America = Australia?

We've always said that, in the grand spectrum of national diversity that exists around the globe, Australia and the United States possess a large degree of similarity. Naturally, Australians find the this concept appalling, but when push comes to shove, we can back it up. And lately, the similarities have become even stronger. Looking for a catastrophic bushfire? Well it seems you're just as likely to find one in southern California as in the highlands of Victoria. Or perhaps you'd prefer a good drought? Well, the reservoirs of the good ol' ATL are apparently in even worse shape than those of Melbourne (but perhaps not as bad off as Brisbane). And with the Australian dollar rapidly gaining ground on the US dollar, it's only a matter of time before the two currencies are effectively indistinguishable (except for the fact that Australia has the gold coins and the plastic notes in fun colours). Australia's case for becoming the 51st state just got that much stronger (only thing left for Australia to do is cut its minimum wage in half, abandon national health care, let fundamentalists take control of governance, and distribute a few million handguns to the people).

Bush Fair

Spent last weekend up at the annual Typo Station Bush Fair in central Victoria - 24 hours of fun in the sun (and the flies) supporting a worthy cause. As usual, we dragged along an international crowd of friends with us, just to bring a bit of diversity to the Bush (by the way - in case you're wondering, central Victoria is not a popular place with the brothers). A little wood cutting, the ol' sheath toss, some cowpat bingo, and late night drinking around the fire. What more could you ask for. And just to prove that country folks aren't uncivilized, if you felt the need, an espresso machine was on hand to satisfy any caffeine addictions (this is what I love about Australia - you might not have access to indoor plumbing, but you'll never have to go without a cappuccino).

A few photos here.

Yeah, so. . .

I have received complaints about my prolonged absence, to which I reply: "I've been busy" - six trips to Sydney, a trip to Bundaberg, QLD, and one to Canberra since the end of August. Apart from that, not much going on down under these days, as all things currently revolve around the upcoming election (which, based upon the respective policy platforms of the two parties, is proving to be a demonstration of convergent evolution in action).

Another Coup for Australian Journalism

Couldn't help but notice three of the big headlines at The Age Online this afternoon:

Kirribilli flame-thrower 'mentally ill'
4:45pm | "Sydney man who lobbed flaming bag into PM's residence ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment."

Drunk man served shot of detergent
4:02pm | "Barmaid served drunk customer a shot of Pine-o-Cleen, causing him to become violently ill."

Woman beheads goat in 'sacrifice'
2:23pm | "Drunken prank ends in the slaughter of a goat on the altar of a Brisbane church."

Glad to see The Age is tackling the issues that matter most.

Bundaberg

Back from Bundaberg, "one of Queensland's most modern and progressive cities." Initially, I scoffed at this claim, but then for QLD, Bundaberg probably could be considered a bustling urban centre. In any case, I was up there for the inaugural Queensland Coastal Conference. But managed to sample a little local culture - a dip in the surf at Bargara, a sip of some fine Bundy Rum, and a stay at the Bert Hinkler Comfort Inn - one of the many fine motels in town (although it did take us a few days to figure out who the hell Bert Hinkler was).

When I was in College. . .

The college experience (assuming you can afford it) is undergoing significant change as some of the more affluent schools are now offering double beds in what has traditional been minimalist campus housing. Gone are the days when college was akin to a cozy camp experience - now it's more like a luxury all-inclusive resort. Personally, I credit the year I spent sleeping on a rock-hard platform with my feet hanging off the end with all the success I've had to date. Although that experience (combined with a jerk of a roommate) also gave me incentive to move off campus after my freshman year.

It's a Small World After All

The world just got that much smaller. How small? Small enough that the traditionally marathon-esque journey from London to Sydney can now be undertaken by bus. Granted, it's a 12 week bus ride, but that's still a heck of a lot faster than the time needed by the first fleet to make the same journey by boat (eight months). So if you're in the market for a novel way to get to Australia (or to London), check out OZ-Bus.

An itinerary is provided here for the Australia-London leg, although the website does note: "Due to the unpredictability of political and environmental conditions, the route can be subject to change."

Spielberg and Hanks Stop Traffic

Sydney was locked down for APEC, but in Melbourne it takes something a bit more artsy to bring the city to a stand still. Enter Spielberg and Hanks, who have received permission to shut down the busiest intersection in central Melbourne for an entire weekend while they shoot their Pacific edition of Band of Brothers, which begain production in Melbourne last month.

WSJ Continues to Publish Rubbish on Climate Change

An opinion piece appeared on WSJ online last week (available here in full via a right-wing site), offering up a tired account of the climate change debate. The author, Syun-Ichi Akasofu (an individual with plenty of scientific credentials, but sadly one wouldn't know it from his article) raises three arguments that he asserts undermines the scientific evidence for climate change - three arguments that were dispensed with as rubbish years ago. Why they continue to resurface in any venue, particularly one associated with a presumably leading media outlet, is beyond me (but then WSJ has a history - see here or here). The three points:

1) "ice-core data showing that temperature rises tend to precede CO2 increases by about 1,000 years." Yes, in a naturally warming world CO2 increases in the atmosphere. This does not mean that any CO2 increase in the atmosphere is natural in nature(to draw this conclusion would be a far more absurd scientific deduction than anything climate change scientists have ever come up with). Rather, what this means is that as fossil fuel combustion increases atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the resulting human-induced warming will cause a positive feedback leading to even more CO2 in the atmosphere, and even more warming.

2) Then there's the old hockey stick graph, which the author argues has been debunked. "Two Canadian statisticians found that the authors of the graph made a statistical error in dealing with the tree-ring data. After correcting the error, the two researchers could not reproduce the sharp upturn of the curve -- even though they were using the very same data." OK, what was the point of the hockey stick graph? Temperatures in the northern hemisphere at the end of the 20th century were warmer than at any point in the prior 1000 years. Since that study was published, there have been about a dozen other independent studies arriving at the same conclusion (see Figure below from the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report). All of this is well documented in the literature for anyone interested in taking an honest look.

