Merry Christmas

My gift to you - a redesigned site.

We're off to see the Morrows in South Australia.

See you in 2006.

It's Hot

Kangaroo and Juliet

In honor of the Kangaroo's new culinary name, Australus, I have penned the following (slightly plagiarized) short play:

Juliet:
What's in a name? That which we call a Kangaroo
By any other word would smell as tasty.
So Kangaroo would, were he not Kangaroo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Kangaroo, doff thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Kangaroo:
I take thee at thy word.
Call me but Australus, and I'll be new baptized;
Henceforth I never will be Kangaroo.

FIN

Snack Attack Mo**** Fu****!!

This is now ubiquitous, and represents the first funny thing to come from SNL in years. "You can call us Aaron Burr, from the way we're droppin' Hamiltons" - Sublime

But, I'm still partial to Star Wars Gangsta Rap

Courtesy Newley & Tony

Australians on Race

Howard got it wrong on racism, poll finds

The Deneumont

Another weekend of racial riots failed to materialize this past weekend, due to sharp rhetoric from the New South Wales Premier and heaps of police on Sydney's beaches. The police declared most of the beaches around Sydney "No-Go" areas, and although they didn't turn anyone away, few showed up. Crowds at most of the area beaches were about an order of magnitude below normal, and some of those that did make their way to the beaches had to endure traffic stops and vehicle searches. Nevertheless, arrests were made, largely involving young dipshits. The most publicized arrest involved two teenagers, taken off of a bus en route to Bondi Beach, carrying two 1-liter bottles of gasoline (aka, petrol). In their court appearance they claimed to be busing in the gasoline from Liverpool (40 km away) for a mate who'd run out of gas in Bondi.

Conan Jailed

Conan the Barbarian (aka, Conan the Destoyer) was allegedly one of the many individuals arrested over the weekend by police in the continuing crackdown on racial violence in Sydney's south. Conan was carrying multiple weapons, pictured here, which were immediately confiscated.

More Hoff

Because I can't resist, here's a link to the Hoff's current ad campaign for Pepsi in Australia (get yourself a Hoff screensaver or desktop image).

Also, check out the Hasselhoff Ready for Action tour website. Brilliant!

Christmas with The Hoff

Saturday evening, Uta and I attended Carols in the Domain, one of Sydney's annual Christmas traditions (though repeated in various forms throughout the land), featuring a herd of B-list celebrities in a Christmas variety show. We spent three delightful hours people watching, eating Bratwurst und Broetchen (ohne Sauerkraut) served by authentic Germans, and listening to pop-revisionist performances of classic Christmas songs. The headliner was none other than David "Knight Rider" Hasselhoff (singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, if I recall), who seems to have taken up semi-permanent residence in Australia, much to the delight of a few.

Combat Wombat

. . . best name for a hip-hop act ever!!!

And yes, they're Australian.

One Year Anniversary

The Dark Side

Sydney's seaside suburbs turned ugly over the past week as tensions between white and Middle Eastern Australians spilled over - complete with pro-Aussie (or anti-immigrant, depending on one's perspective) rallies, vandalism, violence, and riot police. The unrest kicked off last weekend, when two lifeguards from the Cronulla life-saving station were attacked by a gang of Middle Eastern youths, and an act for which some appear to hold the entire immigrant population of South Sydney accountable. A week later, thousands of white Australians arrived at Cronulla to "take back their beach", leading to summary attacks on anyone resembling someone of Middle Eastern descent. And since one good turn deserves another, gangs of Middle Eastern youths took to the streets last night vandalizing vehicles and attacking individuals in neighboring communities. The images on the news were a bit surreal and hard to reconcile with what is generally a very friendly country, but demonstrate that, like just about everywhere on Earth, one doesn't have to dig too deep to find resentment.

Update 13/12/05: The show goes on. . .Muslim youths rallied around a mosque last night in anticipation of retaliatory strikes. When those didn't occur, they appear to have gotten bored and went on another spree of vandalism. Meanwhile, Australia's politicians are red with embarrassment - this not being the kind of publicity Australia wants, particularly with the Commonwealth Games coming up in March. Much effort is being made to present the violence as something other than racially-based, despite the overt racial rhetoric. Meanwhile, calls continue to go out this week for a "race war", white nationalists are climbing over each other to take credit for the "social uprising", and allegedly Melbourne "patriots" are eager to stage their own little "hate-in". What a bunch of wankers.

Break-Up

Australia seems to have split with the United States over post-2012 international greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. Australia has opted to back Canada's proposal for two more years of discussions toward a post-Kyoto agreement, although OZ is clearly not supportive of the Kyoto-style way of doing business and is increasingly advocating a different "more flexible" approach. Meanwhile, Paula Dobriansky, US under secretary of State has stated, "It is our belief that progress cannot be made through these formalised discussions." While the U.S. chief negotiator, Harlon Watson, stated "Formalized processes. . .are, in fact, negotiations." So, just to translate all this - the U.S. State Department is against any discussions about whether or not there should be further negotiations regarding the potential for another set of post-2012 emissions reductions, because such discussions (when formal) are unproductive and just plain old negotiations in disguise. You know what - it doesn't make any more sense when it's translated. What a bunch of rubbish. So does this suggest a new strategy for the U.S. - informal discussions? I envision a future of climate change pool parties and pub crawls, where negotiators can finally let their hair down and tackle the climate challenge without all the hassle of diplomacy, international law, commitment, responsibility, equity, and compromise that the U.S. State Department finds so objectionable. I'm sure if everyone would just chill out and meet up at Paula's for some cold beers and Yahtzee, we'd get it all sorted in no time.

New Orleans Takes Another Blow

This article in the Washington Post highlights yet another group of victims of Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans' universities.

Thumbsucker

Last night, a bunch of us science types went to see Thumbsucker, a film which I was almost entirely alone in liking. I found quite a number of scenes absolutely hysterical, but I often found myself laughing alone, which made me a bit uncomfortable. We followed the film with dinner at Sweet Basil, a Thai restaurant at the South Yarra/Prahran interface. Dinner was good despite Donna's discovery of glass in her food, which obviously led to some protests on our part.

World Cup 2006: Where Everyone Scores!

A proactive entrepreneur in Berlin appears to have opened Europe's largest brothel in anticipation of millions of World Cup fans looking for entertainment between games.

Rain

After an entire day of pouring rain, such as Melbourne experienced yesterday, you'd think one would be a bit more cautious when driving one's car through areas posted with signs saying "road subject to flooding".

Big Shark

A "monster" shark went shopping for humans along Sydney's famous Bondi beach yesterday, prompting fits of screaming and panic among beachgoers.

Out of Africa

In other climate news, new evidence suggests that climate change may have been one of the driving forces that led to the initial migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa.

With Friends Like These. . .

Newley posted an article re: this poster from Friends of the Earth. Newley's already eloquently covered the issue of oversimplification, but I found something else rather odd. On the FOE website, they have an email campaign associated with this poster that allows you to send a form email to unnamed leaders "at all levels of government" about the dangers of global warming and hurricanes and the various actions that should be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Interestingly, none of those actions include anything to actually reduce human vulnerability to such storms. All the greenhouse gas mitigation in the world would do nothing to reduce the vulnerability of cities like New Orleans to hurricanes. Now I can only assume that FOE knows this, particularly given the fact that in their statement re: Hurricane Katrina, dated September 7th, they attribute the damages in New Orleans to failed flood control measures, and make no mention of global warming whatsoever. So why the mixed messages? Because, I imagine, a campaign featuring deadly megastorms is more sexy and more scary (and thus attracts more donations), than a campaign featuring more robust engineering for flood control projects overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In short, it's about money.

