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Guns

In the wake of last week's shootings on the campus of VA Tech, Newley has assembled a collection of insights on the incident and America's gun culture in general. I was flattered he asked for my input, which you can find at Newley.com. In addition to simply ranting away, I provide a quick summary of Australia's experiences in this arena and its policies on gun control.

Also, here's an opinion piece from The Age, which offers a wholly Aussie look at the issue.

Water, Water. . .Nowhere

We're approaching crunch time for water availability in southeast Australia. John Howard indicated last week that unless the nation gets rain in biblical proportions in the next 6 to 8 weeks, the irrigators in the Murray Darling Basin would have to go without water next season (to which the irrigators responded - "duh, John"). In addition, John's gone as far as to suggest the Murray River may be effectively turned off, as environmental flows are cut-off to maintain water in the dams and weirs along the waterway.

Melbourne got a good soaking yesterday, last night, and this morning. Just 39 more days and nights to go. . .

Ode to a Q-Club

OK, I've been a member of Qantas Club for all of two weeks, and given the numerous trips I've made over the past ten days, I've had ample opportunity to take it for a spin.

First, I must acknowledge that my membership is provided for by the fine folks at CSIRO out of respect for those of us burdened to jet around the country (or world) for the sake of science in the public interest. After listing the 14 trips I made in the last 12 months and the 12 already scheduled over the next 9, I was deemed worthy.

Now you're all familiar with airline clubs - special back rooms located in airport terminals where frequent travelers and VIPs can hide out and soak up some perks while they await their flights. The Qantas Club is Australia's most ubiquitous and upmarket of these - you walk through the doors and there's lots of genuine wood, comfy chairs, brie, espresso machines, and wine. Very nice. Every elite. Very exclusive.

Well, nice, yes. But exclusive? No way. From what I gather, Australian's are granted a membership at birth, because it appears more people are members than aren't. For example, while waiting in Melbourne for a flight to Canberra a few weeks ago in my pre-Q-Club days, I was quite shocked to find that I was one of about 5 people at the gate. But once the flight started boarding, the Q-Club masses came a running, and thus something like 95% of the flight's passengers had been hanging out together in 'Da Club. Last Tuesday, I was in the Q-Club in Townsville and I couldn't find a seat. The place was packed (granted, there was only seating for about 30 people, it is Townsville after all). So except for the free beer, brie and reading material, I would have been better off out with the small number of proletariat travelers soaking up the space in the main terminal.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Club. It does make frequent flying a bit easier. But the bottom line is Australians act like the Q-Club is hot shit and if you're inside, you're a far sight more elite than everybody on the other side of the door. The only problem is this - there's no one out there. The reason why people join the Q-Club is so they won't be lonely. So enjoy the beer, but drop the attitude. Any place that lets my chronically under-dressed ass in can't be that highbrow.

Back to the Beach

Sometime in 2005, I ventured off to the great state of South Australia to join the Adelaide crew for Easter buffoonery on the beach. I played Trivial Pursuit (South Australia edition - a game at which I truly excelled), watched a bizarre U.S. film called "The Wanderers", and came within inches of spewing all over the SS Minnow on a fishing expedition at a quiet coastal spot called Death from Below Bay (or something like that).

Easter 2006, we, uh, hell I don't know. My blog is barren as is my Outlook calendar. Oh well, obviously we didn't do much. . .

But Easter '07, it was back to SA, different beach (Aldinga), same crew (well, not really, Uta was there this time along with our kid, and various other folks came and went, but I was there and that's all that matters, right).

All manner of beach-side buffoonery was pursued - beach cricket, walks on the beach, fishing from the beach, running on the beach, lying on the beach, and so on. Trivial Pursuit was replaced by Jenga, and although much was made of my allegedly shaky hands, I opened up the schoolhouse to allow my competitors to learn a thing or two. Just like the good old days of our youth, we busted the place up a bit. A bottle was broken within minutes of our arrival, and a number of other glasses met their maker on the hardwood floors. But with the ladies vacuuming the floor 8 to 10 times per day, the place remained immaculate.

And of course, we found time for cultural pursuits. The ladies took-up a short study of language, whereupon we discovered that Uta's name, when translated into English, means "Cindy". I suppose that explains some things. They also got their intellect on by attempting to power their way through a pirated copy of Babel - one which lacked sub-titles. They got about half-way through before they gave up. And apparently without translation, the movie can be completely misinterpreted, as they walked away convinced it was a documentary about the international child sex trade.

Ryan took the award for most productive house member, slaving through the weekend to write an essay on post-war urban planning in Australia. He also took the award for the greatest contribution to the region's biodiversity as he diligently fed the fish off Cape Jervis during Sunday's fishing outing. But this award was promptly revoked once his heaving off the starboard side was determined to be a clever ruse to attract more fish, ultimately contributing to our efforts to deplete the region's snapper stocks. Herbie walked away with the prize catch. Despite hooking my fair share, I couldn't land anything of legal size (so I had to remain satisfied with clubbing the odd baby seal). During our expedition, we also had a crash course on what to do when you're in an overloaded fishing boat in open water, the bilge pump doesn't work and you can't get the engine started. Answer: keep trying until the bloody thing starts.

All in all, another successful escapade. Granted, these days every one's going to sleep and rising earlier and the alcohol consumption is falling off. But on the other hand, the quality of cooking is rising, and what could be more important than that?