3) Then there are the particularly unscientific platitudes that are simply presented without any supporting information whatsoever. Things like global warming "can be attributed to the rebounding effect from the Little Ice Age" or "a supercomputer cannot provide an approximate estimate of the temperature in 2050 or 2100 because scientists are not able to instruct it with all the the unknown processes that may be at play." What the hell is this "rebounding effect" - the planet's energy balance is externally forced, so for it to "rebound" that external forcing must have changed. Although other forcings such as solar radiation and volcanic activity contribute in part to observed climate trends, you can't adequately explain those trends without accounting for the external forcing induced by greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, climate models are capable of reproducing the 20th century climate (although some models are much better than others), so presumably they can give an indication of the direction the climate will be forced in the future (but, hey, there are people that devote their lives to model evaluation - why not cite some of their work rather than making blanket statements). Obviously, if some other large forcing were to rear its head, then greenhouse gases would rightfully move to the back burner. Over geologic time scales, such forcings will invariably arise. But over the time scales of society and policy, there's nothing on the horizon that appears set to dominate over greenhouse gases.

In the universe of climate skepticism, this piece is pretty sub-standard, which makes one wonder why WSJ online would post it. It does a poor job of representing the science, which is exacerbated by the fact that the folks at WSJ online don't know any better or don't care. I'd be thrilled to see an international body of quality scientific research that provides compelling evidence that humans aren't significantly forcing the global climate. That evidence doesn't exist.

The Ubiquitous Backpacker

Australia is awash with backpackers, with the number of annual visits increasing by half a million in the past year along with an additional half a million in spending (largely on beer, I imagine). Apparently, new agreements secured at APEC will allow even more backpackers from the US and Canada to hitch-hike their way around Oz. Super - because nothing makes be happier that seeing little Canadian flags emblazoned on backpacks (and they say Americans are nationalistic. . . ).

Speaking of Canada, today's MX newspaper featured a reader's letter, who publicly outed herself:

"After years of travelling under the guise of a Canadian, I fell it's time to come out of the closet. I am an American".

She goes on to express her constant disappointment at meeting Australians who are surprised to find Americans that are actually critical of US foreign policy, the Bush administration, etc. Granted, I've had my own experience with Australians who seem happy to unload on an American - strangers who say things like "you know what's wrong with America" and proceed to list everything they observed while backpacking for a couple of weeks last year. I think it's a fair assumption that most Americans have a much better understanding of what's wrong with America than non-Americans. Yet generally I've found that if you've bothered to leave the US and, better yet, opted to spend some time in Australia ("the greatest country in the world"), most Australians will assume you must have some good sense.

German Enough for Ya?

Aussie fired for not being 'German enough'
September 13, 2007 - 9:41AM

"An Australian man has launched a 10 million pound sterling ($24.3 million) bid for compensation from a London investment bank he claims sacked him for not being German enough."

Bad Moon on the Rise

Despite the hopes that were raised back in May for above average winter rain and an end to the drought, southeast Australia is currently facing a familiar scene - the continuation of the Big Dry. With many farmers up against the wall at the beginning of the year, the hints of rain that did occur gave promise for a bumper year, triggering farmers to go "all in" in an attempt to make up for prior losses. But with normal rains failing to materialise, the consequences look dire. In the abscence of big rains in the next month, things will go from bad to worse.

Horseshoes and Handgrenades

Despite a number of close opportunities, the Socceroos fell to Argentina in tonight's friendly at the MCG.

Climate Ad

This new ad was sponsored by Australia's Climate Institute. Cute, eh?

Beautiful Beijing?

Beijing is China's most beautiful city? I find that hard to believe and (coming from my own perspective of western bias) hope that's not the case. Bits and pieces are certainly beautiful (assuming the air's transparent enough to see them), but on the whole, I reckon there's got to be something a bit more picturesque.

After APEC: Back to the Drawing Board

APEC is set to wrap up and although it has all come off as a "much ado about nothing" affair, there are some lasting repercussions:

1) "A $250 million security operations has been brought down by 11 comedians." This comment uttered in response to the penetration of the security shield erected around Bush and the rest of the APEC leadership by the The Chaser crew. So much for Australia's big demonstration of power, authority and competence amidst the global war on terror. Australians found the whole thing hysterical, but government officials weren't smiling. At least the NSW police got to bash a few protestors to make sure everyone knows they mean business.

2) A grand opportunity for John Howard to prop up his sagging poll numbers slipped past, with Howard receiving little praise or attention, his own party grumbling about a snap election and change of leadership, and opposition leader Kevin Rudd coming across cool, calm, and collected.

3) Another smokescreen on climate change emerged, with APEC leaders agreeing that an international greenhouse gas mitigation target may not be such a bad idea and setting regional goals (non-binding of course) of reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of their respective economies by 25% by 2030. In other words, they promise to dream optimistically about a future world where energy intensity continues to decline (as it has for decades) and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. If maintaining "business-as-usual" is a grand vision of progressive behaviour, I reckon we're in trouble.

Aussie Eateries in NYC

The Age ran an article today on the growth of Australian-themed restaurants in New York City. With names like "Little Australia", "The Sunburnt Cow", "Sheep Station", and "Bondi Road", these establishments were largely developed by Aussies for Aussies, but are making inroads with Americans. Common offerrings appear to be Australian beer (both the good stuff and the not-so-good-stuff) and wine along with a smattering of Australian sports (rugby, AFL, cricket, etc.). I'd be interested to see how Americans contend with the Australian variety hamburger (complete with beet root and a fried egg). But at the very least, Americans will be able to experience something a bit more authentic than "Outback Steakhouse".

A Horse is a Horse, Unless it's a Racing Horse with Equine Flu

It's the end of the world as New South Wales knows it. Thousands of horses have come down with the sniffles at the dawn of one of the most lucrative gambling events of the year - spring carnival. New South Wales' carnival has been called off, tossing people out of work, and forcing tens of thousands of horse enthusiasts and chronic gamblers to find other forms of entertainment (to the dog tracks!). Some have called it a natural disaster, demanding compensation and government relief (think of the poor bookies!).

Victoria has thus far been spared, leaving Melbourne's carnival (and the Melbourne Cup) to continue on schedule, but with the horses of NSW and QLD barred from traveling, it's likely to be a subdued affair.

America, uh, in the, uh, such as, News, Again. I Think.

There's nothing Australians love more than a sporting event, except perhaps taking the piss out of someone. Fortunately, Americans provide ample opportunity. So the morning shows in Australia were delighted this week by Miss Teen South Carolina's stunning testimony to the quality of American education:

And this of course was followed by comical commentary on the Stalinesque legistlative proposal in Atlanta to punish the city's fashion challenged:

Proposal would ban underwear-exposing pants
By DAVID PENDERED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/22/07

"Exposed boxer shorts and thongs would be illegal in any public place in Atlanta if the City Council approves a proposed amendment to the city's indecency laws."

