farmdoc's blog post number 567

Today’s Celebrate Tasmania Day. Its slogans are ‘Tasmania – worth celebrating’ and ‘It’s time to celebrate what’s great about Tasmania’. Today Tasmanians are being exhorted to select from this smorgasbord: think what makes us Tasmanians, celebrate everything good about life in Tasmania, stop and collectively enjoy each others’ company, learn the names of our neighbours, say g’day to them if we already know their names, play cricket in the park, get together for a community BBQ, visit somewhere in Tasmania we’ve never been before, attend a CTD event, and (for reasons unclear to me) print out and build this pinwheel. I’m doing none of these things. I think CTD’s superficial, jingoistic, banal and stupid. It’s a top-down event and not a grassroots one. So someone has an agenda. I wonder if it’s the State Election in March 2010. It makes sense: it’s only a short mental hop from the good things in Tasmania, to re-electing the incumbent government so the good things can continue. It’d be much more productive if Tasmanians spent CTD discussing how to improve Tasmania. But top of that list would be to vote out the pack of pathetic individuals who masquerade as the current government. So that’s not on the agenda. Yesterday I wrote that I don’t go in for herd activities. That puts me in the vast minority among my half million fellow Tasmanians – who will undoubtedly do what they’re told today. More fool them.

farmdoc's blog post number 566

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…
1. Movember began [1]. I’m not growing a mo this Movember. It's not that I don't think men’s health is a good cause. It's just that don’t go in for herd activities.
2. a study revealed that women with masculine names were more successful in their careers than other women. And on average the more masculine the name, the more successful its owner [2]. I apologise to my daughters. That’s one more thing they can blame me for.
3. Victoria’s church-going Governor David de Kretser risked the wrath of fundamentalist Christians by declaring he doesn’t believe the Bible’s account of how God created mankind [3]. Derrrrrrr.
4. in Melbourne a Mr Gappan was handed a $172 fine by tram ticket inspectors in September. Why? Because the tram’s ticket validating machines weren’t working, and so he’d been unable to validate his pre-paid multi-trip ticket. [4] He’s refusing to pay the fine, on the basis he did nothing wrong, i.e. it’s not his responsibility if the validating machines don’t work. Good on you, Mr Gappan.
5. an Age article described how a Murray River farmer’s fertilising his paddocks using his tractor’s exhaust fumes [5]. Big breakthroughs can, and do, occur anywhere.
6. over in the Land of Meg, Bike Week ended. After it did, I came across these items for making bikes and bike riders more visible [6]. You can never be too visible when you’re riding your bike.
7. the Israeli navy seized a ship containing hundreds of tons of weapons en route to the Hezbollah in Lebanon. It took 32 trucks to transport them all from the ship. Yet the Hezbollah and Syria denied the ship was carrying weapons [7]. These people couldn’t tell the truth even if Allah commanded them to.
8. Sweetheart Vivienne continued her media odyssey with aplomb. She’s great interview talent. So congenial and confident. Now for The Launch next Thursday.
Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.