My only concern is about the quality of care our kid's receiving. Kerry and Mike tried to convince us that Ava's wounds were the result of mosquito bites, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions from the evidence. Any more of this nonsense, and we'll have to bring her back to Melbourne.

Security Alert!!!

The UN Security Council took time off from its usual agenda of doing nothing to debate the issue of climate change in a security context. Some apparently consider this to be an inappropriate encroachment on the council on other UN bodies, but hey, let's face it, the Security Council needs something to do other than sitting around talking about what they're not going to do in the various insecure parts of the world, so I say give them a break.

Around Australia in 8 Days

This time last week, we were flying back from sunny Adelaide after an Easter retreat on the SA coast. 12 hours after landing, Uta was off to Brisbane, while I flew off to Sydney, followed later in the week by Canberra. We regrouped back in Melbourne Friday night, but were off again on Sunday - Uta back to Brisbane, while I headed out to the novel destination of Townsville.

Townsville. What to say? Nestled on the coast of northern Queensland, it's a small tropical paradise (of sorts). It's an important military town, used by both the navy and the army. With under 200,000 residents, there's not much going on, just sunshine, beach, and water. Arriving yesterday on a Sunday night, I was a bit taken aback by how quiet the town was - I mean, I'm accumstomed to sleepy Aussie towns on Sunday evenings, but this was absurd. It's the kind of place where the local news reports on scandals at the local primary school or thefts of street signs. Two of the commericals I saw on TV this evening featured a medication to rid cattle of parasites and a public service announcement asking people to be vigilant against pools of standing water on their property to aid in the prevention of dengue fever. The pedestrian mall next to the Holiday Inn (the tallest building in town) features as many vacant store fronts as occupied ones, so it appears that the rapid economic boom that's plauging southeast Queensland has yet to make it this far north.

That said, it's actually somewhat of a picturesque little community. The cliffs backing the beachfront have a diverse array of quaint houses perched on their sides, commanding what I'm sure are wonderful views. Meanwhile, the town is an excellent jumping off point for other spots such as the wet tropics, Magnetic Island, or the Great Barrier Reef. And I'm guessing the cost of living here isn't nearly as high as Australia's more famous and populous seaside communities, yet there's no shortage of late 19th century tropical architecture (some of it reminiscent of New Orleans, only here they've got enough sense to put things on stilts). I'd be interested in coming back at some point in the future and exploring a bit more of the city and the surrounding region.

Another Deadly Creature

As if there weren't enough things in Australia that can kill you, now it turns out that even the stuff that can't kill you can, apparently, kill you. How nice.

'Harmless' snake proves deadly
Dan Harrison
April 16, 2007 - 4:34PM

"Friends of a reptile enthusiast who died after being bitten by a snake have expressed their shock that a man who knew snakes so well had been killed by a species generally regarded as harmless."

Climate $$$

At today's meeting of the Council of Austrlian Governments, the PM announced a new climate change adaptation centre to the tune of $126 million as well as an additional $44 million to CSIRO to support a ramping up of research efforts on climate change and its consequences. This represents a significant boost to the nations' efforts to understand climate change consequences. However, the PM balked at committing the nation to greenhouse emissions reduction targets. So the States are left again to go it alone.

Blue Skies

The Age's expose today on Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy (currently touring Australia).

House Party

In the universe of profoundly stupid acts, this must rank fairly high:

MySpace invite sees party home trashed
April 13, 2007 - 10:15AM

"Two British parents were left with a $48,000 bill after a party advertised by their teenage daughter on MySpace attracted hundreds of revellers who trashed their home."

The Grates

Recently watched a live concert by Australia's "the Grates". Loved it. Here they are via YouTube with "Rock Boys."

Live Earth a Go!

The Live Earth global concert to raise awarneness about climate change is set to do it's rock & roll thing on July 7th. The-line up for the U.S. show is as follows:

AFI
AKON
ALICIA KEYS
BON JOVI
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
FALL OUT BOY
JOHN MAYER
KANYE WEST
KELLY CLARKSON
KT TUNSTALL
LUDACRIS
MELISSA ETHERIDGE
RIHANNA
ROGER WATERS
SHERYL CROW
SMASHING PUMPKINS
THE POLICE

Can't say that's inspiring me to fight climate change, but the line-up for the UK is a bit more promising:

BEASTIE BOYS
BLACK EYED PEAS
BLOC PARTY
CORINNE BAILEY RAE
DAMIEN RICE
DAVID GRAY
DURAN DURAN
FOO FIGHTERS
GENESIS
JAMES BLUNT
JOHN LEGEND
KEANE
MADONNA
PAOLO NUTINI
RAZORLIGHT
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
SNOW PATROL

Still waiting to hear who'll rock up for the Sydney show. . .

Go Dollar Go

The Aussie dollar (not what one would normally consider a titan among developed world currencies) has surged in recent months, gaining almost ten cents on the U.S. greenback.

Boom Town!

The Age ran an interesting article over the weekend describing how the resources boom is transforming regional communities in WA.

"Many workers earn more than $100,000 a year, have pay TV and get six days straight off work. So what is it really like in a remote Western Australian mining boom town? David Cohen reports on life in Tom Price."

Kill the Rabbit

"WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) -- A New Zealand environmental body is targeting the Easter bunny in a renewed war against one of the country's worst natural pests. Environment Canterbury on the country's South Island wants people to come up with an alternative Easter symbol as part of a campaign to highlight the damage caused by the non-native pest.

"They're like an environmental curse," Mark Oldfield of Environment Canterbury said.

