Baggas’ Blog

Warren “Potsie” Weber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warren “Potsie” Weber was played by Anson Williams on the sitcom Happy Days. He was a friend of Richie CunninghamRalph Malph, who often spent time at Arnold’s Drive In. He was characterized as not being very bright, somewhat gullible, socially clumsy, and in modern hindsight, very “square”. An enthusiastic singer, he was frequently called a nerd by friends and acquaintances. Potsie’s extremely sour relationship with his dad, (never seen on camera), was a minor running joke on the series, with lines such as “I’m gonna talk to my dad too… it will be the first time in six months!” and

Initially at the start of the series, he appeared with best friend Richie in the plots and appeared to be more savvy than Richie, a character trait that would be dropped by the writers. As the series progressed, and with the breakout character Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli becoming close friends with Richie, Postie was more commonly paired with Ralph in stories, even more so when the pair rented an appartment together upon leaving high-school. [..read more..]

Great Smog of 1952 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Great Smog also referred to as the Big Smoke, befell London starting on 5 December 1952, and lasted until 9 December 1952. This catastrophe caused or advanced the death of thousands and formed an important impetus to the modern environmental movement.

Early in December 1952, a cold fog descended upon London. Because of the cold, Londoners began to burn more coal than usual. The resulting air pollution was trapped by the inversion layer formed by the dense mass of cold air. Concentrations of pollutants, coal smoke in particular, built up dramatically. The problem was made worse by use of low-quality high-sulfur coal for home heating in London in order to permit export of higher-quality coal, because of the country’s tenuous economic situation [1]. The “fog,” or smog, was so thick that driving became difficult or impossible. It entered indoors easily, and concerts and screenings of films were cancelled as the audience could not see the stage or screen.

Since London was known for its fog, there was no great panic at the time. In the weeks that followed, the medical services compiled statistics and found that the fog had killed 4,000 people—most of whom were very young or elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. There was relief that Queen Mary The Queen Dowager, then aged 85 and suffering with respiratory problems, was not at Buckingham Palace at the time of the incident. Another 8,000 died in the weeks and months that followed. 12,000 Londoners died during and after the Great London Smog.  [..read more..]

It’s good to see political announcements being followed by real, and fast, action.

I just received an email from the AMA calling for doctors to be involved in the outreach to Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory, following the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of an action plan to address the serious problems of abuse and other health issues in these communities. They are looking for doctors to head to the NT in the second week of July - just 2 weeks from now.

Obviously I can’t take part since I’ll be in Uganda then, but it is really pleasing to see that this call has gone out. I hope that our medical profession can show leadership in this matter by giving a strongly positive reponse to the call.

Well today I’ve been too busy to use twitter but it’s been an eventful day so I thought I’d just do a regular blog post now that I’ve finally got a lull.

This morning was pretty flat out with patients - I’ve got one in labour and was called to assist at another emergency delivery but fortunately didn’t really have to do anything.

The weirdest experience was at lunchtime when I was interviewed by a guy from Canberra who’s doing marketing for the outer metro grant (basically a payment aimed at getting doctors to work in outer metro areas - I got mine last year which partially financed our first trip to Africa - the timing was most providential). Basically he’s putting together some advertorials to go in all the major medical magazines in Australia to let people know about the grant. The interview part was fine but the weird thing was having a professional photographer along to do a “shoot” for pictures to accompany the article. He was snapping pics while we talked and then we walked across the road to the park where he got me to pose in front of the lake and on the bridge and then snapped away whilst I was walking. The guy was fine but it all felt a bit artifical and uncomfortable - sure makes me glad I’m not a celebrity having to deal with that all the time.