America Rules

As the parties gather once again for the international negotiations associated with the Kyoto Protocol (and its potential offspring), American continues to lead the pack in the Fossil Awards - awarded each day during negotiations by the Climate Action Network to countries taking particularly unproductive or obstructionist stances. America's tally over the years stands at 170, compared to Canada's (#2) 89. Australia makes the top five, with 67.

Hot Springs

Uta and I got out of the city on Sunday for an outing with my CSIRO colleagues to the Mornington Peninsula, and specifically, the relatively new Peninsula Hot Springs, which were allegedly started by a guy who spent years drilling holes in the peninsula in search of hot rocks. We started with lunch (and several drinks) at Leanne's country estate in the peninsula's wine region (which explains the plethora of Italian and German sports cars in the area), and hit the springs at around 5:00 pm, allowing time for all the riff-raff [a phrase which appears to have its origins in Medieval French] to clear off. The springs were indeed hot, no doubt about that. We were given the boot promptly at 7:00 and headed back to Leanne's to pick up where we'd left off with eating and drinking (with some grudge-match table tennis and darts for good measure).

From Russia with Love

Russian squirrel pack 'kills dog'

Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.

W(iggles)TO

Last night, Trade Minister Mark Vaile named The Wiggles as Australia's Exporter of the Year.

Not sure what this says about the status of Australia's economy, or, given the greatest importer of Wiggles gear is the USA, the status of American taste.

Check this out. . .

Click on the image below to see it in motion.

If you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns green.

If you concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating.

Vegemite

For the past two days, my lunch-time companions and I have been discussing the history of Vegemite, or rather, we've been discussing our complete lack of knowledge regarding where such a substance could have come from and postulating as to its origins. Here's the answer:

History of Vegemite

In 1922, Fred Walker (1884-1935) of Melbourne, Australia decided to try to make a special "yeast extract" that would be as delicious as it was nourishing for his Fred Walker Cheese Company to sell. The chief scientist in the company Fred owned was Dr. Cyril P. Callister, and it was Dr. Callister who invented the first Vegemite spread. He used brewer's yeast and blended the yeast extract with ingredients like celery, onion, salt, and a few secret ingredients to make this paste. In 1912, a national competition and a prize of 50 pounds was offered to the winner or winners to name the new product.. The name ‘Vegemite’ was finally chosen from the entries by Fred’s daughter Sheilah .

With its unusual and unique flavor, Vegemite was not an immediate success and sales were slow. In 1928 Vegemite was renamed and registered as Parwill in an attempt to boost its sales and to attract customers of the rival spread Marmite (an English yeast spread that dominated the Australian market sinc 1910). "If Marmite...then Parwill" was the rationale behind Walker's strategy to carve a niche in the market for his spread. The name Parwill and Walker's play on words didn't catch on. It was only sold as Parwill for a short time in Queensland. The name was withdrawn in 1935, and the original name was reinstated.

Earlier, in 1925, Walker had arranged with the Chicago, Illinois firm of James L. Kraft to make processed cheese in Australia. A company called the Kraft Walker Cheese Co. was established alongside Fred Walker and Co. In 1935, Walker used the success of his processed cheese to launch a new campaign to revive Vegemite. The company launched 2-year coupon redemption scheme whereby a jar of Vegemite was given away with every purchase of other products in the Fred Walker Cheese Company. Australians tried the product and loved it. Vegemite was well and truly on the road to success.

Two years later, the company held a poetry competition and once again brought Vegemite into the national spotlight. This time its success the prizes were imported American Pontiac cars. Entries flooded in and sales multiplied.

In 1935, the recipe and manufacturing methods was sold to Kraft Foods and has been wholly owned and made by American companies. In 1939 Vegemite received endorsement from the British Medical Association which allowed doctors to recommend it as a Vitamin B-rich, nutritionally balanced food for patients.

In World War II, soldiers, sailors, and the civilian population of Australia all had Vegemite included in their rations. Soldiers’ Vegemite came in three sizes: seven-pound tins for the platoon, eight-ounce tins for soldiers on the go, and half-ounce rations for behind enemy lines. This war-time demand meant that civilian were limited. Hence, advertisements were run to explain the situation: “Vegemite fights with the men up north! If you are one of those who don’t need Vegemite medicinally, then thousands of invalids are asking you to deny yourself of it for the time being.”

The main change to the original recipe in recent years has been to reduce the salt content from 10% to 8%.

Crawl Out of Shape III

Sunday morning, we ran the final in the so-called Spring into Shape race series. We opted to conduct an experiment to see if avoiding exercise for a few weeks would improve our time. I think we've got to reject that hypothesis. We finished in 45:53, which is somewhat of a surprise, given we both felt awful during the race. This time was a few minutes off Race #2's time of 43:52, but allegedly still ahead of Race #1's time of 46:14. The only amusement we got out of the event was the long list of improbable people who passed us, including three grandmothers and two pregnant women, not to mention the blind opossum and the three-legged dog.

Happy Birthday

Once again, the Frankston line has proven to be an excellent place for meeting some of Australia's more interesting characters. I alluded to my encounter with Repo Man and Hip-Hop Boy in a previous post - both good stories, but ones I'm too lazy to tell. Friday night provided another good story, however, as I encountered Donna and three other young women with names ending in "ie" (insert whatever generic name you like, I forget). "_ie" was celebrating her 19th birthday, and thus as I entered Aspendale station, I was urged by the others to pay my respects with a cheery "Happy Birthday". I did so, which prompted squeals of "YOU'RE AN AMERICAN!!!!". I'm not sure when anyone got this excited about meeting an American, but I'm fairly sure it was prior to George Bush taking office. In any case, I'm also confident that the high praise I received for being a yank was almost entirely a function of the large amounts of alcohol the young ladies had consumed (and continued to consume while waiting for the train). Another of the "_ie" girls had just returned from South Carolina, where I'm sure she blended right in, as the culture of many parts of eastern Port Philip Bay is rather similar to that of coastal South Carolina). The girls were on their way to Mentone, I believe, to spend their Friday night celebrating "_ie's" birthday at a local club, so I had the pleasure of their company for a few stops. I was quizzed on all things American (e.g., Disneyland, southern accents, television, celebrities) and American impressions of Australians - I answered "yes" when asked if I thought Australians drink too much (the ladies offering themselves as a case-in-point), but "no" when asked if I thought all Australians were uneducated bogans.

I'm starting to believe that Aspendale station will be the source of the vast majority of my amusing anecdotes involving Australia.

Happy 19th "_ie", wherever you are. . .

Priestly Cup

Yesterday was the annual Priestly Cup round-robin soccer tournament and barbie. Four teams took the field for another manifestation of allegedly old rivalries among the climate folks at CSIRO, Monash Uni, Melbourne Uni, and the Bureau of Met. My initial optimism was crushed after a sudden, last-minute epidemic of the "better things to do" left us hard pressed to field a team. My spirits dipped lower when I arrived on site and heard quite a few British and European accents among our competition. And I also wasn't quite used to playing amidst swarms of flies [seriously, Australia has a fly problem. It's kind of gross.] We gave it a good go, but fell 2-1 and 2-0 during the first two games, but we held the juggernaut of Monash Uni scoreless despite their triumph over the other two teams. We then ate hot sausages (and a few flies, no doubt) and drank cold beer.

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey gobbled up in 12 minutes: Woman crowned gobbling champion

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A day before millions of Americans sit down to eat traditional Thanksgiving dinners, a Virginia woman grabbed the world turkey-eating title on Wednesday by gobbling down a whole roast bird in 12 minutes.

Naked Man Dies In Jump From Downtown Office

From the Washington Post

A naked man darted from a sport-utility vehicle into a downtown Washington office building at lunchtime yesterday and then jumped to his death from the eighth floor, officials said.