"We did have a similar competition a number of years ago and we came up with the Easter Kiwi," Oldfield said, referring to the flightless bird that is the country's national bird."

Cities on Top

The the long-fought battle for urban supremecy, yet another annual quality of life/living survey has been released, this one from Mercer. Once again, if you live in a highly taxed city in Europe, your livestyle is apparently fabulous (despite the cold), and if you're in New Zealand or Australia, you're not doing to badly either. A list of the top 50 for 2007 can be found here.

CO2=Pollution

It's official. That bastion of liberal ideology, the U.S. Supreme Court, has ruled that carbon dioxide can be regulated as an air pollutant, clearing the way for the U.S. EPA to take up the regulatory cause. In fact, the old agency even received a bit of a rebuke:

""EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. The agency "identifies nothing suggesting that Congress meant to curtail EPA's power to treat greenhouse gases as air pollutants," the opinion continued.""

I guess it's back to the drawing board for the climate policy obstructionists in the U.S. Wonder what gem of policy logic they'll come up with next.

Kids

What better way to spend a Sunday morning than running one's ass around the city of Melbourne. I joined 25,000 or so of my close personal friends on the annual Run for the Kids benefit tour-by-foot of the city. Having not run in oh, I don't know, let's say many moons, I was a bit intimidated by the 15.2km distance (especially since I usually ahve enough sense not to sign up for anything over 10 km), but managed to plod my way through with little or no hardship (thanks in part to a kind granny who paced me around the course). Final damage - a time of 1:27:45, almost ten solid minutes behind Uta's time from last year (but then she only had to run 14.7 km. . .).

Earth Hour

Enlightened City Knocks the World's Lights Out
Sunanda Creagh, Urban Affairs Reporter
April 2, 2007

"MORE than half of Sydneysiders - as many as 2.2 million - switched off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday night, a poll has found."

The Real Cause of Global Warming

Courtesy of Kevin

News Bar

Look to the right and you'll see a new addition, courtesy Google's News Bar Wizard.

Aussie Go Home

The Age's Travel Blog has an article on the end of the honeymoon for Aussie travelers.

"It's a real worry that Aussies in Europe are now being tagged "New Yanks". No offence to the old Yanks, but that's not something I want to be."

Ben Meets Parliament

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week participating in the annual Science Meets Parliament event in Canberra - a joyous time when Australia's scientific elite dust off their suits (assuming they have one) and march into Parliament House to speak one-on-one with the nation's leadership about science.

In addition to enjoyable meetings with two labor MPs (Anthony Albanese and Daryl Melham), I scored a seat at the speaker's table at the dinner Tuesday (populated with folks like Minister Julie Bishop, Will Steffen, and current and former presidents of FASTS), attended question time in both the Senate and the House (catching a well-publisised blunder by Peter Garrett as it happened), and gave a short talk on climate change and risk.

I also cemented my opinons regarding transport in Canberra (it's rubbish, save yourself time and trouble and rent a car) as well as hotels (also rubbish, but you've got to sleep somewhere).

Photo Updates

A few snapshots of events from weeks gone by are now available at Flickr.

Moomba Festival
Camping at Wilson's Promontory

Melbourne Grand Prix

Flying Carbon Free

Numerous businesses are now jumping on the carbon offset bandwagon, with travel agencies as well as airlines offering the option of paying an additional fee to offset the carbon emissions associated with travel itineraries. Participants include the Swiss-owned STA Travel , Scandanavian Airlines, British Airways, the Association of British Travel Agents, and Australia's Virgin Blue.

Oxfam Trailwalker

As I write this, Uta and the rest of Tab Sportsbet Team 226 are headed to the starting line of Melbourne's Oxfam Trailwalker. Over the next 24 hours, the team of four will trek 100 km across the hills and dales of suburban Melbourne. It promises to be a hot one, with temperatures currently 28C at 6:00am, rising to 33C, before cooling off (and raining) tonight. I'll be catching up with the team and the rest of the support crew later tonight. . . certainly should be some stories out of this one.

UPDATE 24/7/07, 16:46: Mission Accomplished! After approximately 28 hours (including 23 hours of walk time), team 226 crossed the finish line. There were highs and lows, tears and cheers. They faced boiling temperatures and driving rain. They overcame hunger, fatigue, sunburn, and blisters. They're sleepy and sore (and their feet look like objects your neighbor's dog drags under the porch and chews on), but proud.


Additional photos are available at Edouard's blog.

1, 2, 3. . .3 and a half. . .

In an attempt to postpone the implementation of Level 4 water restrictions on Melbourne, the city has introduced a new level of restrictions known as Level 3a. The move hopes to avoid the complete banning of outdoor watering (including sports fields), which would threaten the footy season for many leagues as ground deterioration and hardness would exceed levels insurers are willing to cover.

As critics pointed out, there are 26 letters in the alphabet. So how many new levels will be developed to keep the dread Level 4 at bay?

Exit Strategy

Bush Announces Iraq Exit Strategy: 'We'll Go Through Iran'
March 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC—Almost a year after the cessation of major combat and a month after the nation's first free democratic elections, President Bush unveiled the coalition forces' strategy for exiting Iraq.

"I'm pleased to announce that the Department of Defense and I have formulated a plan for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq," Bush announced Monday morning. "We'll just go through Iran."