As one Australian commentator put it: "you'd think they'd invest their energy in addressing issues of poverty, universal health coverage, gun violence and education (see above) before regulating boxer shorts".

Yes you would, wouldn't you.

Only In Australia

While the first, er, "colonists" of Australia left England under duress (for lack of a better word), this latest ad for Bundaberg Rum puts a humorous spin on the motivations of England's emigrees in the modern era.

Meanwhile, Catherine Deveny has this response to Australia's recently implemented citizenship test:

"Who are we trying to keep out with this test? How will knowing the name of Australia's first prime minister or the date of Federation keep out terrorists, wankers or bludgers? The citizenship test questions are irrelevant and offensive. Here's my citizenship test and if you don't like it you can rack off and go back to your own country. You know what the most un-Australian thing in the world is? Migrants. And we don't want them coming here with their fancy food, classy culture, rich traditions and willingness to contribute."

Private Dancer

The media erupted over the weekend with news that while visiting New York four years ago, opposition leader Kevin Rudd apparently went out drinking and visited an adult entertainment establishment (the horror!). Interestingly, only the media seemed interested in the story. When quizzed on the subject, Liberal government leaders initially dropped "no comment" faster than you can tuck a dollar bill into a g-string (but wait, they don't have dollar bills here. hmmmmmm. . .). Could it be that Rudd is perhaps not the only one in Canberra to have ventured into a strip club? But by this morning, it appeared that having a history of boys nights out might actually improve one's image in the public eye, which led to a veritable stampede of confessions. No one appears to want to be the prude who hasn't had a bit of naughty fun.

No-Water Sports

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not head to Alice Springs for the 46th annual Henley-on-Todd Regatta:

"In 1962, Reg Smith and his compatriots at the Alice Springs Meteorological Bureau proposed they hold an actual regatta along the lines of the famous Henley-on-Thames, a race between Cambridge and Oxford Universities. The idea was taken up by the Rotary club of Alice Springs, and the fact that the town was 1,500 km's from the nearest large body of water was never seen as a problem."

"Watching seemingly sane people race in bottomless "eights", "oxford tubs", "bath tubs" and yachts through the deep coarse sand of the Todd River provides an unique spectacle amongst world sporting events. The multi-event program attracts many local and international participants from the audience who often finish up on world TV news paddling canoes with sand shovels and in "land lubber" events like filling empty 44 gallon drums with sand."

Two Songs about Bondage

"Tie Up My Hands" from the debut album of Australia's own British India:

Not to be confused with the Starsailor classic of the same name:

Bus Races

You can't make this stuff up. . .

Cameras Catch Drag-Racing Bus Drivers
August 17, 2007 - 5:58AM

"Sydney bus drivers have been caught on camera as they drag race, run red lights, speed and crash, putting passengers and other road users at risk."

Happy Ending

In the good old fashioned Aussie tradition of giving everyone a fair go, a brothel in South Melbourne is offering discounts on services to compensate for higher petrol costs. Melbourne's men no longer have to make the horrible trade-off between putting food on the table and the costs of driving the extra km's for a little attention. Just rock up with a petrol receipt, and get your rocks off for a bargain.

Carbon, Carbon Everywhere

Today's Washington Post has a long article on the expanding, and increasingly dodgy carbon offsets market.

What do Russia, Ireland, and Fiji Have in Common?

They comprise the nations whose citizens have the top 3 highest rates of murder when travelling in Australia.

Finally, Higher Water Prices

Water Prices Set to Rise
August 14, 2007 - 5:41PM

"Householders have been warned of steep rises in water bills to fund $30 billion worth of spending over the next five to 10 years to drought-proof the country."

Breast Subsidies

Breast Operation Prize Draws Anger
August 14, 2007 -- Updated 0831 GMT (1631 HKT)

"CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- An Australian men's magazine offering readers a "boob job" breast enhancement for their girlfriends will be investigated under laws barring cosmetic surgery prizes, authorities said on Tuesday."

While this certainly qualifies as newsworthy information in Australia, I'm a bit surprised that someone at CNN is actually paid to dig up the details of such internationally-significant human interest stories.

Diplomacy

How do you welcome an Australian athelete to the United States?

Put Another Credit Card on the Barbie

I saw this last month, but forgot to get it up:

Americans still dream of holidays Down Under
Posted Tue Jul 3, 2007 6:34am AEST

"Australia has topped the list of the most popular vacation destinations for Americans, if money were no object. "

Unfortunately for Americans (and Australian tourism), the only places more expensive for Americans are Antarctica and outer space.

Big Brother Over Sydney

Google Earth goes all fuzzy over the Sydney business district - just a few weeks before the APEC summit. Coincidence?

RTA Launches New Anti-Speeding Campaign

Part of New South Wales Road and Traffic Authority's latest anti-speeding campaign. . .

Split/Vis

If you flew from Frankfurt to Split, Croatia, who would you expect to see on the plane? Germans? Croatians? How about a couple of dozen American pilgrims on their way to Christian holy sites? If you picked the latter, you'd be spot on. I personally, felt a twinge of guilt as our journey was all about self-indulgence.

We arrived in Split and were met by Davorka, mother of Ivan, former roomie of Uta from her GA State days. Uta and Davorka go way back, almost 10 years, when Davorka spent two weeks in Atlanta visiting her son. To say that she was ecstatic to see Uta would be an understatement. We'd arranged to stay with the family for a night before continuing on the island of Vis. Fortunately, for us, Croatian hospitality rivals that of anything one could find in the southern USA. Davorka provided us keys to an empty flat (allegedly purchased in an as yet unsuccessful attempt to lure Ivan back to Split to join the family business), which included a fridge stocked with goodies. She then escorted us around old Split, through Diocletian's Palace, along the embankment and most of the city's coastal frontage. She treated us to dinner in Bacvice Inlet, joined by Ivan's siblings.

The following morning, we met up with Ana and Michelle along the embankment and boarded a ferry for the two hour trip to Vis (check out this article on CNN as well). We were met at the ferry docks by Ivo, proprieter of our accomodation. We'd rented a couple of rooms in his 16th century house on the Vis harbour. Ivo took the bags in the car, and we proceeded on foot, which was fine, as any car trip in Vis is a hair raising experience, particularly in the towns where the roads are barely wide enough for a single car (one sees a lot of vehicles moving in reverse).