The man double-parked in the 1000 block of 15th Street NW about noon, bolted from his still-running gray Jeep Cherokee, dashed past a crowd on the street and ran into the lobby of an office building, witnesses said.

The man pushed his way into one of the offices, where he said "excuse me" several times while charging toward a window, witnesses said. He smashed the glass and jumped through the window, falling onto a parapet between two buildings. Some downtown workers saw him fall.

Before it became apparent what was taking place, the city's parking enforcers reacted to the abandoned SUV, which had leather seats, Maryland plates and no sign of clothing inside. They slapped a ticket on the windshield.

The Show Must Go On. . .

. . .even if no one watches.

Australian Idol wrapped up its third season last night with a grand finale at the Sydney Opera House. Despite the hype, many appear to have finally caught on to the fact that the show is rubbish - viewing of this season's final was down 43% compared to last season. Possible explanations: it appears Australia's talent has already shown signs of depeletion after three seasons. Plus with copycat shows popping up, the public may have finally decided enough is enough. Nevertheless, another season is scheduled. Joy.

Oh, and the winner was some girl from Bendigo.

Bush To Increase Funding For Hope-Based Initiatives

From The Onion (November 23, 2005 | Issue 41•47)

WASHINGTON, DC—President Bush announced today that he will sign a bill providing an additional $2.8 billion for private organizations that emphasize the importance of hoping for change.

Bush presents his plan to fund organizations that hope for change.
"This bill acknowledges the immeasurable role of hope in envisioning a better world for everyone," Bush said during a press conference. "Starting today, I ask all Americans to hope together as one nation that the difficult problems that grip our nation will go away someday."

The president's move will help direct federal funds to such groups as the National Hope Foundation, which has been hoping for a cure for cancer for nearly two decades.

"There are many in our country who are without hope," Bush said. "Yet there are many respected organizations in America that are actively hoping things get better. This program will assist these organizations in obtaining government grants, which will allow them to continue the important hoping that must be done."

Among the programs likely to receive funding is Project Hope You Don't Get Sick, a non-profit organization hoping that over 45 million Americans receive the proper health care they need.

Dream Job United, another likely recipient, is a widely acclaimed program in which the ill-prepared and uneducated are trained to hope for job interviews at top companies.

Another project slated for assistance in is a Louisiana-based teen-pregnancy reduction program, in which volunteers hope teens abstain from intercourse.

Under the bill, wish-based initiatives will also be eligible for increased funding. Dozens of independent wishful-thinking foundations, such as America Wishes Things Were Better, expect to receive grants to fund distribution of pennies, wishbones, and birthday candles.

Those with wishes and hopes applauded the president's move, saying that faith alone cannot rectify the nation's social ills.

"Faith-based problem-solving is noble, but we should not discount the power of hope," said veteran hoper Howard Thorndike, who heads the Please Oh Please Institute, a Houston-based wish tank. "'Hail Mary' strategies, for example, are a part of the fabric of our nation, from the football field to the boardroom, and our government ignores such traditions at its peril."

Bush echoed Thorndike's sentiments. "As your president, I have seen firsthand what hoping can do," he said. "I have heard stories of decent people trapped under piles of rubble, and I have hoped that they would be rescued. And eventually, many were. Recently, powerful storms and destructive hurricanes ravaged some of our great cities. I hope that you will join me in wishing that we do not get hit by any more of those."

Bush added: "Laura and I hope every night that good things will happen for our great country. My fellow Americans, I call on you to do the same."

November

Much of the month has come and gone without me writing a damn thing - largely due to my absence last week from the office. Here's what's been happening:

1)A woman on a flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane attempted to step out of the plane for a cigarette

2)I met "Repo Man" and "Hip-Hop Boy" (on separate days) while waiting for trains in Aspendale Station

3)I attended Greenhouse 2005 and the Priestly Workshop

4)We saw Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

5)Uta represented her company on the tennis court – played well and downed a few opponents, but wasn't able to bring home gold.

6)I watched some zookeepers feed lions

7)Uta’s sister Katrin ended her vacation and returned to Munich

8)Australia’s Wheat Board has become one more in the long list of global companies involved in Iraq’s oil-for-food scandal

9)Model Michelle Leslie was released from Indonesian jail after serving 3 months for drug possession and almost immediately dropped all pretences of being a Muslim. She's now the favorite target of the Australian media - perhaps a fate worse than prison

10)We attended a cocktail party thrown by one of my colleagues

11)While out with Uta's Capgemini crew, I investigated how many Australian drinks it takes for me to incapacitate myself - about the same as in the States, despite my attempt to drink backwards

12)I did an interview for the ABC program “Four Corners”, to air sometime in January (?)

13)I got a raise (along with every other CSIRO employee)

14)I had drinks at the Belgian Beer Café

15)We finalized our travel plans for our South Australian Christmas (we’re unlikely to see any snow)

16)Australia’s annual celebration of youthful excess and poor judgment is underway as the “Schoolies” invade the Gold Coast

17)The Socceroos (crap, what a horrible name for a team) defeated Uruguay to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1974

18) We paid another visit to Der Raum, our friendly neighborhood German/American fusion cocktail lounge

19) Melbourne has erected the town Christmas tree in Federation Square - it's aluminum (hey - bushfire season is here you know)

Raid II

France may be the current leader in civil unrest at the moment, but sparks flew in Melbourne yesterday as the various suspects apprehended during Australia's terror raids appeared in court. Several angry youths showed up in support of their comrades, only to declare a minor jihad on Australia's media. The downside of picking a fight with television cameramen is that they tend to get it all on tape.

IR Reform

Australia's Labor and Liberal parties are currently engaged in a fierce battle over the Howard government's new Industrial Relations laws. The IR laws govern employee rights, which Liberals have argued are an unnecessary burden on employers and the Australian economy. Meanwhile, Labor counters that the laws are a hand-out to big business and threaten to undermine the wages, benefits, and job security of Australia's workers. Labor members have been using the talking point that the new IR laws will create an "American style working poor." A bit harsh, but perhaps fair - Australia's minimum wage stands at $467.40 per week or $12.30 per hour, compared with $5.15 per hour in the U.S. Both parties are spending millions on ad campaigns to influence public opinion, and Labor has its issue for the next election.

Raid

Alleged potential terrorists have been rounded up in Sydney and Melbourne in several police raids. The raids come one week after the announcement of "credible" terrorist threats in Australia and new legislation broadening the power of police in handling terrorist investigations.

Saturday

With Uta seemingly forever in Sydney, I joined up with Giovanni (aka, G-man) for some neighborhood bar hopping. We started at the patio in the Public House, before it become a bit too stuffy with an excess of fancy people in search of post-race refreshment (G-man in particular found the race fans somewhat distasteful, referring to horse racing as "the lowest sport known to man"). We then moved next door to the more working class beer garden at The Swan, until a drunkard put us on the outs with the bartender. We subsequently headed down the street to the newly renovated Richmond Club Hotel, where we stayed for several hours.

Poor Fitty

The man is still trying to keep him down. . .

Cricket Season

Cricket season is well underway here, and for those of you in a non-cricket oriented nation, have no fear - the game is only a Sony Playstation away.

Shoes are Your Friends

With Spring comes the return of another curious Australian phenomenon. As the temperatures rise, the shoes come off, and a large number of people can be found roaming the streets sans footwear. Whether this is a springtime rite of passage to toughen one's disposition for the long, hot summer or an attempt to develop a better relationship with the Earth, I don't know. Personally, given all the dangerous things that lie at ground level here, I'm contemplating having boots permanently attached to my feet.