More

Mr. Gore Goes to Washington

Gore gave Congress (including its skeptical members) an earful yesterday in testimony. He's a pit preachy and makes the mistake of assuming that evidence of a problem necessarily dictates the policy response to that problem (which is obviously not the way it works), but he's still effective. I particularly like his analogy to flame retardant babies.

C&L

While a big fan of Crooks and Liars, I found the following comment/question to be a dark commentary on the state of U.S. journalism. In response to an alleged statement from a White House reporter regarding the absurdity of partisan bloggery, C&L asked:

"While it's clear that there are some in the media that inject their own biases into stories, and there are some flat out lazy journalists, is it dishonest of us to ascribe more malevolent motives when we don't see stories covered the way we think they should be?"

Translation: Is it dishonest of a blogger to subjectively speculate regarding the cause or intent of a journalist's actions when that journalist's reporting doesn't conform to the blogger's subjective worldview?

It's not dishonest. It's just bad journalism, but that's no big deal unless bloggers seek greater presence and credibility in the mix of U.S. media. If so, well, biased hackery is biased hackery - doesn't matter what the underlying ideology is. If everyone gets journalism delivered to them in their own personal frame of reference, then it's no longer journalism. It's custom entertainment.

Rivers at Risk

WWF has released a report identifying the top 10 at-risk rivers in the world, and citing the key source of risk for each. Though the report assembles a respectable list of troubled waterways, I found the prioritisation of drivers a bit cavalier. For example, climate change is listed as the key threat to the Nile-Victoria system, but by my reading of the report, over-extraction and geopolitical conflict are the major challenges. Discussion of likely future changes in the regional climate aren't even mentioned. Similarly, the report cites invasive species as a big threat for the Murray-Darling system in Australia. Yep, big problem. But what about the fact that due to drought and irrigation the Darling River is currently not a river but a creek (if that), the Murray is one of the most heavily developed stretches of river in the nation, and climate projections suggest significant declines in catchment runoff in the future (by my calculations 1-37% by 2070). Even the invasives are going to be doing it tough.

Yes, yes, WWF was trying to communicate the diversity of threats facing water resources all over the world, but a little more rigour in their examination of drivers would have made for a more useful (and accurate) presentation of risk.

Happy Anniversary, George!

Mazel Tov

The U.S.-based Hooters chain takes its family dining to the Holy Land, opening a restaurant in Tel Aviv. I reckon those with a predisposition to strapping explosives to themselves will be lining up to pay the establishment a visit.

Thunder Down Under

A recent international poll of public perceptions of climate change places Aussies at the top when it comes to taking climate risk seriously as well as willingness to invest to address the problem.

I-Tunes

Interesting, but sloppy, investigation into the randomness of I-Tunes randomization. Sure to illicit further examinations in the future. . .

Lucky Charms

We had a rip-roaring St. Paddy's day, joining all the convict offspring at the Dan O'Connell Hotel in Carlton. Huge street party, cheap beer, and even U2 showed up to play a show.

And if you're looking for a heart-warming story on the luck of the Irish, check out this story: Backpacker survives rooftop plunge

F1

Saturday, I joined the Irish and English expats for a day at the races, F1 that is. Opting not to splurge on Sunday's final, we settled for Saturday's qualifying runs and other assorted vehicular buffoonery (e.g., F3 events, celebrity races). The key to any Grand Prix event appears to be noise - if it's loud, it's welcome. In addition to the cars themselves (which are extraordinarily loud), there were fly-overs by various bits and pieces of Australia's military arsenal, and rock and rollers such as Wolfmother were on the scene as well.

One of the more amusing (albeit complete time-filler) events of the day was a "speed comparison." Essentially, they let a production BMW set off down the track, followed 1.5 minutes later by a V8 Supercar, followed another 1.5 minutes later by an F1 auto. Guess which won?

I'll post some photos from the track as soon as I get around to it - can't guarantee good quality. It's tough to take pictures of objects moving at 300 kph.

Big Weekend

It's a weekend of big sports action, with both the FINA World Championships (splash, splash)and the Melbourne Grand Prix (zoom, zoom).

Harbour Bridge Turns 75

Today marks the 75th birthday of Sydney's Harbour Bridge, still the longest single-span and highest steel arch bridge in the world.

Frat Boy Tackles Complex Policy Issues

Check out the latest publication from the Heinrich Boell Foundation entitled: "The Debate over Fixed Price Incentives for Renewable Electricity in Europe and the United States: Fallout and Future Directions."

One of the authors, Wilson Rickerson, was a fellow brother of the Phi Beta chapter of Psi Upsilon (suspended as of 2006 due to buffoonery). He wooed the ladies, he rocked the world as the frontman for The Velveteens, and now:
"Wilson Rickerson is a Boston-based energy consultant focusing on renewable energy policy and markets. He assists state and municipal governments with policy development,consults to businesses seeking to invest in the renewable energy industry, and helps organizations with energy program management and planning.

Good on ya, Wilson!

Hummer

How to greet a Hummer.

Nod to Jeremy. . .

Australia Unlimited

I took part in the Global Foundatin's Australia Unlimited Roundatable last week, which gave me the opportunity to hear opposition leader Kevin Rudd speak (a man, by the way, who appears poised to knock Howard and the Liberal party out of Canberra), mix with various corporate leaders from around the nation, and meet Victoria's governor,Professor David de Kretser (which subsequently caused me to go look up what it is that the governor does. . .).