The following week was nothing but pure decadence (except the part where we got stopped by the police). We arranged for Ivo to transport us to various beaches on the island, and spent a day reaching some of the area's more remote locations by boat (including Biševo and the Blue Cave). Ultimately, we were joined by Maya and Victor, as well as Ivan himself, who dropped in for a night. We also spent a coule of evenings in Komiža, the island's fishing community, which hosts a fisherman's festival on Saturday nights. We largely skipped breakfast, as a Croatian breakfast appears to consist of Turkish coffee and cigarettes. We passed on the cigarettes. Lunch could also be hard to come by - we walked out of one spot after we leanred that our fellow patrons had been waiting for 1-2 hours for food. However, each evening was an occassion for a 3-hour feast of grilled seafood and wine. The town of Vis proved quite a picturesque spot for a morning jog, and Uta found a staircase that would challenge the anaerobic metabolism of the leg muscles of the most hardened athlete). The weather was perfect for the dration (save for a storm that blew in and out out one night), and the island is still sufficiently off the beaten path to not be overrun by tourists (as evidenced by the limited English and lack of friendly service). However, based upon the number of high priced yachts sailing into and out of the harbour, it's clear that the island is hardly undiscovered. After a week in paradise, we ventured by to Split, where we were once again met by Davorka and a restocked refigerator. We had a drink in the evening with the family and then spent one more night in Split, tackling Marjan Hill with Ivan's brother the following morning before starting the long trip back to Australia. Incidentally, Crotia's parting words to me were spoken by the chick at passport control - as she stamped by passport she commented: "Benjamin, you have interesting hair-do". With her accent it sounded pretty sexy, but then this could have also meant "dude, you look like a jackass, get out of our country".

The return trip was a test of endurance. An 1.5 hour flight back to Frankfurt (with the pilgirms) where we had a six hour lay-over in the airport. Incidentally, the Frankfurt airport, like Lufthansa, is somewhat of a no-frills zone. Though extremely busy, other than free newspapers in several languages, the airport offers little in the way of food options or ways to occupy oneself for six hours. We actually ate at McDonald's (I ended up with a happy meal due to some problems on Uta's behalf with her native tongue - I didn't get full, but at least I got a toy). Also, the aiport must have the worst indoor air quality of any airport in the western world, due to the prevalence of smokers and the half-assed mechanisms in place to prevent second-hand smoke. The experience was not unlike sitting in a bar, although even most bars in the world are now smoke free. This was followed by a 11.5 hour flight to Singapore (punctuated by an early conflict between two grown mean fighting because one was pushing the seat of the guy in front of him), where we had a five hour layover - fortunately, the Singapore airport is stacked with goodies. The last leg was 6.5 hours down to Melbourne, arriving around 6:30 in the morning. Jet lag has been kicking our asses around the block for the past couple of days, but hopefully we're on the tail end of its effects. Another work week is just around the corner. . .

Photos here

St. Peter-Ording

What does one do on a 10 hour flight from Bangkok to Frankfurt? Not much, particularly when no-frills Lufthansa doesn't even have movies on demand. Mainly, I tried to keep circulation to my legs going. Karin und Hartmut met us in Hamburg after a quick connecting flight and escorted us north to their retirement villa in St. Peter-Ording on the North Sea - a little spot of heaven in Germany's north.

We had two leisurely weeks on the coast, where we were joined by numerous family and friends. Oma and Opa dropped by first - happy to see us, although Oma found the current status of my hair to be less than ideal. The first few days were sunny and warm, allowing us to (finally-after many years) enjoy some quality time on the beach. We also got to take in Germany's Beach Volleyball Championships during that first weekend, where one of Uta's friends was coaching one of the women's teams. Saturday night, a tournament party rocked the beach - complete with all varieties of daggy music and Warsteiner tents featuring the latest rage in Germany: flavoured beer (yes, I know, when Germany starts serving up fruity beer one's got to start wondering about where the world is heading). Uta managed to run into another of her old buddies at the party, which led to hours of humorous recollection, particularly as said friend is now a teacher at Uta's old high school. I, however, made some new friends of my own - there's not too many people that look like me in northern Germany, so apparently it's one of the few places in the world where I'm cool by default. Katrin also arrived over the weekend, reuniting the Dittmer family once again.

As we headed into the following week, Bavarian Pia arrived, but the weather became a bit less reliable, driving up competition for the most critical piece of infrastructure in northern Germany: the Strandkorb. This piece of beach hardware acts as both a wind break and a comfy chair, and nothing appears more beloved among beachgoers. Some go as far as to erect ramparts around their Strandkorb to defend it against would-be usurpers. We had two rented for the duration, which enabled us to forceably evict squatters. And let me tell you - if you want to piss off a German, boot him out of his Strandkorb. It's not a pretty sight. Due to dodgy weather, we took one day and headed down to Hamburg via train to do a little shopping and meet up with Nina and Sylvia. We enjoyed a leisurely breafast at TH2, picked up some items at H&M (the only establishment cheap enough for our Aussie dollars to be useful), did some celebrity spotting (Michael Stich, but only from a distance) and then dined at the hip eatery Vapiano.

Back at the beach, we were eventually joined by the Lagerpusch cousins, Nico and Merit, as well as Matthias, leading to a full house indeed. We capped off the trip with a celebratory evening at the local tennis club, where Uta caught up with everyone from days of tennis gone by, and I put my German to the test trying to keep up with conversations (which become increasingly difficult as the night wore on and speech started to slur). Pia and I finally packed it in at 1:30 and biked back to the ranch, leaving Uta to rage til dawn.

All in all, a daily routine of food, bicycle rides, and lying on the beach is an idyllic existence, particularly with the occassional Dorf Fest, round of golf, or booze up. But all good things must come to an end, and in this case, we ultimately had to hop a plane to Split (which necessitated waking up at a truly criminal hour).

Photos here

Bangkok

We left for Thailand on Friday the 13th, arriving in Bangkok about 6 in the morning after an overnight flight from Melbourne. We took a cab into the city and woke up our hosts, Newley and Anasuya. We hung out at Anasuya's pad and caught up for a few hours before catching breakfast across the way at Crepes & Co. We headed down to the river and did a quick cruise with the tourists with our guide pointing out all the #1 spots in Bangkok to visit ("if you have time"). We also took in some beef noodle and proceeded to Khao San market to observe Bangkok's playground for grudgy backpackers (check out Newley's recent article in the NYT). We grabbed some tasty Thai vittles and finished off the night at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar where we drank German beer and watched a tacky stage show featuring Thai versions of top-40 hits. Not bad for day 1.

