Corner after corner I attacked hard and couldn't get it unstuck. My fun was quelled when half way around the first lap I had caught the auto MX-5 which I let have a fairly large head start on me. I dropped back into slwo mode to let the MX-5 get away so I could have a clear second lap. Even at low speeds this thing felt really good, It easily pulled away from 1500 revs in 3rd gear without even a chug.

Second lap, on the run down the long straight, I managed to top out at about 165 before jamming on the brakes even later than before and chucking it in to the 90 degree left faster than any front driver should be able to go. The 3 MPS just stuck and allow me to follow the line that I wanted, even allowing me to kiss the witches hat that marked the apex of the corner. At the end of the second lap I decided to run as hard as I could into the chicane made from witches hats and see what I would happen. I entered at some insane speed and just jammed the brakes hard and tipped it in, the inside rear wheel got light and the ABS kicked in to stop any lock up, I flicked the steering the other way and the car responded instantly and I drove out under full power. I was suitably impressed.

I have never driven a car, let alone a front wheel drive car, that let me do the things I asked of the 3 MPS. Sure the Dynamic Stability Control had a lot to do with the capabilities of the car but even the torque was virtually non existent. If I had $44,000 to spend on a car the Mazda3 MPS would be an easy purchase. The only thing I have my doubts about is driving this thing in the wet. The DSC would either have to curb the fun in an extreme way or you turn it off and take you life in your own non-computerised hands.

Hot Lap

Dick Johnson was also on hand to really show us what you can do with a Mazda3 MPS. And as I already knew, it is capable of a lot. Dick had the DSC switched off and managed to drive the car way quicker than most people could ever go and did this with one arm resting on the console in a very relaxed manner.

Thanks again to Chris for the invite to the event. I had a blast and learnt a few things about these cars that I had never heard about or confirmed things I have read. Now, I wonder how you find out when these events are coming up from other manufacturers...