Wildlife

I've decided to write a book entitled, Things in Australia that Won't Hurt You. It shouldn't take long to write, given that the entire book will consist on one word: Koalas (although there will be a footnote warning that although mostly harmless, these cuddly creatures can have a nasty disposition).

Everything else, however, is quite dangerous. Case and point - last week, I was enjoying lunch out in the sunny garden located at our office. At the time, I was engaged in conversation, at which point something was said that was either hysterically funny, or patently absurd. Whatever the cause, I ended up falling backward off the bench I was sitting on. [Now it should be noted that this qualified as an occupational safety and health "incident", but I declined to fill out the appropriate paperwork.] In any case, falling backwards while seated at a height of about 18 inches is typically not cause for concern, especially when one has a nice plush lawn of grass to break one's fall. However, I instinctively put my hands out to further augment by descent. As my hands made contact with the ground, I became acutely aware that the grass within our garden here at CSIRO is unlike anything I'm used to from the states. You may be familiar with the expression "blades of grass". In this case, this is a very apt description. Whatever strange form of low-lying vegetation I landed on pierced the skin on my hands in about a dozen places, leaving them looking like a pair of pin cushions. Undoubtedly my wounds were also infected with some strange slow-acting, necrotic poison and it's only a matter of time before I swell up and die.

In the meantime, spring here in Australia brings the return of other types of wildlife, largely in the form of small winged creatures that will pester you ceaselessly and crawl into any and every orifice you present. Some people call these things flies. I call them Satan.

Sociobiology

A recent study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences provides a sociobiological excuse for the fixation of males on the physical characteristics of women - they're just trying to maximize reproductive fitness:

Facial appearance is a cue to oestrogen levels in women

M.J. Law Smith A1, D.I. Perrett A1, B.C. Jones A1, R.E. Cornwell A1, F.R. Moore A1, D.R. Feinberg A1, L.G. Boothroyd A1, S.J. Durrani A1, M.R. Stirrat A1, S. Whiten A2, R.M. Pitman A2, S.G. Hillier A3

A1 University of St Andrews School of Psychology St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
A2 University of St Andrews School of Medicine St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK
A3 University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Biology Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK

Abstract:

Although many accounts of facial attractiveness propose that femininity in women's faces indicates high levels of oestrogen, there is little empirical evidence in support of this assumption. Here, we used assays for urinary metabolites of oestrogen (oestrone-3-glucuronide, E1G) and progesterone (pregnanediol-3-glucuronide, P3G) to investigate the relationship between circulating gonadal hormones and ratings of the femininity, attractiveness and apparent health of women's faces. Positive correlations were observed between late follicular oestrogen and ratings of femininity, attractiveness and health. Positive correlations of luteal progesterone and health and attractiveness ratings were marginally significant. Ratings of facial attributions did not relate to hormone levels for women wearing make-up when photographed. There was no effect of sex of rater on the relationships between oestrogen and ratings of facial appearance. These findings demonstrate that female facial appearance holds detectable cues to reproductive health that are considered attractive by other people.

Alito

I received an email today from Progress for America, asking me to please donate $25 (or more) to help support the nomination of Alito to the Supreme Court. In the email, it was stated that "the Left is planning to break with tradition and fight the President's Supreme Court nominee."

Tradition? Must be a new tradition, given that it was the right that just torpedoed the Miers nomination.

I think I'll save my $25 for the ACLU - looks like they'll be needing all the help they can get.

By the way, isn't Alito a brand of breath mint?

News from the Heartland

To find out the latest news from the middle of Australia, check out Alice Springs News

Miss Seventeen

There was a segment on Good Morning America yesterday (yes, we even get GMA, but it airs here between 5 and 7 am and its a day behind) about MTV's new reality show Miss Seventeen.

MTV describes its new reality TV show, Miss Seventeen as follows:

"Miss Seventeen puts 17 accomplished and ambitious young women in a Manhattan loft to compete in weekly character-testing challenges, all under the watchful eye of Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein. The winning girl will receive a prize package including a college scholarship and a paid internship at Seventeen. None of the contestants are strangers to success, but will they be able to keep their cool when the stakes get high?"

Uh, let me guess. . . no? Sounds like hell.

In carrying out this research, I found a website that demonstrates that the only thing more inane than reality TV is what happens behind the scenes. I'm sad to report to all of you that the scale on the Biggest Loser is allegedly fake. Bummer.

Avalon

Katrin (who arrived Thursday) and I flew out to Sydney Friday evening. Taking advantage of cheap airfare on Jetstar, we opted for a flight out of Avalon airport (rather than Melbourne's main airport of Tullamarine). This necessitated an hour long bus ride to the west of town toward Geelong, which included a stop in Werribee to pick-up an additional passenger. That passenger was initially missing, but after some phone calls he was eventually located in the TAB next to the bus station - apparently he'd decided to have a beer and play a few slots while waiting for his ride. We eventually arrived at Avalon and were a bit surprised to find that there were no planes. Anywhere. No one else seemed concerned, however, so we just checked-in at the shack/airport terminal and grabbed a bite to eat. Sure enough, a plane did eventually come along and took us off to Sydney, although we remained perplexed as to why an entire airport exists to service what appears to be a single plane. In any case, Avalon now goes down in my book as the smallest commercial airport I've ever seen. In comparison, the airports of Newport News, Virginia, Bloomington, Illinois, Key West, Florida, Aspen, Colorado, and San Andreas, Colombia are gigantic.

Greenpeace Attacks Coral Reef

Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior II recently declared war on a coral reef as it ran aground due to allegedly faulty navigation charts.

Hat-Trick for Diva

For the third year in a row, Makybe Diva has won the Melbourne Cup, the first horse ever to achieve such a milestone. Questions are being asked as to whether the legacy of the Diva(who promptly retired from racing after the victory) will surpass that of Phar Lap, a beloved icon of Australian horse racing. As I was once again in Sydney, I didn't catch the race, although at only three minutes and 19 seconds, it was pretty easy to miss. What couldn't be missed, however, was the plethora of truly tasteless dresses the women of Australia donned to commemorate the event. Even in Sydney, the fashion display was in full gear. I'm quite sure many an Australian dame went home last night with blistered feet and/or sunburned cleavage (particularly in Melbourne where race day temperatures climbed to 31C).

Back of the Bus

Parks
Originally uploaded by BLP.

Carnival

It's racing season in Victoria - horse racing that is. For the past several weeks, Victoria's citizens have been dressing up in fancy duds and heading to the track for a day of binge drinking and gambling. It all culminates in the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday, which is a state holiday for Victoria. The racing appears to take a back seat to the fashion spectacle - as far as I can tell, the entire season is an excuse for women to purchase dresses and hats that are entirely inappropriate for any other other occassion. Due to the high cost, the mobs of people, and the fact that we'll be in Sydney, we won't be able to attend this year's Melbourne Cup or any of the preceeding races. There's always next year. . .

Back from Sydney

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Originally uploaded by BLP.

I returned from Sydney Sunday night to spend a few days in Melbourne before picking up Uta's sister, Katrin, and heading back to Sydney on Friday for another long weekend.

I spent Friday in Sydney checking out (in the rain) its more famous sights - the Opera house, Sydney Harbour Bridge, the ANZAC memorial, etc. (Click on the opera house to link to all the photos).

We took the ferry over to Manly (a beach community on the north side of the harbour) on Saturday morning, after eating breakfast at a cafe where we sat next to two couples from Atlanta who were having trouble ordering coffee ("coffee" in Australia only exists in its more pretentious forms: lattes, cappuccinos, as well as some uniquely Australian variants).

Saturday night we ate dinner at a Thai restraint in Darling Harbour and then joined two of Uta's fellow consultants for drinks in Circular Quay followed by more drinks at a club called "Gelato" - I think the name says it all.