Best of all, I finally managed to get a media quote that makes me sound half-way reasonable on climate change as opposed to predicting the end of the world and other such apocolyptic stuff that is often attributed to my name:

"A CSIRO scientist who works on climate impact, Ben Preston, told the roundtable that while those attending had been asked to consider the environment and trade as potentially conflicting forces, the real way to consider them is to regard them as being allied, for example, as a potential market in Asia for Australian technologies that can control pollution and help promote sustainable growth."

Sweet. . .

Public Service Announcement

Only in Australia (or Las Vegas, or certain parts of Russia):

"The man who lined the Gateway Motorway with bikini models in a bid to convince drivers to keep left will take his message directly to the office of Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Andrew McNamara."

On what planet do have naked chicks on the side of the road alleviate traffic congestion? The only way this works is if thousands of motorists pull off the road entirely to get a better look at those, er, signs.

Yo!

Stallone on growth hormone charge
Leonie Lamont
March 13, 2007 - 10:41AM

"Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone denied having restricted drugs shortly before 48 vials of human growth hormone were found in his luggage, a Sydney court has been told."

Now we know what's responsible for his "eye of the tiger". Imagine he won't be heading back down under any time in the near future.

Sgt. Jarvis

The following is spam that ended up in my inbox today:

"From: Jarvis Jr [mailto:sgt-jarv.rjr@ usarmy.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 March 2007 4:06 PM
To: Subject: Can I trust you??

Hello Friend,

I am in need of your assistance. My name is Sgt. Jarvis Reeves Jr. I am a military attache with the Engineering unit here in Ba'qubah Iraq for the United States, we have about $14 Million dollars that we want to move out of the country.

My partners and I need a good partner someone we can trust to actualize this venture.The money is from oil proceeds and legal.But we are moving it through diplomatic means to your house directly or a safe and secured location of your choice using diplomatic courier services.

But can we trust you? Once the funds get to you, you take your 30% out and keep our own 70%. Your own part of this deal is to find a safe place where the funds can be sent to. Our own part is sending it to you.

If you are interested I will furnish you with more details. Awaiting your urgent response.

Your Buddy.
Sgt Jarvis Reeves

God Bless America!!!"

Granted, it's spam, but amusing on so many different levels:
1) Despite the appearance of a .com email address, it actually goes to a yahoo account in Denmark (not very patriotic!)
2) Jarvis? Brilliant (the jr. is a nice touch as well).
3) The U.S. military can't move 14 million dollars out of Iraq without the help of Australian civil servants? You're kidding right?
4) The U.S. government wants me to keep 30% of anything? That'll be the day. . .
Pretty dopey, but more entertaining the usual Nigerian nonsense.

Waarom?

Nude workouts? No sweat, says gym
"THE first clothing-free workout at a Dutch gym went ahead as planned — and participants and observers said it met expectations."

Queens

The QEII and QMII rocked up in Sydney Harbour yesterday. And then promptly left, but not before making a spectacle of themselves.

New Qantas Club

So how many frequent flier miles does it tack to earn sex with a flight attendant? Unfortunately, I can't answer that question, I've looked through all the terms and conditions in my Qantas Club account, but can't find any reference to said benefit. But then, I only have Bronze status - I reckon I've got to at least earn Platinum before I can get perks like that. . .

Man catches shark with his bare hands

Man catches shark with his bare hands
February 16, 2007 - 3:59PM

"Phillip Kerkhof says it was the vodka that made him catch a 1.3 metre shark with his bare hands."http://www.theage.com.au/news/NATIONAL/Man-catches-shark-with-his-bare-hands/2007/02/16/1171405427401.html

Storm rider's miracle survival

Storm rider's miracle survival

"A German paraglider survived lightning, pounding hail, minus 40-degree temperatures and oxygen deprivation after a storm system sucked her to an altitude higher than Mount Everest."

New Snapshots

Here's a few photos from recent events:

Australian Open 2007

Sorrento

Yarra BBQ

Sean & Ryan's Visit

England the Most Unfriendly Country?

The Age's Travel Blog argues why England is the most unfriendly nation to travel in:

"trying to get a smile out of an English shop assistant is like trying to find Osama bin Laden - ie, we're not even sure if it's possible. Ever tried making eye contact and smiling at someone in the Tube? No? Funny, neither has anyone else..."

Oi! Ghost Rider

Hollywood's latest comic book blockbuster, Ghost Rider, was filmed in none other than Melbourne, Australia.

New Bloc Party

Call the Cops

The Police plan first tour since '80s

"WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The Police announced their first tour in decades Monday at a rehearsal at the Whisky a Go-Go as a throng of fans crowded near the legendary Sunset Strip nightclub."

Hard to believe. And after so many years, the question is, do I care?

Greetings Vegetarian Lobby. . .

In addition to other, sometimes odd, unsolicited comments I've received as of late, the oddest must be those that have emerged from pro-Vegan advocates:

"Global warming poses one of the most serious threats to the global environment ever faced in human history. Yet by focusing entirely on carbon dioxide emissions, major environmental organisations have failed to account for published data showing that other gases are the main culprits behind the global warming we see today. As a result, they are neglecting what might be the most effective strategy for reducing global warming in our lifetimes: advocating a vegetarian diet."

"Why is it that with all this talk about global warming, no one is talking about the impact of meat eating on the environment?If you would like, I could send you a copy of a leaflet I recently came across titled 'Think you can be a meat-eating environmentalist? Think again'. There is also another publication called "Go vegan' which I could send as well. If scientists wish to talk about climate change, I think it would be better to put the WHOLE story on the table."