Day 2 we dared to venture into Chatuchak Weekend Market. If you can't find it at Chatuchak, you don't want it. Highlights included the rabbits in knitted sweaters and the squirrels with little hats. But an outdoor market in Bangkok's heat and humidity can only be endured for so long. We rewarded ourselves with a proper Bankok Sunday brunch at Trader Vic's at the Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa. Three hours of devine gluttony! We took a siesta in the afternoon, and Uta and I wandered off down the road to check out the neighborhood and dropped in on Bei Otto.

On Monday, we turned into proper tourists, and hit some of Bangkok's cultural sites. First stop was the obligatory Grand Palace followed by Wat Po. We had to do the tourist dance with a clown outside Wat Po who tried the ol' "the temple is closed for lunch, you can come back later, in the meantime why don't you take a tour with my buddy" routine. We said thanks and proceeded to walk into Wat Po. We then had a spot of difficulty catching a cab to Siam Square, as none of the cabbies wanted to use the meter - we had to hop in and out of a few cabs before finally getting a lift. Siam Square and the neighboring shopping precincts represent some of the more posh shopping in Bangkok, no shortage of Prada, Gucci and other things we can't afford (not to mention one of the biggest freakin' food courts we've ever seen). We regrouped with Newley and Anasuya to finish off the night with dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, before taking a cab through some of Bangkok's peak traffic (dreadful) to the airport to travel to our next destination.

Photos here

Return to Oz

Our vacation has come and gone. We spent four weeks overseas, trekking from Australia to Thailand (Bangkok), Germany (Hamburg and St. Peter-Ording) and Croatia (Split and Vis). Hit the links to check out a summary of each leg of the journey.

News from the Northern Hemisphere

Melbourne became too cold for us so we decided to jump ship and head north (way north) for a few weeks. We stopped by Newley's place in Bangkok (shown here - Bangkok that is, not Newley's place) for a couple of days before moving on to Germany, where we're currently dug-in in the northern coastal town of St. Peter-Ording on the North Sea. Here for another ten days before slowly returning to Australia via Croatia. More later, for the moment, we're busy doing as little as possible.

News from the Great Beyond

I received the following email this week. It's rather unintelligible, but amusing nonetheless, and I suppose I should feel priviliged to be the recipient of such intergalactic wisdom:
_______________________________________________

Subject: Metereology in the Solar System due to the Astronomical Cycle, of 26,000 years, of the Sun in the Star Cluster of Alcyone in the Pleiades. Intercession by A.D. 2012.

Re:

- ' The Great Global Warming Swindle ' = ' Glass Half Full '

- Cimate Change > the Environment > Astronomy > the UFO Matrix = Current <
Events < Genuine < Correlation

- " Focus on solar outbursts '" & " Radio 'screams' from the Sun warn of
radiatio storms " : European Space Agency (ESA)

- Perception on the Rescue of Humanity from the Astronomical Events
anticipated within A.D. 2012 due to the orbit of the Solar System in the
Photon Band - Exposure to the Centre of the Galaxy.

- Foreword from Jesus the Christ, Lord and Redeemer - Treatise: 'PROJECT
WORLD EVACUATION' - Compiled through Tuella by the ASHTAR Command.

- Treatise by Director Satya, from the Central Library of Alcyone in the
Pleiades, our local Star System, through Barbara Hand Clow - The anticipated
Astronomical Events discussed in Depth.

- The Official Website of the Sirian Command within the Galactic Federation
- Weekly Updates.


There is virtual evidence that our planet and solar system are gradually
receiving, and being influenced by, the energies originating from the centre
of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Two animated photos of the European Space Agency (ESA), and related article
by the title "Focus on solar outbursts", showing the Sun with great
emissions of gas into space from its North and South Poles are on the
record:

http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM1V5XLDMD_FeatureWeek_0.html

With a complementary article of 29 May, 2007: "Radio 'screams' from the Sun
warn of radiation storms"

http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMOPF9RR1F_index_0.html

The following is a quotation from the weekly 'Update by Sheldan Nidle for
the Spiritual Hierarchy and the Galactic Federation':

"We also have briefly examined the present state of your Sun's
family. Your entire solar system is in a state of enormously accelerating
hyperactivity. At first, this heightened activity seriously affected her
innermost planets. More than a decade ago, Vulcan cracked and was destroyed.
Over the same decade, Mercury's orbit became slightly more eccentric. Venus'
dense atmosphere became more disturbed as volcanic and earthquake events
increased. Mother Earth's base frequency rose and her central sun - her core
- became more magnetic. Mars' ice caps began to melt more quickly and severe
dust storms occurred more frequently than before. The upper atmospheres of
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune encountered increased flux.

"As Mother Earth reacts to the Sun's increased energy transference,
she heats up. Temperatures in the lower atmosphere rise. Meanwhile, the
energy upheaval in Mother Earth's atmosphere and central 'sun' increase
exponentially. These factors lead to escalation in global volcanic and
earthquake activity.

[http://www.paoweb.com/sn120203.htm] Archives: http://www.paoweb.com

Our solar system orbits in the Pleiades. We are part of a conical spiral
star cluster, originating from the star Alcyone, at the vertex, with the
star systems of Mereope, Maya, Electra, Tayeta, Coele, Atlas and our Sun
which is the eighth star of the Alcyone Spiral.

Each star system of the Alcyone Spiral travels in the Galactic Night for
varying lengths of time. Alcyone is always exposed to the light of the
centre of the Milky Way Galaxy through the Photon Band, whereas, our Sun,
being the most far-off from Alcyone, spends most time in the Galactic Night
- 11,000 years in the Galactic Night and 2,000 years in the Photon Band and,
again, 11,000 and 2,000 to complete a cycle of circa 26,000 years.

December 21, 2012 is the culmination of the Sun's present cycle, referred to
as the Precession of the Equinoxes, and the beginning of the next, when our
solar system will re-enter the Photon Band and begins to be totally exposed
to the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy for a period of 2,000 years, before
re-exiting the same Photon Band and re-entering the Galactic Night.

More info:
'THE PLEIADIAN AGENDA', by Barbara Hand Clow
1995 Bear & Company Publishing
Rochester Vermont USA.
[Channeling Satya, the keeper of the records of Alcyone, the
central Pleidian library]

Between now and, well before, December 2012 the reality of the Precession of
the Equinoxes awakens the world into a galactic awareness and, by necessity,
humanity will require the assistance and help of the Board of Command of the
Galactic Federation as there will be predictable surface living conditions
that will affect all unless the Spiritual Hierarchy and the Member
Starnations, led by Sirian Command, within the Galactic Federation MEDIATE
in an effectively programmed way.

