Spotted in Elizabeth Arcade, Brisbane.20 June 2006
12 June 2006
Centrebet Time
Time to check in on our old friend, Centrebet. For the Australia v Japan World Cup match tonight, the Centrebet oracle has Australia down to pay $2.25 for a win, and Japan at $3.20. This surprised me, as I felt that Japan were more likely to take it tonight, but I'm sure these people know better than I in this case.
In other World Cup wagering news, Croatia's not looking too optimistic against Brazil, at $9.00 vs $1.38. Those keen for a shot at a few easy dollars could consider Trinidad & Tobago in their upcoming match against England: a T&T win will see you with $17.00 for every dollar you invest, as opposed to a miserly $1.15 for England.
The real money, of course, is in picking the winner of the Cup itself. Good returns on Togo, Saudi Arabia and Angola ($1001). Australia is sitting on $81 at the time of writing, the same as Croatia but ahead of USA, Japan, Korea, Paraguay (not likely to hear their lovely anthem many more times, it seems), and others.
It'll be interesting to see how the Australian team fare. I'm not too concerned one way or another; international sporting events just don't bring out the flamboyant patriot in me. But I do hope that they make it into the next round for the benefit the publicity and excitement will lend the local game.
On a related note, the lovely Les Murray (the soccer broadcaster, not the poet) made it onto the Queen's Birthday Honours List today, along with Bert Newton; the guy who created Humphey B Bear; Greg Combet; Shane Stone, who deserves one on the strength of his astonishing euthanasia law alone; and Margaret Olley.
In other World Cup wagering news, Croatia's not looking too optimistic against Brazil, at $9.00 vs $1.38. Those keen for a shot at a few easy dollars could consider Trinidad & Tobago in their upcoming match against England: a T&T win will see you with $17.00 for every dollar you invest, as opposed to a miserly $1.15 for England.
The real money, of course, is in picking the winner of the Cup itself. Good returns on Togo, Saudi Arabia and Angola ($1001). Australia is sitting on $81 at the time of writing, the same as Croatia but ahead of USA, Japan, Korea, Paraguay (not likely to hear their lovely anthem many more times, it seems), and others.
It'll be interesting to see how the Australian team fare. I'm not too concerned one way or another; international sporting events just don't bring out the flamboyant patriot in me. But I do hope that they make it into the next round for the benefit the publicity and excitement will lend the local game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a related note, the lovely Les Murray (the soccer broadcaster, not the poet) made it onto the Queen's Birthday Honours List today, along with Bert Newton; the guy who created Humphey B Bear; Greg Combet; Shane Stone, who deserves one on the strength of his astonishing euthanasia law alone; and Margaret Olley.
10 June 2006
One of the aspects of international sporting events I enjoy is hearing the national anthems of the competing countries. Tonight's World Cup match: England v Paraguay. First anthem was England's, God Save The Queen. Urgh. What a dirge. We had to sing it in Queensland of the 1950s, which was the era in which I did my schooling in the 1980s. The English really should consider taking on Rule Britannia officially. Yes, I know it's about Britain rather than England, but in the context of the song it's the same thing. It's full of pomp and bravado, just as an anthem should be.
The atmosphere changed utterly when the Paraguayan anthem started up. Paraguayos, Républica o muerte! translates as Paraguayans, The Republic or Death! and in contrast to the title, was jaunty and fun. The Paraguayans in the crowd were jumping around, belting it out with gusto. Leaves Advance Australia Fair exposed as the shameful, limp, written-for-recorder music that it is. I have anthem envy.
Six minutes in to the match and England has scored already. That David Beckham, for all his silly tabloid courting, really can play football. He's come out onto the field with his hair all styled, and I can't help but worry about him. I have on several occasions raised a sweat in summer only to have any hair product I'm wearing run into my eyes and sting like all hell. Maybe he has a No Tears formula product?