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the appropriate poster child for vegetarianism. Addressing climate change is hard enough without hitching every other wagon of social issues to it.

Skeptics, Opportunists, and Nuts. . .

As one's public profile increases, he/she is inevitably exposed to the slings and arrows of outrageous people. I am puzzled as to why one would take the time to look up a perfect stranger's email address and give them shit. Here is some samples of the fan mail I've received as of late - some of it benign, some of it harsh, some unintelligible:

"If NSW continues with coal exports on a business as usual basis we'd better start planting baobab trees now. Is peak oil our only hope? Who joins me in this research?"

"Your negative quote of greenhouse gas and damage to our environment in today's Australian makes it clear that both you and the paper are Howard puppets, the oddity is that Howard only looks after the top 2% of Australia's wealthy people , so how does a paltry scientist fit into the equation and become a Howard mouthpiece? Do you think you'll wake up tomorrow in a chauffer [sic] driven Rolls?"

"Please publicise the fact that animal agribusiness is a major contributor to global warming and the drought. A recent UN report reveals that cattle rearing is worse for global warming than driving cars. Also, the drought is intractable, and animal agribusiness uses great amounts of water compared to other agribusiness. The waterways pollution is also a problem as well as land clearing, not to mention the great cruelty to animals in intensive farming."

". . .you are prostituting science - the NSW, QLD, VIC or other Greenhouse Office or dept. comes along with fistfull of government dollars and you obediently package up a report liberally sprinked [sic] with "may", "might", "could" to suport [sic] their political position - you admited [sic] yourself you modified the disclaimer to disguise the dubious science."

and the same guy:

"You may have noticed a flurry of Global Warming activity - The Great Barrier Reef is bleaching, glaciers are melting. polar bears are drowning etc. etc. It's because its state-of-the-union time for the cult. The Conclave of elders of the Global Warming cult - the IPCC - is about to issue the new doctrine - the fourth pronouncement of faith. It will leaked and then released with great fanfare accepted as a fait acompli and then everyone will duck for cover when the criticism has time to form. Nobody in the cult will debate it - why should they? They hold the high moral ground - why allow doubt? What exactly will happen? On Friday the IPCC will release a summary of the up-coming 1600 page Fourth Assessment Report on climate change. The press will report it as gospel with huge sensational claims and headlines. Meanwhile the panel will sit on the actual science for another 2 months, doctor it up a bit to make sure it all fits the summary and then release it. This will of course be too late for any reasonable debate, discussion, or protest - it will be old news by then.We saw the same process for the now widely discredited Stern Report."

-He's got a whole website of this stuff. . .

Media Circus

Climate change appears to be a popular topic these days. A brochure synthesising information on climate change in the metro Sydney region was released yesterday. The appearance of the words "climate change" and "Sydney" in the same sentence, combined with some dramatic journalism from the Daily Telegraph led to quite a media stir. By the end of the day, I'd done interviews for five free-air television networks (which, in Australia, is all of them), the Weather Channel, the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Financial Times, and BBC Radio-London, to name a few. At last count approximately 160 reports were filed in media outlets. And the interviews keep coming. . .

Here We Go Again

Well, it's almost 2 February, 2007, which means the next round of the IPCC's periodic assessment reports of all things climate change is almost here. In reality, though not officially available for public consumption, the report has already been with us for a couple of weeks, as information has been leaked to the press on a daily basis. In fact, it's hard to recall anything more leaky than the IPCC and its authors, but hey, they're excited, right? So six year's after the last go, what's new in the world of climate science? The answer - all kinds of stuff, provided you're really into the subtleties. If however, you're looking for dramatic new projections of future climate change, sea-level rise, and global consequences, you'll have to wait another five years (or more). For the moment, it's largely status quo, with the exception of a few minor adjustments here and there and modestly more definitive language regarding confidence in the attribution of observed climate change to human activity.

Now of course, this is not what you'll hear from the media or be reading about over the next few weeks. No, instead you'll be bombarded by stories regarding the "new" findings, showing "catastrophic" consequences, that will "certainly" befall humankind if we don't act "immediately". But unless one does more than scratch the surface, she'll be hard pressed to find the the stuff that actual does expand upon what we new back in 2001.

Pardon me, but there's a Chilean in my soup

On the eve on the Australian Open men's singles final, the Dittmers and Prestons dined in one of our favorite Italian spots along Collins Street. Much to our surprise (and pleasure), the place was calling with Germans, including our waiter. Even more surprising, however, was the entrance a few minutes after our arrival of Fernando Gonzalez, along with his coach and trainer. While the room stared in a bit of awe (most of that awe coming from Uta), they took seats at the next table. We continued with our dinner with a new topic for conversation, and as the night wore on and customers started heading for the door, the man of the hour ultimately had to put up with the usual photos, congratulations, and hand shakes from his admirers. We managed to score a photo of Uta and the would-be champion, which undoubtedly will appear here in the near future. Unfortunately, Gonzalez was unable to dethrone the reigning king of tennis, Roger Federer, at the next day's final. . .

UPDATE: 1/2/07 - And, finally, the proof:

Worst Band Names '06

Check out Kyle Ryan's annual wrap-up of the worst band names of 2006.