Also from Lord Ashtar:
"I am Ashtar, the Commander of ten million men surrounding this hemisphere
(northern) in the protective force within the Alliance for Peace in the
Intergalactic Council. "There is method and great organization in a
detailed plan already near completion for the purpose of removing souls from
this planet, in the event of catastrophic events making a rescue necessary.
"The possible polar shift has been greatly lessened and gentled by the
actions of our scientific volunteers from many worlds. "There are also
tracking units with the Ashtar Command which continually trace the pathways
of all asteroid action within this solar system and beyond.

More info:
PROJECT WORLD EVACUATION
Compiled through Tuella by the ASHTAR Command
1993 Inner Light Publications
New Brunswick NJ USA.

The Commanders and Teachers contributing to the Treatise above:

Jesus the Christ, Lord and Redeemer of the Planet; Ashtar; Kuthumi;
Andromeda Rex; Lytton; Avalon; Monka; Korton; Jycondria; St. Germain;
Cassion; Hatonn; Anton; Soltec; Voltra; Hilarion; Joshua.

Ecos

For a relatively brief article on the benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation, see the latest edition of Ecos, in which Roger and I have an article summing up work from the Energy Futures Forum and other sordid tidbits.

Live Earth

Live Earth is now underway, having kicked off in Sydney. So over the course of 24 hours, musicians and their fans will rock while Rome burns, in the latest attempt to save the world through rock & roll. But hey, rock and roll changed the world once, maybe it can do it again. But I doubt it. Remember Live Eight? I didn't think so.

Science in the Public Interest

CSIRO's scientists have been busy doing what real science is all about - generating a competitive edge. CSIRO's own Jack Katzfey has been embedded with the Swiss yachting team Alinghi, which just recorded its second consecutive victory in the international race thanks to Jack's weather prediction skills.

Fore!

Uta took to the greens and fairways (which are now actually green thanks to a few weeks of rain) for the first time this past weekend, trying out her new found skills at golf. She triumphed through 9 holes of Ambrose play dropping her tee shots on the green (well, once at least) while the rest of us hacked away. She's pumped and ready for more!

Boom Town

Australia's population passes the 21 million mark.

A Tale of Two Climates

It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. . .

While two months ago, Australia was struggling to come to terms with the scope of the drought that was taking its toll on farm and city, Australia is now struggling to come to terms with rainfall and flooding that is taking its toll on farm and city. Whereas previously the Bureau of Meteorology was saying things like "lowest rainfall every recorded" it's now switched to saying things like "highest rainfall ever recorded". It's a stark reminder that Australia has the highest rainfall variability in the world. Small comfort to those that have gone swimming in their living rooms over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the Pasha Bulker is still stuck on the beach outside Newcastle. Apparently it's not so easy to refloat a coal freighter after its run aground. In the meantime, Greenpeace has been cleverly using the ship's hull for its usual fun and games.

Mayday, Mayday. . .

After a bit of a pause, I can now report on a minor adventure, delivering climate change science to the people of the NSW south coast as part of the NSW Department of Primary Industry's Risk Management Regional Forums.

I caught a small commerical flight out of Melbourne and flew into the coastal hamlet of Merimbula where I hitched a ride over the Bega. Enjoyed a nice reception and dinner before getting down to business the following day in the unheated (and not entirely water tight) Bega Town Hall. This made the day a bit uncomfortable as the east coast low sitting off the NSW coast and sent temperatures way down. But hey, we're intrepid scientists right? It takes more that a bit of frostbite to keep us down. In any case, the workshop had a good turn out and the various farmers that showed up (largely dairy folks, given Bega is one of the nation's dairy hubs) were much appreciated. In addition to thanks, I got several comments along the following lines:

-"You don't look like a CSIRO scientist."

-"When I first walked in the room and saw you sitting there, I thought you were one of those rap guys. . ."

-"Man, I love your hair!"

Things got more exciting as we left the workshop and had to hop a small charter flight and shoot up the coast to Nowra racing the storm. Rob, the pilot, was cool calm and collected, although I raised an eyebrow (or two) when he proceeded to wipe off the condensation on the windscreen with his hand and don a headlamp to view the controls. From where I was sitting it was a long and bumpy 45 minutes. Rob rated the turbulence with a dispassionate ("moderate").

We calmed the nerves with another fine meal, liberally supported with wine and then got up the next day to do it all again with another set of equally enthusiastic farmers in Nowra. After which, Rob safely conducted us back to Sydney on much smoother and pleasant flight right over the city at night. Good fun.

Barnstorming

I'm off to regional NSW for a couple of days to deliver climate change science to the people. Best of all, due to limited commercial air traffic to the area, I get to do some sight-seeing from a seat on a very wee charter plane.

Just Like Home

Melbourne became even more like an American city this morning, as at least three people were gunned down at Flinders Street and Williams during the morning rush. Reports are all over the place at the moment - some saying a cafe, some saying the Rialto, some saying backpackers were the victims (tough break for tourism). At least one individual is confirmed dead. Uta is currently barricaded in a doctor's office, as the shootings took place around the corner from her office and the shooter is apparently still on the loose.

NSW Storm

A storm off the coast of New South Wales has turned the state's central coast into a bit of a mess - washing out roads, cutting power, flooding communities, and, strangely, dumping a coal freighter on the beach. Flood waters have begun to recede, but they're going to need some mops, cement, and superglue over there.

Runs Open

For the first time in seven years, Australians were able to go skiing on the first day of the ski seasons. Snowfall combined with larger snow-making capacity allowed the major ski resorts in the Alps to open up a few runs, causing operators to forget about that string of bad years, punctuated by last years disaster.

Gramps

OK. An American, a German, a Chilean, a Mexican, an Australian, and an Irish woman go camping. . .

I know what you're thinking: here comes the odd, long-winded joke making fun of ethnic stereotypes. Nope - just another holiday weekend spent with friends in the Grampians National Park of Victoria.

The six of us hit the road early Saturday morning in two of the more improbably recreational vehicles on the road: a Getz and a Lada - certainly not what any outback guide to Australia would recommend. However, we ended passing even more modest autos in transit. We stopped off at The Vines in Ararat for second breakfast and arrived in Halls Gap around mid-day.

