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?