Sunday, we took a train and bus to the famous Bondi Beach, where we ate breakfast and then walked along the coast toward the slightly more low-key Bronte Beach.

Waterloo Indeed

Eurovision celebrated its 50th anniversary over the weekend. I've seen a couple of these over the years, but am still powerless to describe it. It's somewhat of an international pop star battle, with the "best" talents from individual nations competing to be the top of the eurotrash pile. Past winners have included Celine Dion and Secret Garden, so that gives you an idea of the kind of rubbish that constitutes the event. But overall, it's a completely incomrehensible mix of genres, from heavy metal to traditional folk ballads. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, an award was given to the best act over the past half century. That award went to ABBA for the song Waterloo, which they performed on Eurovision in 1974. It's been all downhill since then. Although rumor has it that Serbia/Montenegro are coming on strong - that's the nation to look to over the next few years. . .

Sydney

I'm off tonight to join Uta in Sydney for the weekend in an attempt to figure out what this whole Australian west coast/east coast (i.e., Melbourne and Sydney)feud is all about.

WIIIIIILLLLLLMMMMMMAAAAA!

The 2005 hurricane season has delivered a parting shot to the Caribbean, and likely the United States. Wilma briefly broke the record for barometric intensity (something that will certainly keep the climate change folks happy) and is due to wobble around the Caribbean for a few more days before attacking the hurricane ravaged state of Florida.

The Smartest Guys in the Room

Last night, I participated in the now routine weekday movie outing to see Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. There wasn't too much that I hadn't heard before, but when it's all served up on a single plate, it's a bit awe inspiring.

We dined before hand at Cosi on Toorak Road.

Over Here, Over There

Some Australians are apparently so proud of their ANZAC heritage, born on the rocks of Gallipoli, that some have advocated for recreating the WWI Turkish battlefield at Point Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. But the idea appears to have died a rapid death after being panned by critics. Victoria's Premier, Steve Bracks, described the concept as "definitely tacky", while historians have pointed out that the proposed site is almost, but not quite, nothing like Gallipoli.

Meanwhile, William Evan Allan, Australia's oldest WWI serviceman died Monday at the age of 106. Allan served in the Australian Navy during both WWI (enlisting at age 14) and WWII.

Mercury 05

Victoria's counter-terrorism team has been working overtime in preparation for the Commonwealth games in Early 2006. The nationwide Mercury 05 training exercise featured various special forces units staging mock raids and rescues throughout Victoria and elsewhere. Victorian authorities have called the operation a success and feel well-prepared to deal with any terror-like nonsense during the games. Nevertheless, one can still wander aimlessly through any airport in Australia and board a plane without a single piece of identification. Hmmmmm. . .

Spring into Shape Results II

Sunday we ran the second 8km race in the Spring into Shape series. This time around, we finished with a time of 43:52 - an improvement over our previous time of 46:14, but still not enough to get us into the top half of the pack.

We rounded off the day with a little soccer (just in case we hadn't done enough running earlier in the day) and a barbie along the Yarra with some CSIRO and ex-CSIRO colleagues.

Australia's Bigfoot

A hunter recently bagged himself a big cat, seemingly putting an end to a mystery that has been hanging over Victoria for decades. For many years, Victorians (granted, primarily those in the Gippsland region) have reported seeing large cats on the prowl, but no solid evidence was ever obtained, making Gippsland a sort of Area-51 or Loch Ness. Enter Kurt Engel and his rifle. He took some trophy photos and cut the tail off the animal, but allegedly disposed of the carcass, leaving some residual doubt as to whether or not this urban legend is just that.

The Magician

The CSIRO crew saw The Magician last night, a fictional documentary about a Melbourne hitman, written, directed, and starring Scott Ryan with help from his film school buddies.

I have seen quite a few movies as of late - it appears to have become a weekday social club of sorts, and suprisingly, the quality has so far been quite good. The Magician offered the added bonus of being filmed in Melbourne, so many of the locations are readily recognizable.

Old Time Religion

It seems that the only thing Indonesians hate more than drug smuggling is terrorism. As Indonesians and Australians commemorated the anniversary of the 2002 bombings in Bali, protestors gathered outside the prison housing the perpetrators of the attack (or it had been housing, but they were moved out of obvious security concerns), and demanded their immediate death. In the wake of the more recent bomb attacks on October 1, Indonesians are naturally a bit fired up, particularly since the volumes of bad press Bali has received in recent years has done damage to its once thriving tourism industry. But for Americans always demanding greater condemnation from the Muslim community for the terrorist acts of Islamic fundamentalists, I think the words of the Balinese are pretty clear: "Fuck Terrorists".

More Corby

Schapelle Corby had her 20 year prison sentence for drug smuggling reduced to 15 years by an Indonesian appeals court. Not satisfied, her defense team plans to take the case to Indonesia's highest court.

Meanwhile, trials for the "Bali 9" have commenced - more young Australians implicated in drug smuggling trying to dodge a firing squad.

Road Warrior

On Monday, our division hosted a seminar on oil depletion. In a nutshell, oil production (if you haven't already heard) is anticipated to peak in the next 2-10 years, and so those high oil prices you've been experiencing lately are unlikely to go away anytime soon (i.e., ever).

In reflecting upon this, some of us started joking about the need to start hoarding oil, and the chaos that would reign as individuals fought over the precious liquid. But there was something oddly familiar about this idea. . .And then it hit me - the Road Warrior. It was prophetic. Post-apocalyptic Australians doing battle on the open road for the last few drops of petrol. It doesn't seem like such a far-fetched idea anymore.

And in case you think this is hyperbole, one of my colleagues informed me today that license plate thefts are on the rise. Due to high gas prices, people are stealing plates, putting them on their cars, driving into gas stations, and stealing gas. With the stolen plates, the theft can't be easily traced back. Law and order is already starting to crumble. It's only a matter of time before Max gets mad. And you know what happens then. . .

Arj Barker

Sunday afternoon, I went with Ian and Lisa to see Arj Barker (an American comedian) in Fitzroy. Obviously plenty of jokes and buffoonery, of which the following is perhaps the most relevant:

Arj (to an audience member): What would be a typical Australian holiday.

Audience Member: Australia Day

Arj: Australia Day? Sounds good. What do you do on Australia Day?

Audience Member: Nothing

Arj: Well, that's a very Australian thing to do.

Precrime

Acccording to Elizabeth Wingo, chief of the criminal section in the Washington, D.C. Attorney General's Office, individuals will be prosecuted for drunk driving, regardless of blood alcohol level.

Wingo has stated "We have zero tolerance for drunk driving. It doesn't matter what your blood alcohol level is," Wingo said.

So in an attempt to reduce drunk driving, Washington DC is now arresting people for just plain driving. Not since Minority Report has such an effective crime prevention tool been implemented (but then that was just fiction). Were it not for the foresight of Washington's finest, scores of sober DC residents would be left free to roam the streets, with some of them undoubtedly ending up, perhaps, in a bar, party, restaurant, or club where they would likely (maybe) consume alcohol and thus, possibly, drive drunk. Thank you metro police for stopping these dreadful crimes before they could have taken place (or not).

The Proposition

Uta and I showed up Saturday night for a showing of The Proposition, an Australian western, if you will, written by the original bad seed himself, Nick Cave. Another satisying Aussie film, despite its straightforward plot and brutal violence. The movie has plenty of the following: blood, sweat, dirt, flies, and sweeping landscapes depicting the nothingness of Australia's outback. I think this film may take the crown of sweatiest movie ever (yes, surpassing Cool Hand Luke by a longshot). I found this article, describing some of the difficulties encountered during filming.