The atmosphere changed utterly when the Paraguayan anthem started up. Paraguayos, Républica o muerte! translates as Paraguayans, The Republic or Death! and in contrast to the title, was jaunty and fun. The Paraguayans in the crowd were jumping around, belting it out with gusto. Leaves Advance Australia Fair exposed as the shameful, limp, written-for-recorder music that it is. I have anthem envy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Six minutes in to the match and England has scored already. That David Beckham, for all his silly tabloid courting, really can play football. He's come out onto the field with his hair all styled, and I can't help but worry about him. I have on several occasions raised a sweat in summer only to have any hair product I'm wearing run into my eyes and sting like all hell. Maybe he has a No Tears formula product?
Wrong Dam Question
So much to write about: World Cup, nuclear "debate" hotting up, my recent movie fiesta, why the queen has so many birthdays and what she might make of it all, the Suburban Safari re-design ... but let's chat tonight instead about water.
We're having our first modest rain here in, I'm guessing, a couple of months. At 9.4mm, it's hardly a drought-breaker, but it will make a difference to the lawns and gardens around town. Being south-facing, our place hasn't done too badly; the lawns on our side of the street are still green, whereas our north-facing neighbours across the street have been kicking up dust for a couple of weeks now. The dams are at between 30-35% of their capacity, and soon we'll be stepping up to the next level of restrictions. The topic is a hot barbecue stopper at the moment.
There are a number of solutions being suggested to alleviate the current "crisis" and secure a wet and splashy future for south east Queensland: a new dam on the Mary River, desalination, and *gasp!!* recycling water. I think we're asking the wrong question. Rather than asking, how can we get more water, we need to be asking, how can we get people to start thinking about water differently?
We are very indulged in this country.I see a lot of water wastage going on in my travels around the city. So often I see toilets with a half-flush button that doesn't work. In fact, it's so frequent that I can only guess that it's consciously done as a concession to the delicate sensibilities of shoppers who may not recover from finding a small shred of paper in the bowl. Before the last round of watering restrictions, commercial buildings with inbuilt watering systems often had them running through the hottest part of the day, with spraying risers putting their fine mist up into the air, to be whisked away by the wind, or watering the footpath, pedestrians and gutters.
I have never had to rely on tank water anywhere I've lived, but I have spent time in many places that do. The approach to water usage is completely different. Toilets are flushed only if Mr Hanky pays a visit. Showers are brief: if using soap or hair washing, the water goes on to soap up, then is turned off while you scrub. It's then flicked on again to rinse. That's it. None but the most hardy plants make it into the garden, and watering is done with a watering can. Taps are never left running while teeth cleaning, vegetable washing, or hand washing. When doing laundry, the rinse water from the last load is put back into the machine for the wash cycle of the next, and all of it goes into the garden once it's been used. It's not that hard, really. How much difference would the population converting to this behaviour make to the Brisbane region?
I don't know how much water the average household uses per week, but I would imagine that doing some of the above and installing a rain water tank would make a significant difference. But we're extremely addicted to convenience, and often won't countenance the idea of making a small effort that makes the lot of everyone that bit better. As the Dead Kennedys once said, give me convenience or give me death. But the fact is, no matter how tough the water situation becomes here, we're doing a hell of a lot better than people in many parts of the world. We need to take some responsibility for our water use. But are the people of Brisbane likely to put up with the cold-sweat terror of pee sitting in their toilet bowls?
We're having our first modest rain here in, I'm guessing, a couple of months. At 9.4mm, it's hardly a drought-breaker, but it will make a difference to the lawns and gardens around town. Being south-facing, our place hasn't done too badly; the lawns on our side of the street are still green, whereas our north-facing neighbours across the street have been kicking up dust for a couple of weeks now. The dams are at between 30-35% of their capacity, and soon we'll be stepping up to the next level of restrictions. The topic is a hot barbecue stopper at the moment.
There are a number of solutions being suggested to alleviate the current "crisis" and secure a wet and splashy future for south east Queensland: a new dam on the Mary River, desalination, and *gasp!!* recycling water. I think we're asking the wrong question. Rather than asking, how can we get more water, we need to be asking, how can we get people to start thinking about water differently?
