The return of the Urn. Welcome home

At last, the urn has returned! Brought back home by a fantastic Australian cricket team, lead by an outstanding captain. While the Australian press has lauded these men, and rightly so, the English press are not only criticising their own team, but still rubbishing the Aussies. One article I read claimed England were beaten by a second rate outfit of misfits. WTF! They still can't quite believe that their “unbeatable” team has been beaten.
However, one person who had a lot to say previously has now gone very quiet. Ian Botham, who right up till mid way through the Brisbane test, was still predicting a 5-0 white wash. Well he may be right, just got the team wrong. So, even if you were one of the best players ever, it doesn't make you a fortune teller, not even a smart predictor. Surely it's better to be just a little bit cautious before making outlandish statements. Then again, maybe he likes eggs!!

Those naughty Aussie cricket boys...............

Oh dear, so those naughty Aussie boys have been saying unkind things to the English cricket players! The words short term memory loss and thin skinned come to mind. Apparently, it is ok for James Anderson to sledge Michael Clarke when he comes to the crease, but if you say anything to Anderson when he comes out to bat, he goes running to the umpire. By the way, to be referred to as convicts is not an insult – we are eternally grateful. The only advice I can give the Aussie team is to go easy on the sledging and perfect the art of pitch pissing, because apparently that is fine English culture.

When have Indonesia ever co-operated with Australia?

So Indonesia will not co-operate with Australia in the control of illegal immigrants because we have been spying on them! Where is the story here? They have not done much to stop the corruption of officials, nor do they deploy there own resources when a boat is in trouble within their own waters. No, that is up to the Australian navy.

Now, if the headlines were to read “Indonesia to co-operate with Australia to stop the illegal boats”, then THAT would be news.

Maybe we should withdraw the $500 million we give in aid each year, (there is so much that could be done at home with these funds) and ask them to contribute to the costs of running Christmas Island etc.

We should be able to choose how we die.

Most of us are lucky enough to make choices throughout our adult life.  What career/job will I choose, will I live in the country or the city, will I be a vegetarian or a meat eater?  We also get to choose our partner, how many children we will have and their names.  In some instances we can choose our religion or creed, whether we will smoke or drink or play sport.  The list goes on and on, BUT there is one choice that we are unable to make.  We are not legally allowed to choose how and when to die.  Some politicians and a bunch of moral and ethical do-gooders who do not know me, have decided  that I am not allowed to make this choice.  Of course, I can commit suicide if I want, but I cannot choose legal euthanasia!  Most of the people who are vehemently against euthanasia seem to think that it is compulsary, that people will go around killing their loved ones, or that someone close to them will be standing by with a needle at the first sign of a cold. Everyone has to die sometime - if you live, you die - so we should be able to choose when and how this will happen.

Why don't Australian men like Michael Clarke?

Why don't Australian men like Michael Clarke? Being the highest run scorer for a long time is obviously not enough for cricket journos, ex players or Joe Public and I have come to the conclusion that it's because he is normal! Now if it was Wayne Carey, who when he wasn't hitting on other women, was actually hitting them, but is still considered a “hero” by AFL male fans, or Gary Ablett Snr, or Tiger Woods (I don't know when he found time to play), or Lance Armstrong. Maybe he needs to have a go at the beer drinking record on his next long haul flight, or start getting into fights in nightclubs, because these are the sorts of things Australian men seem to admire. Forget talent, that just makes them jealous and feel inadequate, so Michael, you need some notoriety – you have to go feral, get pissed after every game, get caught on CCTV street fighting and then front up next day with an insincere apology. OR, you could just be yourself, keep your dignity and integrity intact and do what you do best. I for one, and many other Australian women appreciate and admire that in a man.

American psyche - when guns are more important than people

After the Naval base shootings Obama asked “Do we care enough?” Obviously not.
As an outsider looking in, it seems that the American psyche is “I have the right to carry a loaded weapon and to hell with the consequences”.
Even after the massacre of little children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, were people so outraged that they said enough is enough, this must stop? No, they went out and brought more guns – for protection!
Owning a gun will not protect you. Proof? The mother of the schoolboy who used one of her four guns to shoot her and dozens of innocent little children. If you want to be protected then everyone should be wearing bullet proof vests.

Culture or just a mob of drunken pitch pissers?