Fallout

I've been shooting my mouth off over at Newley.com regarding the Fourth Amendment and the use of red light cameras in the United States. Back here in Australia, the government is dealing with its own scandal involving the violation of the rights of its citizens - specifically the fallout from the 2001 "accidental" deportation of Alvarez Solon, an Australian citizen (see my earlier comments here). An investigative report of the incident was recently released. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, has washed her hands of the affair, but one senior official has retired, and two others are likely to face disciplinary action. Apparently, there have been 20 other instances of Australian citizens being wrongfully detained for immigration violations (perhaps the gov needs some clarification of the term "citizen").

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

This is the stuff that B movies are made of:

Snake bursts after gobbling gator
An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps. . .

Weekend

I had a meeting at a hotel at the airport all day Friday, so I stuck around afterwards and waited for Uta's flight to arrive from Sydney so we could share a cab home. We subsequently dined at the Curry Club around the corner - a fantastic and relatively reasonable Indian restaurant in the neighborhood.

Saturday, Uta played her first match with her new tennis team, dominating all those foolish enough to challenger her on the tennis court. I can't remember the last time she played a match and lost, so if there's anyone out there up for it, bring it on - daddy needs a new pair of shoes. We then took advantage of the warm evening to dine at one of the many sidewalk cafes on Lygon Street. Lygon was hopping - packed full of locals, and I imagine a few tourists as well.

Sunday, the weather was nice once again, so we spent the day at St. Kilda beach doing lots of walking, sleeping, and people watching. There was a mildly amusing, but highly ineffectual, protest against the proposed dredging of the bay in order to keep the port open. I didn't see much in the way of protesting going on, but there was music and some ecocomedy (if such a thing exists) so people seemed to be having fun.

Australia Rules

The Economist Intelligence Unit recently released its assessment of the world's most liveable cities. Melbourne came in second behind Vancouver, with Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth also making it into the top ten. Brisbane came in at #11.

CANA

Last Thursday, I gave a talk at the Climate Action Network conference here in Melbourne. I spent the days leading up to the conference fretting over my talk until I realized that 10-15 minutes wasn't enough time to come up with a grand vision, so I just banged some stuff on some slides and got on with it.

After my talk, I got pulled out of the meeting to do an interview with SBS television. The interview started off on rocky footing, when my interviewer said they were doing some general coverage in support of the recent report from NASA about the "melting ice in Antarctica". I said, "uh, you mean the Arctic". I guess if you're on the ground, the north and south poles do look fairly similar. . .

In any case, I was a wonderful interviewee in a bumbling Hugh Grant without the charm kind of way. Nevertheless, the interview died somewhere in editing, but they did show some footage of me giving my presentation - Uta said "it was very short, and you were very small." There goes my manhood. . .

Thursday night, a bunch of us CSIRO folks met up to catch Tim Flannery's talk re: his new book on climate change (The Weathermakers). We followed that with dinner at the Kitten Club (sounds a bit sordid, but I assure you everything was on the up-and-up), which was followed by "one" drink at the Gin Palace (although that one drink took three hours to finish and came in multiple instalments).

William & Mary in the News

My alma mater, The College of William & Mary, made the news this week, albeit The Onion.

Bob Marley Rises From Grave To Free Frat Boys From Bonds Of Oppression

Taxes

On Sept. 16th, I filed our income taxes on-line via the free tax preparation software provided by the Australian Taxation Office. We received our refund today (yep, just 10 days later), with a refund several hundred dollars more than we'd requested.

What a wonderful country. . .

Der Strohwitwer (wieder)

Uta's back in Sydney once again. I'm therefore without a wife for yet another week, but she brings me Krispy Kreme donuts from the Sydney airport, so her hard work and sacrifice is already paying off.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble

mark
Originally uploaded by BLP.

Saturday brought the battle for the footy championship, featuring the West Coast Eagles and the Sydney Swans. Much was said about the conspicuous absence of any Victorian teams from this year's final. After all, the Australian Football League used to be known as the Victorian Football League. Times they are a changin'. . . Almost 100,000 people jammed into the MCG for the final. We could hear the crowd from our apartment, but watched the game with Tony at the London Hotel - a Richmond landmark popular with the footy crowd. The game was a close one that came down to the wire. The Swans took the win after a highly improbable mark in the last few seconds deprived the Eagles of a game winning opportunity, enabling the Swans to celebrate their first championship win since 1933 (back then they were still in South Melbourne). The poor Eagles fans had plenty of time to deal with defeat during the 45 hour bus ride back to West Australia.

It was quite an experience - next year we might have to go for seats in the MCG.

Little Fish

Thursday, I saw Little Fish with Ian, Donna, Leanne, and Kathy. A description of the Australian film starring Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, et al. can be found here . As with the previous week's Look Both Ways, Little Fish is not for the faint of heart, but excellent none the less. I quite enjoyed seeing the talents of these fine actors without the Hollywood trappings of explosions, hobbits, or Keanu Reeves.

We dined afterward at La Camera on Chapel Street.

Wednesday

Yep, Wednesday - I'm trying to catch up.

I spent the evening in German class, where we discussed non-German perceptions of Germans - the conversation centered around discussions of the words "nackt" (naked), "geizig" (frugal), and "punktlich" (punctual).

I then headed over to the Blue Bar on Chapel Street and helped Ian, Lisa, Kathy, and Kevin close the place down (2am), which left me with a rather long (and not always steady) walk home.

West Side Story

"When you're a Jet, you're a Jet. . ."

I'm amazed this appeared in the newspaper here, but I suppose tales of gangs, rumbles, and dancing have universal appeal.

'Dance off' sparks brawl

Wicked Wickets

I had a go at the cricket over lunch with some of the boys from work who are gearing up for Australia's spring sport. Cricket is probably the only sport I know less about than baseball, but when in Rome. . . I begged off batting, figuring I'd better try and get my bearings before allowing people to throw hard objects at me at a high rate of speed. Instead, I opted to throw said hard objects at others. Made a few attempts at bowling - with results somewhat equivalent to my golf game (i.e., the occasional good effort followed by an erratic ball). Like all sports, it's harder than it looks.

Update (26/9/05): Almost a week later, my arm is still killing me.

Spring Into Shape Results

On Sunday morning, we completed our first of three 8km races in the Spring into Shape series. We finished with a time of 46:14, coming in 351 and 352 out of 528 runners. Our per km time was 15 seconds faster than the 10km Race to the G (back in May), but we performed considerably worse relative to the rest of the pack in this race - not even making it into the top half. This leads me to conclude that the 500+ individuals who are trying to "spring into shape" are already in pretty good shape (particularly the clowns who finished in under 30 minutes).

Der Strohwitwer

Uta's off in Sydney for the week learning how to conduct "collaborative business experiences." I'm holding down the fort.

Trail of Destruction

Paul came across this article. I hadn't heard anything about it myself, and assumed it was complete nonsense, but it was reported in several media outlets (which doesn't necessarily mean it isn't nonsense).

Power-dressing man leaves trail of destruction

Schnappi ueber alles

For more on the global sensation, Schnappi das kleine Krokodil, go to http://www.schnappi.tv/. It's all in German, but I don't think it would make any more sense if it were in English. You can also order other tunes such as Ein Lama in Yokohama .

Verify

I've been forced to include a verification step for those of you interested in commenting. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it was the only way I could try and suppress those evil doers out there who are trying to use my blog to advertise home mortgages, sex videos, and debt reduction schemes. Presumably most of you are not interested in this stuff, and those of you that are obviously have much more productive avenues to pursue than looking here.

Ashes to Ashes

The Ashes series is now over. Play concluded earlier this week, with Australia suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Brits bringing Australia's unspoiled 18 years of continuous victory in the event to an abrupt end. Australians are beside themselves with grief (at least those who pay attention to cricket, which is quite a few) and the usual "we just got our asses handed to us, so now what are we going to do to make it right" talk is well underway.

