Year in Review

2006 went quickly. Some highlights in retrospect:

The Blog.It's been a struggle at times, but it looks like we managed around 163 posts for the year. Would certainly like to increase that number in 2007, given time and something worth blogging about.

Australia. It's a bit crispy around the edges at the moment, but the nation finished off 2006 fairly strongly. Sure, a few setbacks, such as the AWB scandal, but at least there weren't any race riots. There was a power shift in the Labor party that elevated Kevin Rudd to the leader position, which may make things interesting in the 2007 elections next year. Howard - will he stay or go? Perhaps most importantly, despite the over-priced and shoddy clothing, the daggy haircuts and fashion sense, the over-abundance of cleavage (which actually doesn't bother me too much), the bushfires, the lack of any sense of e-commerce, and national sports which can be at times incomprehensible (and yes, I'm talking about you, Cricket), we really like it here.

Work. We worked our asses off this year, but were both rewarded with promotions. I hope to be able to make a new post in the new year, entitled "Sugarmamma," which will signify Uta's rise to the status of principle bread-winner in the house, but that still remains to be seen.

Travel. Lots. It's all pretty much outlined in the blog, which you should be reading anyway.

Extracurriculars. After a break of several years, I resumed karate training at the beginning of 2006. A year later, I'm staring to get a feel for my old self, but also getting a feel for what it's like to get older. Uta triumphed her way through Melbourne's winter tennis season and came in second in the club championships. We both struggled a bit with the languages, work kept me away from my German classes quite a bit the past few months, and similarly, Uta had trouble meeting up with her crew of Spanish speakers. But 2007 is another year. . .

Merry Christmas from Downunder

The end-of-the-year silly season is here, complete with scorched earth and BBQs. We're off to Tasmania for the holidays. See you in the new year.

Geography Cup

spash_head
Originally uploaded by BLP.

The Ashes are now over, with Australia soundly defeating England in three straight matches. However, international competition of another sort continues with the 1st Geography Cup Challenge which pits the UK against the US in a battle to see which country is the most ignorant with respect to the rest of the world.

Currently, the US is retaining its solid reputation for myopic introspection, but it's early in the game. Anything could happen.

Irate farmer scoops up woman with tractor

Irate farmer scoops up woman with tractor
December 15, 2006 - 8:49AM

"An angry New Zealand farmer scooped up a terrified woman driver into his tractor's loader bucket before dumping her on the road after she crashed into his fence.

Carl Randall Martin, 51, from Wairamarama, near Auckland, drove the tractor at her six times, knocked off her hat and then pinning her up against her crashed car before scooping her up in the bucket and tipping her on the gravel road, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The incident on August 5 was outlined in the Manukau District Court on Thursday after Martin had been convicted of assault with a weapon.

He will be sentenced on January 16."

Sterno

The Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change ,has provided some much needed perspective on the global costs and benefits of climate change and climate policy.

CSIRO's own pseudo-Stern Review, in the form of the Energy Futures Forum, was released earlier this month. The overall effort was comprised of five reports, one of which, comparing the costs and benefits of different emissions futures, we climate impacts folks put together.

Burning Down the House(s)

A few weeks ago, authorities were predicting this summer would be one of Australia's worst fire seasons in decades. This fear has certainly come to pass over the past week, with much of eastern Victoria (and more recently parts of Tasmania) up in smoke. To date, fires have claimed around 400,000 hectares in Victoria's east. A number of the fires continue to burn out of control and are expected to continue burning throughout the summer.

I hopped up to Canberra at the end of last week, which gave me the opportunity to fly over the fires. Looked pretty dismal. I returned to Melbourne to enjoy a weekend of record temperatures (reaching 42C on Sunday) combined with a thick haze of smoke. Fortunately, a change in the weather Sunday afternoon dropped the temperature back down to 20C, allowing us to enjoy an afternoon barbie with all the 343 Church Street neighbours.