A sample:
"Papa Grows Funk
If you put “funk” in your name, you should be smacked. Although nothing may ever touch last year’s Public Display Of Funk for sheer audacity in its terribleness. To wit…
Urban Funk Ordinance
Yes, let’s pass one outlawing this band.
Bandits Of The Acoustic Revolution
Using the word “bandits,” minus 5 points. “Revolution,” another five. “Acoustic,” minus 15. Using them together, minus 1,000 points. They sound like cousins of these guys:
Natives Of The New Dawn
and
Daughters Of The Sun
You can practically smell the patchouli from here. Ditto for these fückengrüven names…
Groovatron
Tye Dye Skye
National Ass Groovin’ Association"

It's Not Football, Mate

The ethnic conflict and violence which has historically undermined Australia's attempts to maintain a viable professional soccer league showed up at a strange venue on Monday - Rod Laver arena. Apparently it was a slow day for hooliganism, and thus rowdy young men clashed at Day 1 of the Australian Open. I say, there's nothing more manly than a punch-up while wearing one's tennis whites. The conflict erupted between large groups of Aussies still harbouring nationalist feelings toward their ethnic homelands in the Balkan peninsula (Serbs, Croats, and Greeks). The police ultimately got it all sorted, but tournament officials are a bit embarrassed.

Armageddon

Temperatures yesterday topped out at 41C(106F)in Melbourne, so needless to say, it was a bit warm. Meanwhile, fires continued to range in Victoria's east, damaging electricity transmission lines, which led to blackouts throughout much of the state, including Melbourne. And most importantly, the high temperatures delayed outdoor play at the Australian Open for much of the day, resulting in some matches still underway at 2:00am. Ahhhh, summer in Australia. . .

Start the Presses

The long awaited book, Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change, is now available for ordering via Amazon. Vicki and I have a chapter within regarding communication by the business community. It's long and a bit pricey for vacation reading, but perhaps one of the most comprehensive treatments of the subject to date.

Book Description (from Amazon):
"The need for effective communication, public outreach, and education to increase support for policy, collective action and behavior change is ever present, and is perhaps most pressing in the context of anthropogenic climate change. This book is the first to take a comprehensive look at communication and social change specifically targeted to climate change. It is a unique collection of ideas examining the challenges associated with communicating climate change in order to facilitate societal response. It offers well-founded, practical suggestions on how to communicate climate change and how to approach related social change more effectively. The contributors of this book come from a diverse range of backgrounds, from government and academia to non-governmental and civic sectors of society. The book is accessibly written, and any specialized terminology is explained. It will be of great interest to academic researchers and professionals in climate change, environmental policy, science communication, psychology, sociology, and geography."

Tracking Victorian GHG Emissions

The Climate Group recently unveiled it's new online tool for tracking weekly greenhouse gas emissions for the state of Victoria.

"The Greenhouse Indicator provides accurate and real time information on the amount of greenhouse gases produced each week in Victoria from energy use. This accounts for about 85% of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions."

West Side Story

A family feud in Sydney's west over the weekend led to massive street brawl. Hey, when you're a Jet, you're a Jet. . .

Dispute between families sparks riot
January 7, 2007 - 2:00PM

"NSW Police Minister John Watkins called on the entire community to help solve the escalating problem of youth violence following an incident in Sydney last night in which 19 people were arrested on riot charges."

Drought Solves More Mysteries

As reported here, the severe drought afflicting southeast Australia has brought quite a bit to the surface. And now this:

Body found in submerged car
January 7, 2007 - 4:50PM

Police believe they have found the remains of a man who disappeared 11 years ago, inside a car submerged in a river in central Victoria.

A police spokeswoman said men fishing on the Loddon River, near Serpentine, 200km north of Melbourne, called police after they spotted the car below the surface of the water last Friday.

The current low water levels had brought the car closer to the surface.

"The vehicle was located six kilometres south of Serpentine, just off the Bridgewater-Serpentine Road," the spokeswoman said.

Police say they believe the skeletal remains may be those of a 38-year-old man who disappeared from Newbridge, near Bendigo, in 1995.

"A coroner's inquest at the time found the matter to be suicide without a body," the spokeswoman said.

Police have spent today investigating the scene and have removed the car from the river.

A New Year's Eve

After returning from Tasmania, we quickly unpacked, cleaned and prepared to host the McKinley brothers as they completed their Australia tour in Melbourne. One of their first activities in Melbourne was to help us ring in the New Year. We kicked off festivities at an afternoon barbie at Jeremy's followed by a gala event at the Riverland Bar on the banks of the Yarra.

As the photos evidence, the night was quite enjoyable but did get a bit messy toward the wee hours of the morning. The fireworks were awesome, particularly since they were being launched from a barge on the river about 75 metres from our location. Our party become scattered as we attempted to make our way home, with some opting to walk (and getting lost) while I tried to herd a couple onto the late-night drunk bus through the somewhat chaotic streets of downtown Melbourne.

New Year's Day was spent licking wounds (at least for those capable of movement).

Tasmania

We spent the week between Christmas and New Year's navigating through the wilds of Tasmania, dodging bushfires, wildlife, and bad weather. We arrived in Devonport after an overnight ferry trip on the Spirit of Tasmania, and immediately headed toward the east coast, where we took a peak at the Bay of Fires, before heading south to spend our first night at the Bicheno Caravan Park. There, we managed to catch the nightly parade of fairy penguins from the cold waters of the Tasman Sea into their roosts on the Bicheno coast. We also met Tim and Cindie, who've spent the past 5 years bicycling around the world and were actively working on editing the second book describing their adventures.