It was reported that some of the English cricket team went onto the Oval and urinated on the pitch after the celebrations.  They either didn't realise, or didn't care that there were still press and other people who witnessed this!  This got me thinking that maybe this is what David Gower was referring to when he said that Australia, and Australians, lacked "culture".  Or, maybe it was the "cultured" booing crowd that we should be aspiring to emulate, or the "gentleman" who instead of handing the ball back to Faulkner, deliberately dropped it at his feet - (at least he didn't spill his beer!)
Just after Gower made his comment about our lack of culture, I watched 5 minutes of a show called Geordie Shore.  At first I thought it was a comedy, but, NO, they were serious and it was actually embarrassing to watch.  Unfortunately, I could not understand all of it, because they were definitely not speaking the Queen's English, but classy and cultured it was definitely not, so I'm glad we Australians are not "cultured" like the English.

Would you vote for this man?

I have really tried to look at the substance and not at the man, but I just cannot bring myself to vote for a party led by a megalomaniac.  It is just so embarrassing that this country it led by someone so self obsessed that he posts "selfies" online with loo paper stuck to his face.  The next problem I have is that the alternative party is lead by someone whose smile never looks sincere.  The Greens and Independents are only there to make up the numbers, so what are we left with? SFA!

This IS the worst Australian cricket team to go to England!

It's now official.  The English commentators were right!  This is the worst Australian cricket team to go to England.  Durham was where the Aussie X1 should have proved the knockers and doubters wrong, but, once again they showed a lack of skill, grit and concentration.  There are at least two players on this team that are not good enough to be playing at this level, and all the others, including Michael Clarke (who I admire greatly) have forgotten how to win.
Obviously, I have never played cricket at an elite level, but I have seen many, many games over the years, but I can't recall the last time I saw a team "curl up and die" from a seemingly winning position.  Oh yeah, I forgot Pakistan, but that is a whole different story.  (Please, please tell me that no-one in the Aussie side knows a dodgy Indian bookie!!!!)
Some of the greats like AB, Steve Waugh etc must get so frustrated while watching some of these feeble efforts, because I know I do.  In the "good old days" even genuine #11's could hold their end up while a batsman scored, or dig in deep to force a draw.  Thommo and Hogg come to mind.
To all those people who knocked Mickey Arthur, who will you blame now?  There is more than a coaching issue happening here.

Does cricket still need neutral umpires?

We all know why neutral umpires were first introduced, but surely with the DRS, multiple cameras tracking every ball from every angle and other media scrutiny, we can now go back to "home grown" umpires.  I wonder how many of the two Ashes crickets teams would object to having an English and an Aussie umpire, with maybe a neutral thrown as third umpire.  What Aussie wouldn't want to see Paul Reiffel umpiring at the Boxing Day test? (or Simon Taufel - he may not have retired so early if he could have worked more at home)
Of course this will only work where DRS is used and any series with India would have to revert to neutrals.

Who are these people who like Kevin Rudd?

Apparently Kevin Rudd is more popular with voters than Julia Gillard.  Now I know that poor Julia hit rock bottom in the popularity stakes, but who are all these people who think Rudd is the bees knees and the answer to all Labours problems?  I have asked, but not been able to find one person who likes, or trusts, him.  He reminds me of Dr Evils backward brother!  If Labour think that this man should be our Prime Minister, then can someone from Immigration put me in touch with someone with a leaky boat.

C'mon Aussies, it's time to ditch that obnoxious chant

Just been watching lawn bowls and could not believe my ears.  The crowd were chanting that mind numbing, nausea inducing, skin crawling chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi".  Its bad enough to be cringing with embarrassment when kids say it at the cricket, but it's really disappointing to hear our more mature citizens chanting it at a lawn bowls tournament.  I think it should be outlawed and the person who invented it placed in stocks in a public place.  It's no wonder we are not taken seriously on a global level, when that's the best we can come up with.  By the way, the Aussie team lost, because instead of being inspirational, it probably put them off!

Where have all the good sports commentators gone?

Please, spare me from biased English commentators. I've been watching the cricket on Sky. Yes NZ have been fairly woeful, but lets put things into perspective. The English team is chosen from a population of approx. 60 million and four countries. The whole population of New Zealand could fit into a large Welsh town!!!! Does this fact dampen the gloating of the commentators? Of course not. (David Lloyd is forgiven though because he is funny and entertaining) Then there was the moment that James Anderson took his 300^th wicket. Wow, anyone would have thought he had cured cancer or solved world famine. OK, fair enough, it is an achievement, and he only has to get another 500 to catch up to Murali, or another 300 to overtake McGrath and Walsh.

Then there was the Wiggo & Cav Show, oops, sorry, the Giro d'Italia. It was not until Wiggins withdrew that the commentators even acknowledged that there were other riders in the race.