Finally got my tax bill today which I’ve been expecting for weeks. This is the massive unexpected one that my accountant sprung on me back in May. Well I’ve been expecting it ever since and have come to an arrangement with the bank to deal with it but was worried it may not arrive before we head off on our trip next week. So I most most relieved to see that it had finally come and even more relieved when I saw it was nearly 2 thousand less than I had prepared for - which if nothing else makes it even easier for me to justify buying a guitar when I get to Nashville in 3 weeks time. Still probably leaning towards the Fender VG strat. As it’s been out a while now the reviews have remained positive and I like the idea of having a fully fledged American stratocaster yet with additional versatility. May also consider getting a little battery powered cube amp at the same time so I can actually play the guitar a bit for the rest of our trip. Luggage should not be an issue as we are on the American system which means we can each check 2 items up to 32kg (much better than the Australian system - 1 item 20kg). The other big advantage of this is it means we can pack a fair amount of stuff to take to the orphanage in Uganda and just leave the spare old suitcase there when we travel onwards to Britain.

Anyway more patients have arrived so I’d better get back to it if I want to stay on track.

Arnhem Land - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arnhem Land is an area of 97,000 km² in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, Australia. The region was named by Matthew Flinders after the Dutch ship Arnhem which explored the coast in 1623.

Declared an Aboriginal Reserve in 1931, it remains one of the largest Aboriginal Reserves in Australia and is perhaps best known for its remoteness, its art, and the strong continuing traditions of its Indigenous inhabitants. Northeast Arnhem Land is home to the indigenous Yolngu people, one of the largest Indigenous groups in Australia, and one of the few groups who have succeeded in maintaining a vigorous traditional indigenous culture.The area extends from Port Roper on the Gulf of Carpentaria around the coast to the East Alligator River where it adjoins Kakadu National Park. The major centres are Jabiru on the Kakadu National Park border, Maningrida on the Liverpool River mouth, and Nhulunbuy (also known as Gove) in the far north-east, on the Gove Peninsula. Gove is the site of large scale Bauxite mining with an associated alumina refinery. Its administrative centre is the town of Nhulunbuy, the fourth-largest population centre in the Northern Territory.  [..read more..]

slacktivist: Mission Trips & AmeriCorps

As part of a discussion on some new national community service plan that’s been proposed in the US, Fred makes some salient comments on the “cost-effectiveness” and the purpose of short term mission trips :

The question he raises is often asked of church mission trips. A local church youth group raises money for a weeklong trip to, say, Haiti, where they will be helping to build a school. This works OK. The school gets built. But it may not be the most cost-effective approach. A significant chunk of the funds raised winds up going to the group’s travel expenses, all so a bunch of kids with little or no construction experience can travel thousands of miles to help out. If the goal is to get the school built, it would seem to make more sense to raise the money and let the folks down in Haiti use it to hire local skilled laborers — people who are already there, who know what they’re doing and who may desperately need the paycheck.

But the point of these mission trips is not only to get the school built. That’s part of it, but it’s not the only goal. The mission trip is also designed to give the American youth group a tangible, visceral stake in the fate of the Haitian community. This is vital for the people in Haiti too. The problem with the calculus above is that it presumes that the total level of contribution is a constant. That assumption is probably not true. It’s unlikely that the youth group, the church, or any other given community here would raise the same amount of money without the personal stake of the trip itself.

The purpose of the mission trip is not exclusively to change the Haitian community where the school is to be built. Part of the purpose of the trip is also to change the young Americans who are going there, and to change the community that sends them. Part of the reason for such trips is to nurture a sense of empathy, of solidarity, and an ethos of service — to create and maintain the capacity to care whether or not children in Haiti have a decent place to go to school, and to create and maintain the desire to help.

I’ve had this dialogue within myself previously relating to our Africa trips (only 10 more sleeps until we head back to Uganda - yay!) and have come to the same conclusions as Fred. It’s easy to look at the costs associated with making such a trip and say that the money would be better spent if it were simply sent over for the locals to use - and this argument is not without merit. I agree that the bulk of our assistance to third world communities should still be in money donated and sent over for their use. But this argument ignores the other benefits of such trips - for the individuals who go, the communities which send them, and the communities to which they go. For the individuals going it should be an eye and heart-opening experience that will leave them forever changed, hopefully awakening an ongoing desire to help the needy and the poor of this world. This is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of such trips.