We pitched camp at the Lakeside Caravan Park (or some of us did - Rodolfo appeared to erect something that looked more like a Hyatt than a tent), ominously set at the base of the dam, but since the reservoir doesn't have any water in it, I suppose the consequences of dam failure were minimal. We spent the afternoon around Brambuk cultural centre and took a quick stroll to see some of the roos, deer, and emus. By nightfall, temperatures were dropping rather quickly, so we bundled up, cooked up some Gluehwein, and enjoyed a barbie by the fire. Then we beat a hasty retreat to the sleeping bags to insulate ourselves against the cold, with temperatures overnight dropping to just above freezing.

We had a lazy breakfast Sunday morning before heading out to check out Zumstein (skip it), followed by Mackenzie Falls (where we ran into some folks that we knew - as one does in Australia) and the Balconies. We ended the hike over coffee in Halls Gap. We headed back to camp at dark, cooked up more Gluehwein, and commenced with a chili cook-off, accompanied by a raucous Aussie family reunion/birthday (we scored some cake!).

Monday morning, we broke camp and headed for the Pinnacle for a final trek over rocks and around the charred remains of trees (still standing after the 2006 bushfires that swept through much of the park and almost claimed the town).

Thanks to the Queen and the Commonwealth for giving us an opportunity for a day off.

Photos here.

Blues Win It

We took advantage of today's lovely winter weather to stroll over the MCG to catch a little footy action: Carlton vs. Western Bulldogs. As we strolled up to the arena, a kid selling raffle tickets opened his pitch with "is this your first footy game?" So apprently we still have some work to do on blending in. Perhaps it was our complete lack of team paraphenalia, or maybe we looked too sober. In any case, despite the two teams not exactly being in the top tier of the ladder at the moment, it proved to be a good game - a few changes of lead and a close contest down to the wire. This of course meant that we got to hear all manner of classic Aussie sledging and shouting of obscentities right down to the last buzzer. Nice!

No He Didn't!

Responding to the Task Force on Emissions Trading, John Howard has given the Australian government until 2012 to implement a national carbon cap-and-trade system. Has a new era begun in Australian (and international) climate policy? Perhaps, but he's also hinted that whatever cap is set on emissions, it isn't likely to be terribly stringent and lots of players are likely to receive a free pass.

Winter

Winter has arrived and brought all sorts of strange forms of water-based precipitation to southeast Australia. Stuff like rain. And snow. Things most people haven't see any of in a very long time. Farmers and ski operators are using words like "optimistic" and even smiling. It's madness, I say. Could this be a sign that things are returning to normal (and by normal I mean a normal chronic drought as opposed to a stupefying, acute drought)? On the other hand, the month of May was the warmest for Australia in, well, recorded history.

Drunks: Vulnerable to Climate Change

The climate community has invested decades in studying the potential adverse consequences of climate change, but as usual, it's the stuff we never saw coming that haunts us. Who ever gave consideration to the risk that heat waves would increase drowning fatalaties among drunks?

28 die in heatwave drunk-drownings
1145 GMT (1945 HKT), May 30, 2007
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Twenty-eight people, many of them drunk, have drowned in the Russian capital this month as Muscovites cool off from a record heatwave in ponds, fountains and canals, rescue services said on Wednesday.

C John Trade

Well, well, well. John Howard appears to be getting all friendly with climate policy all of a sudden. His Task Group on Emissions Trading released it's assessment of potential carbon trading in Australia this morning, and it was chock full of stuff that Howard has for years been either ignoring or denying. Things like:

"Climate change is a global challenge that requires a long-term global solution in order to avoid environmental, social and economic dislocation."

or

"On balance, there would be benefits in the Australian Government now setting a post-2012 constraint on emissions."

or

"The overriding goal of Australia’s efforts should be to lower emissions at least cost."

or

"For Australia to commit to emissions trading now would place us in advance of most of the world community."

So almost overnight, it's as though a national cap-and-trade system is a feasible option. But then, it is an election year, Howard's getting killed in the polls, and the opposition are almost certain to advance the issue, so what choice does he have. If he can somehow rescue himself politically, he can always back out on any deal that's made. After all, that's what Bush did in 2000. But wait, strange things are also afoot in the White House. What the hell is going on?

Melbourne Social Hour

Well, Americans might be widely regarded as the friendliest people on the planet (present regional skirmishes, excepted), but Aussies are no slouches when it comes to striking up a casual conversation.

While waiting on the wife in the CBD last weekend, I sat myself down on a bench, basked in the sun, and sucked down a tasty Boost Juice (which I still enjoy, despite the recent unpleasantness).

A short time later, a middle aged man strolled over and started chatting me up. Had I been back home on America's fertile religious ground, I would have smelled what was up a mile away, but can't say I've been a party to much proselytizing in Australia. But hey, Australia continues to go the way of America, so I guess we just have to accept that and get used to bible thumpers rocking up to bring Jesus into an otherwise perfect Aussie day.

So anyway, the usual dance commenced as he set about trying to catalog my many and varied sins and offering to throw me a life line from the hell I've committed myself to. I countered with the secular humanism bit, but he wasn't buying. Apparently honouring my mother and father, my marriage vows, and my fellow man isn't enough - I'm still going to hell (why is God so freakin' selfish? It's always ME, ME, ME!). He told me to abandon my scientific beliefs, embrace faith, and beware of all the false prophets employed by Satan. I suggested for all I knew he was such a minion of Satan come to lead me astray. He countered with a clumsy attempt to take on science head-on, attempting to convince me that C-14 dating is proven rubbish and that scientists were wrong 500 years ago in thinking that the world was flat. Now as far as attempts to debunk science go, these are pretty lame, being the former goes against fundamental physics (presumably God created the physical universe so maybe one should have a little more respect for its structure and properties) and the latter recorded history. So I lit him up with these points, at which point he got a bit sad and opted to end the debate. He parted with "there is only truth and lies", to which I said "don't you mean truth and faith". Overall, I still haven't figured out why such folks continue to have such piss poor knowledge of fundamental science - this reminds of the time I got jumped on New Year's Eve by thumpers, one of whom (on the subject of evolution) stated, "what, do you think monkeys just fell out of trees and started walking around like men?" followed by "humans have 36 chromosomes, right . . . [I don't remember what he said after this because I got hung up on the 36 chromosomes bit]. I don't insult fundamentalists by butchering the bible, how come they can't show me the same courtesy? Maybe because fundamentalists only have 36 chromosomes?