We are very indulged in this country.I see a lot of water wastage going on in my travels around the city. So often I see toilets with a half-flush button that doesn't work. In fact, it's so frequent that I can only guess that it's consciously done as a concession to the delicate sensibilities of shoppers who may not recover from finding a small shred of paper in the bowl. Before the last round of watering restrictions, commercial buildings with inbuilt watering systems often had them running through the hottest part of the day, with spraying risers putting their fine mist up into the air, to be whisked away by the wind, or watering the footpath, pedestrians and gutters.
I have never had to rely on tank water anywhere I've lived, but I have spent time in many places that do. The approach to water usage is completely different. Toilets are flushed only if Mr Hanky pays a visit. Showers are brief: if using soap or hair washing, the water goes on to soap up, then is turned off while you scrub. It's then flicked on again to rinse. That's it. None but the most hardy plants make it into the garden, and watering is done with a watering can. Taps are never left running while teeth cleaning, vegetable washing, or hand washing. When doing laundry, the rinse water from the last load is put back into the machine for the wash cycle of the next, and all of it goes into the garden once it's been used. It's not that hard, really. How much difference would the population converting to this behaviour make to the Brisbane region?
I don't know how much water the average household uses per week, but I would imagine that doing some of the above and installing a rain water tank would make a significant difference. But we're extremely addicted to convenience, and often won't countenance the idea of making a small effort that makes the lot of everyone that bit better. As the Dead Kennedys once said, give me convenience or give me death. But the fact is, no matter how tough the water situation becomes here, we're doing a hell of a lot better than people in many parts of the world. We need to take some responsibility for our water use. But are the people of Brisbane likely to put up with the cold-sweat terror of pee sitting in their toilet bowls?
5 June 2006
666, The Number of the Clothing Crisis
Well, to all of you who've been reading Suburban Safari over the past eighteen months or so, thank you and goodbye. Tomorrow, being 06.06.06, is Armageddon, so I guess that's about it for all of us. Personally, I'm at a loss for what to wear: is Armageddon the hellfire-and-brimstone one, or the flood one, or the freezing over one? I can never remember. I'd always thought being raised agnostic was pretty right on, but now my lack of biblical knowledge might be doing me a disservice. I wonder if Mrs Beeton has anything to say on the subject?
Father Bob's take on the matter.
...and Peter Beattie's take.
Father Bob's take on the matter.
...and Peter Beattie's take.
31 May 2006
Age is a State of... Enrolment
It’s a funny thing: often the reality of a situation is very different to how you imagine it to be before you get there. This situation I’m referring to today is university.
Before I started I’d imagined it to be a very serious pursuit. Very adult. Contrast that impression with my day on campus today: I spent the morning in a lecture discussing internet abbreviations, online chat, and then the lecturer projected her computer screen onto the wall and we put a few of those "I feel lucky" gags through Google. This counts towards my attendance and participation mark.
Then, into the library to finish up my essay on Blade Runner (of all things). Keeping in the spirit of childishness, I gave a silent “yippee!” when I managed to squeeze the word “androcentric” in to the text. Given the topic, it wasn’t too hard.
Over lunch, with two other students, I finished writing the little play we have to perform for our French assessment tomorrow, in which we play make believe at an imaginary birthday party. It is for Benoît. He is a travel agent. He is very nice. The conversation covers pressing topics as the size of the host’s cat, and the weather. “Il fait froid ici!” “Oui, il fait mauvais aujourd’hui!” And all this time I'd thought that academia was for grown ups. No wonder I'm getting good marks.
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22 May 2006
We're Out of Tissues
And my brain keeps on humming,
And my nose keeps on running,
And my body keeps on aching,
And my voice keeps on breaking,
And my throat keeps on itching,
And yes I will keep on bitching...
...when I can draw a decent breath.
You know this could end in my death!
Yes, I know it's just a cold
but it's really taken hold!
Why, yes, I'd love a cup of tea!
(How did you know?)
And my nose keeps on running,
And my body keeps on aching,
And my voice keeps on breaking,
And my throat keeps on itching,
And yes I will keep on bitching...
...when I can draw a decent breath.
You know this could end in my death!
Yes, I know it's just a cold
but it's really taken hold!
Why, yes, I'd love a cup of tea!
(How did you know?)
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