From Bicheno, we continued south, stopping in at the Freycinet National Park, and Swansea and continuing on to Hobart, where we arrived Christmas Eve. We lodged oursleves at the Customs House Hotel on the harbour, and had to search a bit before we could find a find meal worthy of Christmas Eve (quite a few tourists in town for the Sydney to Hobart race). On Christmas Day, we joined the rest of the tourists at Port Arthur, one of the few remaining windows to Australia's more humble colonial beginnings. Christmas Day was cold and rainy, with snow falling on Tasmania's peaks. As a further insult, Hobart pretty much shut down by the afternoon, and so we were forced to find sustenance in the local casino, and we returned to our hotel only to have the electricity knocked out by a gust of wind.

On Boxing Day, we returned to the bush, and headed north into Tasmania's highlands. We spent a night at the Tarraleah power station - formerly a community for Tasmania's hydropower workers - now a quiet resort, complete with accommodation ranging from a luxury lodge, to cottages, to camp sites. We got a taste of summer weather in Tasmania, with temperatures overnight dropping below 10C.

The following day, we continued north into the Cradle Mountain/Lake St. Clair National Park, stopping for a quick peak at Lake St. Clair, before taking the roundabout western roads to get to Cradle Mountain. We passed through some of Tasmania's more rustic communities, including Queenstown (a little village nestled into a mining-scarred landscape) and Rosebery, the latter looking like something out of West Virginia in the 1970s. We arrived at our campground just outside the park in the late afternoon, and proceeded to pray for good weather for the next day.

We woke early to tackle Cradle Mountain itself - a peak the juts out of the highland landscape, famous for its views which are often obscured by nasty weather. Just three days before, the mountain had received snowfall, but we were lucky enough to experience fantastic blue skies. The hike to the base of the mountain along the park's Overland Track (which continues south for days for the intrepid adventurer) was pleasant enough - fantastic views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. The ascent to the summit however was indeed challenging, with the "trail" consisting of a series of metal stakes sticking out of a boulder encrusted mountainside. We scrambled past more than one person who'd decided that this was not what they had in mind when they set out for a hike, but we made it to the top without too much trouble. We returned via Hudson's Lake, a trip that took longer than we expected, over rougher ground, and the trail disappeared toward the end, forcing us to get a bit creative. It all ended well, however, and we called it an early night after about seven hours on the move.

Our final day saw us heading back toward Devonport to catch the ferry home, but we stopped off in the quaint town of Sheffield to check out the famous murals (painted years ago as a means of attracting tourists - it appeared to have worked), and then snuck in one last hike through Narawntapu National Park (previously known as Asbestos Range National Park, but that clearly doesn't sound as pleasant). This coastal park allegedly has the highest density of wildlife of any park in the world. Not sure about that claim, but there certainly were heaps of wallabies and pademelons. Once again, we got a bit side-tracked and lost the path, but eventually back-tracked and recovered.

We boarded our ferry a bit stinky and sailed off into the sunset for the voyage home.

For the feast of photos, go here.

Drought Fights Crime

Drought exposes illegal firearms
Jordan Chong
January 4, 2007 - 3:02PM

Falling water levels might be a nightmare for farmers, gardeners and the community at large, but the drought has helped police recover a number of illegal guns dumped in lakes near Ballarat.

Four weapons, including rifles and a bolt-action shotgun, have been found since November at Wendouree and Creswick lakes, which sit empty because of Victoria's long drought.

Some of the weapons have a history, with one rifle linked to a burglary that occurred in Ballarat about 20 years ago, according to local police.

Ballarat Senior Sergeant Gary Pilmore said many of the firearms had been uncovered by people fossicking through the empty lakes.

He urged people who discoverer guns to contact local police.

"These guns are in very poor condition and some may still have ammunition inside them," Sen Sgt Pilmore said in a statement released by Victoria Police today.

"We are concerned that some people may come across an old firearm and take it home instead of contacting police and handing it in.

"For their own safety and the safety of the community we are asking people to immediately contact us if they find a firearm and we will come and collect it from them."

He said work was continuing to link the found guns to old crimes or return them to their original owners.

A series of gun amnesties in Victoria and the banning of certain categories of firearms may have prompted the dumping of the guns, he said.

Dumb Stuff from OZ

Bank issues credit card to cat
POSTED: 0415 GMT (1215 HKT), January 3, 2007
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- An Australian bank has apologized for issuing a credit card to a cat after its owner decided to test the bank's identity security system.

The Bank of Queensland issued a credit card to Messiah the cat when his owner Katherine Campbell applied for a secondary card on her account under its name.

"I just couldn't believe it. People need to be aware of this and banks need to have better security," Campbell told local media on Thursday.

The bank said the cat's card had been canceled. "We apologize as this should not have happened," it said in a statement.

Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Typo takes tourist 13,000 km out
POSTED: 1427 GMT (2227 HKT), December 29, 2006

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

Dressed for the Australian summer in T-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany on Saturday for a four-week holiday.

Instead of arriving "down under", Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.

"I did wonder but I didn't want to say anything," Gutt told the Bild newspaper. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States."

Gutt's airline ticket routed him via the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon, to Billings, Montana. Only as he was about to board a commuter flight to Sidney -- an oil town of about 5,000 people -- did he realize his mistake.

The hapless tourist, who had only a thin jacket to keep out the winter cold, spent three days in Billings airport before he was able to buy a new ticket to Australia with 600 euros in cash that his parents and friends sent over from Germany.

"I didn't notice the mistake as my son is usually good with computers," his mother, Sabine, told Reuters.