Seraphim Falls

Gone are the days of John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and Clint Eastwood, when uniquely American films, with uniquely American stories, starred uniquely American actors. In our increasingly globilized world, enjoying such films as Cold Mountain, generally well-recieved in the U.S., means putting aside the fact that the lead rolls are all played by Brits and/or Aussies (Kidman, Zellweger, and Law). Now, we hear that shooting will soon begin on Seraphim Falls, a Civil War era film set in the western U.S. with a cast including Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson (aka James Bond and Rob Roy). The Duke must be turning in his grave. . .

And You Thought Your Job was Lousy. . .

Kathleen Blanco, Louisiana's Governor, has signed a contract authorizing a private contractor (Kenyon International Emergency Services) to commence work in recovering the dead from New Orleans. Curious about what kind of company specializes in this sort of thing, I took a look at Kenyon's website (http://www.kenyoninternational.com).

Under the About Kenyon section, the following three points are stressed:

"The history of Kenyon’s response to mass fatality incidents dates back to 1929, when Kenyon provided services to Imperial Airways in England, where a plane crash claimed the lives of seven victims."
-What a proud history. . .

"Of equal importance to Kenyon’s role in response to aviation related incidents is their involvement in non-aviation related disasters."
-Wow,they do non-aviation related disasters, too.

"Kenyon’s role over the years has not changed—respond to mass fatality incidents in a thorough, professional manner, honoring the memory of the deceased, and providing comfort and solace to the surviving next of kin. Kenyon stands ready to serve you."
-Well, uh, that's good. I guess. . .

Now I know who to call in the event I have my own personal mass casualty event. But do they offer competitive rates. . .?

By the way, if you enjoyed reading this entry, you may also enjoy reading Mass Fatality and Casualty Incidents: A Field Guide by Robert A. Jensen - now available in paperback from Amazon.com.

Buebi und Der Kuehlschrank

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Originally uploaded by BLP.

Wir haben ein schoenes Foto von Hartmut bekommen. Das ist jetzt an unserem Kuehlschrank.

Dagmar’s

Sunday afternoon, we spent several hours in the city finding some much needed work clothes for Uta. Sunday night, we were invited along with Donna over to Dagmar’s apartment in South Yarra for dinner. We had a massive meal and I think Dagmar and I killed two bottles of wine by ourselves, so I considered the night highly successful.

Richmond Rainbow

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Originally uploaded by BLP.

Here's a hurried shot of a rainbow which formed over Richmond on Saturday.

DJ Edo

We called an abrupt end to the BBQ so we could run out and join Tony (one of my work colleagues) at the Hi Fi Club for the Australian Finals of the DMC DJ Championship. Tony's younger brother, DJ Edo (who also spent a few months earlier this year working at CSIRO), was one of the 26 competitors in this year's battle, so we showed up to check out his act and the scene at large. Although he didn't make it to the final round, DJ Edo had flair, style, and skills - he impressed us all and made his brother quite proud. We also enjoyed the performance of DJ D from Sydney - the only female competitor and also very impressive. The first round of 26 was followed by a break dancing exposition, which was followed by a performance by local act "Scars 45 Crew" - they were rubbish, and basically killed our buzz for the night. In any case, if you haven't been to an event like this, I highly recommend it.

An underground clip of DJ Edo's performance can be found here: \\pcasr-as\share\adrian_dmc_set.mpg

Birthday Barbie

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Originally uploaded by BLP.

Saturday morning we bought heaps of beer and meat and prepared for a birthday/”just for the hell of it” barbie. The menu consisted of chicken, steaks, sausages, Turkish bread, salad and a tasty pasta salad (the latter courtesy of Uta). It took an hour for anyone to show up, after which we had a good turnout. We had 13 or so guests, including work collegues and some members of Uta’s Spanish "meet up" group. We finished off quite a bit of food, but still have a few morsels left for another dinner tonight. And since more beer and wine was brought into the apartment than was consumed, we now have a nice stash.

Donovan's

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Originally uploaded by BLP.

Friday, I turned 31, which of course called for celebration of some sort. We woke up early and had a nice breakfast, during which I opened birthday presents and cards from friends and family. After work, I met Uta at the Amber Room on St. Kilda Road where she and her fellow consultants were already engaged in a happy hour with complimentary food and drinks. We took advantage of the freebies for another hour and then headed down to St. Kilda for dinner at Donovan’s on the beach.

Look Both Ways

Last Thursday night, Uta had dinner with the work folks who then went on to see the Lion King, which recently opened in Melbourne. I joined Ian, Donna, and Leanne to see Look Both Ways (an Australian film) after which we had dinner at a local pizzeria – both the film and the pizza were excellent. Margarent and David's comments on the film can be seen here:
http://au.movies.yahoo.com/Look+Both+Ways/movie/13891/featured-review/

Mehr Deutsch

After a very short break, I started my next German class at the Goethe Institut last Monday. The new class consists of the same cast of characters along with three or four new additions. Kathrin returns as our Lehrerin.

Music Charts

For Newley's benefit, below you'll find the top 10 singles on Australia's music charts for last week. Please notice that this list includes a tune originally developed as a ring tone for cell phones, a German children's song, a dead rapper, and a couple of artists with a profound inability to spell:

1) The Pussycat Dolls-Don't Cha
2) 2Pac-Ghetto Gospel
3) Crazy Frog-Axel F
4) Daniel Powter-Bad Day
5) Akon-Lonely
6) Black Eyed Peas-Don't Lie
7) The Veronicas-4Ever
8) Schnappi-Das Kleine Krokadil
9) Rogue Traders-Voodoo Child
10) Missy Elliott-Lose Control

For album sales, the list is marginally more respectable:

1) James Blunt-Back To Bedlam
2) Black Eyed Peas-Monkey Business
3) End Of Fashion-End Of Fashion
4) Kelly Clarkson-Breakaway
5) Missy Higgins-The Sound Of White
6) Foo Fighters-In Your Honor
7) Coldplay-X and Y
8) Gorillaz-Demon Days
9) Craig David-The Story Goes...
10) Jimmy Barnes-Double Happiness

Spring into Shape

Spring officially arrived in Australia this weekend. As such, we've signed up for the "Spring into Shape" race series - a set of three 8km runs in September, October, and November.

Weekend

Friday night we dined around the corner at Boheme.

Saturday morning, we ran some errands in the neighborhood, finishing at our local Saturday morning street market where we bought fruits and veggies at bargain prices (or rather Uta did - I found the whole experience a bit much, what with all the people and their pets, kids, shopping carts, strollers, etc.). Saturday night, we took a tram downtown to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, followed by a late dinner at Pellegrini's, a Melbourne landmark. This old Italian diner is nothing more than a hole in the wall (most of the seating is at the counter), but its regarded as Melbourne's original Italian eatery and was the first restaurant in the city to have an espresso machine.

Sunday (i.e., today), we enjoyed breakfast on our balcony, thanks to lots of sun and no wind. We then toured around for two hours on our bicycles on the many paths that lie east of the city. We spent the afternoon doing nothing, and then returned to the balcony tonight to grill up dinner. Tasty.

Hayseed Dixie

Strangely enough, the new release from the U.S. band Hayseed Dixie is already available in Australia and New Zealand - Americans will have to wait until the new year. But, if you check out "Tastings" under their website, you can find .mpegs of their latest single/video (a cover of Outkast's "Roses") as well as a cover of the classic Ace of Spades.

http://www.hayseed-dixie.com/

News Flash - Alcohol Bad for the Unborn!