That nonsense, aside, I was immediately joined by a far more pleasant elderly gentleman, who had stopped to see what the fuss was about. The 85 (soon to be 86) year old was an expat from Belgrade who'd migrated to Australia in 1949 and had been living in St. Kilda ever since. He asked where I was from, to which I replied "America". He said, "South America". "No," I said, "the US". "You don't look like an American," was the reply (go figure). We chatted for a bit, at which point work-mate Julian strolled by (see, what a social town) and so I broke off to catch up with him, before returning to Mr. Belgrade. At this point, Uta walked up which added another dimension to the conversation, which continued on in German (with the occasional lapse into French, Italian, or Spanish - this guy was talented). Anyway, we enjoyed getting the dirt on one of Melbourne's old guard, and he seemed to be highly amused to speak with us (particularly in German - I think it'd been a while since he had occasion to use it).

Scheiss Wissenschaft

Suchen Sie schlechte Informationen über Klimawandel? Lesen Sie, bitte:
Der CO2-Betrug, der groesste Skandal der Wissenschaftsgescichte der Neuzeit?

Escape from Gitmo

After more than five years in the tropical paradise known as Guantanamo Bay, David Hicks is back in Australia. He'll serve several more months at a prison in South Australia, before being released outright.

America Rules. . .Almost

The world's hotels love Americans. Maybe not as much as Japanese, but clearly quite a bit, as the Yanks pulled the #2 spot in a survey of the world's best tourists. Granted, Americans came in dead last in the "best dressed" poll, but who's surprised by that. The Australians came in seventh overall.

The trouble-makers appeared to hail from France, India,China and Russia. Oh, and the Germans took bottom marks in the generosity category. This is starting to make me think this was more a survey of international stereotypes. . .

Structural Argument

Victoria has released its climate change risk assessment of the state's infrastructure.

Part I
Part II

Liz Minchin covered the initial release (which of course has the word "shock" in the title - seems to be one of the most overused words in Australian journalism), and the follow-up story on what the gov plans to do about it.

Hallelujah

The federal government's faith-based drought management strategy, known affectionately as "Pray for Rain," appeared to be achieving some success this week as significant rain fell throughout much of southeast Australia. In response, John Howard reiterated the importance of national support for his policy by requesting Australians to "keep praying." Not sure how robust of a risk managment strategy prayer really is, but at least it certainly has a long history of implementation.

A Three Hour Tour

Strange things are always afoot on the Frankston Line. I'm used to the break downs, cars stalled on the tracks, the "signal failures," as well as the colourful passengers who keep me company on my rides to and from work (today it was a pleasant chap drinking a VB - at 8:30 in the morning). But this evening, mental illness and train malfunctions joined forces to create a perfect commuter storm. Some poor duffer opted to climb a signal tower at Glenhuntly Station and treatened to off himself. As a result, Connex shut down the trains, just in time for peak hour traffic. Chaos ensued as masses of people scrambled to get on board the occassional bus chartered to rescue stranded commuters. Now I know what it was like when Saigon fell. I left work at 4:15 to head for karate training. Three hours later, I arrived home, having already missed training and wondering why I bother with public transport (incidentally, this is about the sixth transit mishap I've experienced in the past month - it's getting a bit absurd). Melbourne's starting to make the rail services in America look down right efficient.

By the way, Youth Group have a song entitled The Frankston Line. . ."

"The Frankston Line's full of teenage crime
and the cops can't do no more
Hooded tops, cigarettes at stops,
I don't love you anymore"

Achtung!

Travel warning for Germany
May 9, 2007 - 1:43PM

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tonight reviewed its travel advice for Germany, alerting travellers that the German government had warned terrorist attacks might be possible."

You Can Take an Asshole Out of America. . .

. . .but you can't take the asshole out of an American.

Outrage over Virginia Tech game
Stephen Hutcheon
May 16, 2007 - 1:33PM

"A Sydney youth who created an uproar with an online game based on the Virginia Tech massacre, says he will remove the game if he receives $US2000 in 'donations'."

Hardball

In a respectable demonstration of principle, the Howard government has banned the Australian cricket team from a scheduled tour of Zimbabwe. Given Australia's love of sport, it's a painful decision, and one not without critics. But for fair play and sportsmanship to mean something on the playing field, it has to present off the field as well. Clearly, that's not the case under the current regime.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Another year, another Eurovision song contest. The damn thing gets stranger and stranger every year, as it struggles with itself in attempting to decide whether it should be taken serious. Anyway, Serbia won. Go Serbia! But does this mean that the Balkans are the last bastion for truly cheesy pop music (with former Soviet republics running a close second)?

Youth Group

We wrapped up the working week last night by catching Youth Group (see also here) at Richmond's own Corner Hotel. The Corner is Melbourne's premier small venue for music, and despite having lived in the neighbourhood for over two years, we only now found a reason to drop in. The venue reminded me quite a bit of the old 9:30 Club in DC, but a little bit cleaner and with a huge rooftop beer garden. The show was short and sweet - YG's set was only an hour, preceeded by 45 minutes from Gersey (which seems like an unnecessarily avante garde spelling of Jersey, but I'm sure there's another connection I'm missing). For $20, we couldn't go wrong, and the music didn't fail to please. But, I have to admit, when I walked in the door and saw the schedule for the evening "Youth Group - 11:15 to 12:15", I thought to myself, "man, I'm too old for this shit. . ."

Aussie Hotel Foxtrot

WilcoWorld is currently streaming the band's 21 April show in Sydney on their website. I caught their earlier show on the 18th in Melbourne, and what a treat it was. The grizzled guys keep getting better with age (at least their live shows). And a rather amusing audience as well - 7,500 Jeff Tweedy look-alikes (except for me of course). The new album is also available for a listen.

New Climate Blog

There's many on the market, but Nature (through Nature Reports)has launched a new climate change blog designated Climate Feedback.

Hidden Costs of Addressing Climate Change

In Mexico, it was tortillas, but in Germany the rapid rise of biofuels is affecting the price of a more precious commodity: beer.

A Campus Fit for a Queen

It's not everyone that can claim a 314 year old academic institution as his alma mater, much less visits to his alma mater by, say, a Queen or something. But good old William and Mary has always had a close connection with England (it was the throne of England that started the humble institution, after all). As a student, I remember standing in a parking lot one afternoon when Margaret Thatcher (the Uni's chancellor at the time) walked by. However, I took a pass on the visit from Prince Charles, when he rocked up for the institution's 300th birthday. But all of that pales in comparison to Friday's visit by Queen Elizabeth, who returned to the campus after a 50 year abscence as she celebrated the 400 year anniversary of the colony of Jamestown. Some things never change. Some things change a lot.