However, the worst commentary I have heard so far this year was for the London Marathon. The most talked about runner in the ladies race was Paula Radcliff. Was she a contestant? No, she won in 2005, but we were kept informed about her times at the various stages of the race, what her fluid intake was, what her heart rate was at every corner (ok slight exaggeration here but you get the idea!). The main focus on the mens race was for another Englishman who was not even going to finish the race, and they did not even know who won the wheelchair event, just that “their” man came 3^rd.

I think that a commentator should be familiar with all the contestants names and numbers, and inform the viewing public on everything that is happening, not just the bits that are of personal interest.  

Are there any genuine "work from home" jobs out there?

I have checked out lots of different sites, but I can't get a straight answer to "what is involved, what do I have to do"????  I have watched videos of people showing their bank accounts and how they make thousands of dollars per day. I have even spoken to a nice young man over the phone who assured me there was no selling involved, no cold calling, I don't need to be a techno computer whiz etc etc, but he still wouldn't tell me what I would actually be doing.  He just kept repeating "watch the video on our web site, pay your money and get our training cd's". 

I regularly get emails telling me to check out certain sites, limited opportunities are available etc., but when I google these sites, some are obviously scams, but most of them make no sense to me at all. One was for a budding pop star telling me to watch him on you-tube!!

So, I can only conclude that the only way to make money from home is to have your own web site that sells How to Make Money at Home cd's!!!!

If there is any person out there who started working from home through one of these websites, I would like to know how is it going and  WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY DO?

Why does Australia Post have a tracking system?

Why does Australia Post have a tracking system when it does not actually do any tracking?  In the last couple of months we have purchased two fairly expensive items online, and both were sent with a tracking number.  After the first item had not arrived within a reasonable time, we went on Aust. Post site to track it.  They acknowledged it has been received and given a tracking number, but for five days - nothing!  Now this item was posted from Sydney, we live in country SA, more than 600kms from Adelaide and 38kms from our nearest regional city and PO.  Surely our parcel would have passed through some sort of "tracking system" in those five days.  It eventually did arrive and the following day the Aust Post tracking site stated that it had been received at our nearest PO.  Yeah we know!!!  We are now waiting on another parcel.  All the tracking site tells us that it was posted 5 days ago.  I guess it's no surprise that postage in Australia is so expensive - we have to pay for high tech tools that don't actually do anything.

Why are some people so stupid?

Read a story today about a bus driver who was stood down because he used a company bus (marked "not in  service") to deliver a large TV to his own home.  Not the crime of the century and probably not the first person who would have done this or something similar, but he is probably the most stupid because he downloaded photos and told all of cyberspace of his deeds on Facebook.  Er, did it not occur to him that this was not only stupid but incriminating evidence.  Then there was the hoon driver who downloaded photos of himself taunting the police after he had been arrested.  He has since apologised and claims that he never meant to disrespect the police and he will never go hooning again!.....and if you believe that, well you probably believe that Billy-Bob really was abducted by aliens and Elvis really does live next door.

Why are people still getting scammed by "dating" sites?

Why are people still getting scammed by “dating” sites???

After all the warnings and exposure about overseas scammers, people are still getting stung. How? Surely there comes a time when the alarm bells start ringing and they realise enough is enough. Just read an article where some woman was conned out of $480k. The weird thing is that she fell for two scams in one. Firstly, she went onto a dating site and ended up sending $80k to someone in Nigeria (why go to a dating site where the other person is o/s????), then she was contacted by “lawyers” who informed her that she had been scammed and that for a fee they would get her money back..........so, why would any sane person pay complete strangers $400k to retrieve $80k? If this story is true, then I have no sympathy for this person. If you have that much money to waste, why not give it to a charity or some other good cause.

Having a gun will NOT protect you

A teenage boy in America killed his mother, father and brother this week.  He shot them all with a rifle that his parents kept in their bedroom.  If asked why they had a rifle in their bedroom, I bet my bottom dollar that the answer would have been, "for protection".  Well, news flash, it didn't work.  I just cannot comprehend why people would think that owning a gun is protection.  If you go to the cinema and you have a gun in your bag and someone with an automatic rifle starts blinding shooting, how is having a gun going to protect you?  Are you going to ask him to wait while you find your bag and retrieve your gun?  No, didn't think so!

I'm still confused about global warming

I'm still confused about global warming.  Apparantly these extremely hot days are proof of this, but isn't this summer?  For all my 60+ years there have been hot days and bushfires in summer.  My parents and my grandparents told us stories of how they coped with hot weather before airconditioning and refridgeration.    So, if this is global warming, can anyone explain to me why there are icicles on citrus trees in "sunny" California and why some parts of North America had records amounts of snow at xmas time?