Category: Uncategorized

Tit for Tat. Take that!

On the internet I found this video:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/06/cab-vs-pedicab-road-rage_n_311303.html

It lies at the centre of the circled wagons of pop culture. It was linked to from bikesnobnyc. It was filmed outside of Dave Letterman’s studio. And of course the Fox video cameras were there because of the recent Letterman sex-blackmail scandal.

Cab Vs. Pedicab_ Road Rage Caught On Camera (VIDEO)

It documents a road rage incident, wherein two boofheads in baseball caps bash and berate each other to an accompanying cacophony of censorious bleeps. Continue reading Tit for Tat. Take that!

Liberal leadership

When Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says Malcolm Turnbull has his “absolute unqualified support“, you know it’s only a matter of moments before more political blood is spilled.


Continue reading Liberal leadership

I haven’t decided yet…

Why are people so full of opinions? People froth at the mouth if there is a challenge to their views on on Labour’s tax policy, the Liberal’s leadership troubles, the Republican’s media strategy, the Democrat’s foreign policy or the Western Bulldogs forward line policy.


Continue reading I haven’t decided yet…

The zoo

I go past the Melbourne Zoo occasionally. It takes up a lot of space. The elephants make loud noises. It smells. I feel bad that all the animals are locked up in there. And I imagine that it is publicly funded.

I kind of felt like the zoo was a thing of the past. Like faxes, fixed-line phones, and the p-far.

When Youtube is delivering lions, tigers and bears in their own habitat (Not to mention pandas and bandicoots) why would you bother locking up a whole pack of wild beasts, killing goats by the truckload to keep them fed and risking the escape scenario everyone who lives nearby secretly hopes for? Continue reading The zoo

Travel Disasters: Siberia 2003

In 2003, I made a trip outside Australia. I was 21. I visited a few different places. The story I want to tell happens in June, in Siberia. Continue reading Travel Disasters: Siberia 2003

iSnack Two Point – Oh dear…

The Kraft company has released a new Vegemite product made of cream cheese and Vegemite.

The product is a high-risk variation on the classic Vegemite recipe – a Vegemite you keep in the fridge. Apparently items kept in the fridge get used more than things in the cupboard, so this creamy new guy should improve sales!

To improve awareness, Kraft ran a competition to name the new product. And the result they chose from thousands of entries?

My lord. Continue reading iSnack Two Point – Oh dear…

The Grand Final

Tomorrow is the Grand Final. If you live in Melbourne you already know. It’s all over the newspapers, the news, the radio and now the internet too.

Two teams face off. The Geelong Football Club – the Cats

The St Kilda Football Club – the Saints


Continue reading The Grand Final

A long, green Big Apple

I was not browsing the Christian Science Monitor the other day.  I did not find the following article on it:

http://features.csmonitor.com/books/2009/09/16/green-metropolis/

(Ok, ok.  I was, I did, and then I lied about it. I’m sorry.  Hush now.)

It’s an article about how New York City is environmentally friendly. Continue reading A long, green Big Apple

Little Red do ACDC’s ‘Long Way to the Top’

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/tv/video/lav.htm

Little Red are a Melbourne doo-wop quintet.


Continue reading Little Red do ACDC’s ‘Long Way to the Top’

GDP?

GDP doesn’t make us happy. Economics denies the enjoyment we get from stuff that is free: sunsets, conversation, going for a walk.

“Judging progress by GDP is like judging an orchestra by how loud it is.”
Continue reading GDP?

Krugman – what’s wrong with economics

I studied economics.  Then I worked at Treasury.  So I should know about economics.  But instead I find it confusing.

There are two types of things I find confusing, normally.  One: things that are complicated.  The other: things that don’t make sense.

Fortunately, Paul Krugman has just written an article in the New York Times which confirms what I hoped.  Turns out large parts of economics don’t make sense! Krugman has good evidence for how ridiculous some economic theory is, in the form of the financial and economic crises we’re having.

This makes me feel heaps better about not getting it. The article goes through some of the biggest, dumbest ideas in contemporary economics and calmly explodes them. Continue reading Krugman – what’s wrong with economics

Chopsticks

I lived in China for about 9 months in 2003.  Before I went, I was familiar with chopsticks.  I knew how to use them and I appreciated their novelty.  I got compliments from the locals.  Ni hui yong kuaizi! (You can use chopsticks!)

But I firmly believed that chopsticks were a rudimentary way to eat food.   Chopsticks, I would have told you, were to cutlery as the horse drawn cart is to the car.  I thought the Chinese just hadn’t invented the knife and fork.


Continue reading Chopsticks

Confession time

When I have a little time on my hands, I play Scrabble.   I do not play in real life, because my insistence on the status of words like taeniae, st, and yin makes me unpleasant to normal people.

Continue reading Confession time

A ‘greatest hits’ compilation

Because it’s never too soon to have a self-indulgent retrospective.

From the WordPress statistics page.  Hits per article, from most-read, to mostly ignored…

About _____________________________________112
Coffee Safari ________________________________77
Inglourious Basterds – a review ____________________72
Mt Hotham – a book review _______________________62
Travel Disasters – the rat. _________________________62 **
In which your correspondent is horrified ______________55
Fairtrade _____________________________________52
Accents eh, bro? ________________________________51
Travel disasters ________________________________50
Costco – A review _______________________________49
Keeping a lid on it? _____________________________47
Intelligent delivery? ____________________________45
Something-something and over it _________________44
Garbledy-gook _______________________________41
Are we dense? ________________________________38
The Best of all Time ___________________________37
America’s guns _______________________________35
A new multi-part series _________________________35
Berkeley – A good place to cycle ___________________33
Regrets, I’ve had a few _________________________32
lolcats: threat or menace? _______________________31 ^
Snowclones _________________________________30
Hello, Aliens! ________________________________30
Unsafe is Safe? _______________________________30
Lost in Translation ____________________________30
Pareidolia on toast ____________________________29
Dumbocracy ________________________________27
This train is about to depart… ____________________26
Godwin Grech and political spin __________________24
Because Food Miles Don’t Go Far Enough. ___________23
A New Kind of Humility ________________________21
Do copulating puppets shock? ____________________21
With great power comes great responsibility__________21
How about this weather, eh! _____________________20
Slumdog Millionaire: A Review Overview ____________19
Verbing weirds language. ________________ ______18
On Naivety _________________________________17
Don’t like the law? Leave._______________________17
Futurology __________________________________17
Vigilantes __________________________________14
Out for the count______________________________14
Twitter! Huh! What is it good for? _________________10
More Micronations! ___________________________8#
Fancy food __________________________________7
The RACV and the Aston Martin___________________7*
bikesnobnyc _________________________________2

** nb. Some readers may not have read the full 1900 words.

^ Most overrated  – this one inspired a phone call from an unnamed reader who advised me ‘Be less…average!’

# Unfairly ignored in my humble opinion.

* Removed due to overwhelming popular demand!