The Salvation Army made headlines yesterday when it released data suggesting 23% of Australian women continue to drink during pregnancy. Apparently, word hasn't gotten out here that alcohol isn't the best dietary supplement for mothers-to-be. The Australian Medical Association has called for alcohol to carry warning labels akin to those used in the United States. However, federal parliamentary secretary for health, Christopher Pyne, said that "the Government can't just change the guidelines on the strength of someone calling for them to be changed."

"Looting" or "Liberation"

Loot1
Originally uploaded by BLP.

Don't know if this is legit, but I wouldn't be suprised if it is. Courtesy of Kelsey.

Last Sunday

I'm just now getting around to commenting about last Sunday's activities, an indication of the competing demands for my time.

In any case, last Sunday night we hosted a mix of German, British, Irish, and Australian friends and colleagues for dinner. I made the slight mistake of going for three courses and making bread on top of that. Uta took care of the salad, which left me with soup and the main. It all turned out OK, except I hadn't given enough thought to the challenge of scaling my creations up for six people. Fortunately, there was plenty of food to around, and I added a few more creations to my repertoire, although more practice is needed. The guests provided wine and dessert, and a good time was had by all.

The Politicization of Disaster

Within hours of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast, various individuals were already stepping up to the mike to score political points. Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung stated in an editorial:

"Just as Sept. 11 clearly showed that America is vulnerable, it will likely take a couple more hurricanes of the magnitude of Katrina before America changes its appalling environmental policies. . ."


Meanwhile, Germany's environment minister Juergen Trittin, wrote:

"The American president closes his eyes to the economic and human damages that are inflicted on his country and the world economy by natural disasters, like Katrina, through neglected climate protection."

Now, I'm no particular fan of George W. Bush, and I'm certainly in the camp of people who are aware that humans are indeed causing changes in the global climate, but to argue that this particular disaster was due to global warming or a specific political stance regarding global warming policy is absurd.

The ACE index of hurricane intensity certainly shows an increase in recent years (above; from Trenberth, 17 JUNE 2005 VOL 308 SCIENCE), but overall the data are marked by substantial variability, and one is hard pressed to find anything about recent years that is remarkable given history. Furthermore, even if one argues that Katrina was marginally larger than she would have been in the absence of global warming, the history of fossil fuel use and its climate effects cannot be tied to a single country or its president.

On the subject of New Orleans, hurricanes, and climate change, I wrote the following earlier this year (in the April edition of Catastrophe Risk Management):

"changes in extremes have the potential to increase damages at the margins.Yet, the major driver of the future economic and public health consequences of severe weather will continue to be the socio-economic factors that control the exposure of people and property to extreme events. The city of New Orleans, for example lies 1.5-3.0 meters (5-10 feet) below sea level, making it one of the most vulnerable areas in the United States to hurricanes. The city’s flood defenses are built to withstand a category 3 hurricane. Global warming will raise sea levels and may cause a slight increase in the probability that a future hurricane steering toward the city exceeds the category 3 threshold. But the primary risk factors are New Orleans’ geographic and geologic position, its population size and density, the value of associated property and future decisions regarding the management of risk."

All the greenhouse gas mitigation in the world would not have reduced the population of New Orleans, expanded the city's flood defenses, or raised the city above sea-level. The city has always been a sitting duck, and it always will be. Ignoring this fact to score political points on the global warming issue shows at best a misunderstanding of the big picture and at worst is an attempt to take advantage of the misunderstanding of others.

The Super Bowl

Veni, Vedi, Vici. . .

Hurricane Katrina brought her fury to the Gulf Coast, and although New Orleans was spared a "direct" hit, every horror story regarding New Orleans and its vulnerability to hurricanes has come to pass. The hurricane came, the levees failed, and the soup bowl which is the city filled up.

What disturbs me perhaps most of all is the fact that everyone knew that this was coming sooner or later. Everyone was aware of the limitations of the city's flood defenses and that, given a sufficiently large event, this would in fact be the outcome. Yet the city's entire hurricane response plan was based upon a hurricane no bigger than a category 3. There was apparently no contigency plan for the failure of the levees, despite the fact that they weren't designed to withstand major hurricanes. The Superdome, the standard hurricane shelter, works OK for relatively minor storms, but in a big hurricane, the structural integrity left something to be desired, and with the subsequent flooding, officials are now having to figure out how to evacuate 20,000 people from a shelter that was supposed to protect them.

Here's a great opportunity for adaptive management. New Orleans' experiment with risk management just failed horribly. They have an opportunity to learn and improve. The question is will they?

Der Raum

On Friday night, Pia's last night in town, we finally checked out Der Raum (known locally as The Room)- an award winning cocktail bar just down the street from us. Der Raum has varied influences (including, allegedly, the classic American cocktail lounge circa mid-20th century Hollywood and post-modern Germany). The music is technopop (except on Thursdays when they host a German hip-hop night) and the impressive collection of liquor is suspended from the ceiling via bungee cords. Cocktails run $12-20 and the bartenders take their craft very seriously (they were spending a good five minutes preparing some orders).

Liberal Faces Axe after Big Night Out

From The Age:

Liberal faces axe after big night outBy Jonathon Pearlman
August 29, 2005

THE future of NSW Opposition Leader John Brogden is under a cloud after he was forced to apologise for an alcohol-fuelled night during which he pinched a journalist's bottom, propositioned another and referred to Bob Carr's wife as a "mail-order bride".

Mr Brogden last night said his behaviour had been "unacceptable" and he would call the journalists and Helena Carr to apologise.

"It was the week Bob Carr resigned. I had a few drinks and let off some steam and, in doing so, acted foolishly," he said.

Asked about his reference to Mr Carr's Malaysian-born wife, Mr Brogden said: "I did tell a joke along those lines. It was completely inappropriate."

A senior Liberal MP last night said Mr Brogden should resign. "It is a full-blown crisis. I think it is terrible. I think it is that serious and he knows it."

Mr Carr said Mr Brogden's comments were a "cruel insult against all Asian women" and that he should resign this week.

"Mr Brogden is totally unfit to lead any political party," he said.

"Helena did something Mr Brogden has never done. She made a serious career in business where she was appointed to the board of Leigh Mardon, a public company. My wife Helena has higher qualifications and a more substantial career than this featherweight of mediocrity will ever have."

Mr Carr said he and Helena did not plan to accept Mr Brogden's apology.
"This is an attack on my wife. Helena is furious - and with justification." Labor's NSW general secretary Mark Arbib said the comments about the former premier's wife were "racist and disgusting".

Mr Brogden's indiscretions occurred on July 29 at the Sydney Hilton's Marble Bar. He and two male staff members had attended the Australian Hotels Association's winter drinks.

Mr Brogden admitted he had pinched the bottom of a newspaper journalist. However, he said he and the journalist were old friends.

A second journalist said yesterday that Mr Brogden had put his arm around her and propositioned her.

Mr Brogden also apologised to the party: "They have put their faith in me as leader and I have let them down," he said.

The Hotels Association's acting chief executive, David Elliott, yesterday said Mr Brogden had smoked three cigars while in the Marble Bar and had about three beers in two hours.

NSW Liberal MPs last night weighed the impact of the scandal, with talks on Mr Brogden's future as leader expected to begin in earnest today.

Update (31/8/05): John Brogden resigned his post on Monday, and was taken to the hospital Tuesday night after an apparent suicide attempt.

House of the Rising Sun

There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun, but it's about to be destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina is set to be only the 4th category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States in the past 150 years, and its chosen target is the posterchild for a vulnerable community. Much of New Orleans and its 500,000 inhabitants lie well below sea-level,and flood defenses were designed to withstand a fast-moving category 3 hurricane. For years, a major hurricane strike has been presented as one of the worst case scenarios for U.S. natural disasters. We're about to find out if all the fuss has been warranted. Hopefully the city proves far more resilient than advertised.