But it also benefits the community from which the people are leaving, helping give them a wider focus and by having people within their midst who have been to these places and can give an account of what it is like there. It gives the project more longevity and makes it seem more real to those back home than simply sending money to some place you’ve only seen pictures of in a pamphlet. It’s much better when you know someone and can talk to someone who has been there. I’m sure that this has been a big factor in the ongoing success of our church’s ministries in Thailand. So many people have made a trip over there that you don’t have to look far around the church before you find someone who can give a personal story of what’s going on there. Many people have been once or twice, some have been many times, and all up it creates a real sense of personal involvement in the ministry over there, even for those of us who haven’t been. There is a real strong physical link between Warnbro and Thailand, much more tangible than just sending cheques over to some unseen unknown missionaries. And I think this directly impacts on the amount of money raised for missions. As Fred says above, “it’s unlikely that the youth group, the church, or any other given community here would raise the same amount of money without the personal stake of the trip itself.” I’m proud to say that our church family has recently pledged over $105,000 for the next financial year for missions abroad and at home (more than double our previous amounts) and I believe a big reason for this is the tangible, physical involvement of so many of our people in different projects. It’s great.

Also if you get the chance to meet other people who have gone on such trips, it plants the idea in your head and makes you think “well why can’t I?” I don’t think we would have ever considered doing something like this ourselves (although we’ve always liked the idea in principle) if it weren’t for the fact that we were in a church community full of people travelling constantly over to Thailand and other places to do their bit. And I hope that maybe some other people might be similarly touched by our trips to Africa to maybe embark on their own project. Not only church people but maybe other doctors and health professionals as well. In fact I’m being interviewed tomorrow for an advertorial to go in some of our major national medical magazines and I’m hoping I can swing it in that direction (even though the purpose of the interview is unrelated) - not to make myself look good, but maybe just plant a seed is some other doctors’ minds “now maybe I could go do something like that….” (kinda like this guy)

Thirdly, I believe there is possibly a further benefit to the overseas communities beside the physical help and aid. To put it simply it shows them that people care - that there are people from Australia or America or New Zealand or wherever, who care enough to travel all this way to help them and to show them love. More specifically in the case of Christian missions, it is the love of Jesus demonstrated physically and tangibly to them by the visit of a Western Christian. When we were in Uganda last year, there were so many people who said over and over “Thankyou so much for coming to us” - not one said “why didn’t you save the money you spent on airfares and send it over to us?” (cf John 12:4-5) More than just a missions or foreign aid donation, this is love up front, in the flesh. This is real.

George Barna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in studying the religious beliefs and behavior of Americans, and the intersection of faith and culture. He leads seminars for church leaders, speaks at ministry conferences, has taught at seminaries, and has been a pastor. He has also written more than three-dozen books on contemporary Christian issues, with topics ranging from children to leadership. Barna has coined several terms, including Mosaic Generation, which he uses to describe those born between 1984 and 2002; theolographics, used to describe the theological perspectives and applications of people; and spiritainment, which describes the blending of spiritality and entertainment toward influencing people’s spiritual perspectives.

Polls produced by The Barna Group are the most quoted polls within Evangelical circles. They are generally interpreted from an evangelical perspective. His research has revealed “a radical gap between what we heard Christians professing they believed and the values and the lifestyle that grew out of the values.” [..read more..]

Methodism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. The Methodist movement traces its origin to the evangelistic teaching of John Wesley. It originated in 18th century Britain, and through vigorous missionary activity, spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond. Originally it appealed especially to workers, agricultural workers, and slaves. Theologically most Methodists are Arminian, emphasizing that Christ accomplished salvation for every human being, and that humans must exercise an act of the will to be saved (as opposed to the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement); and low church in liturgy (although this varies greatly in individual chapels; the Wesleys themselves greatly valued the Anglican liturgy and tradition). There are also a number of Calvinistic Methodists in Wales. In 2006 Methodism claimed some seventy-five million members worldwide.  [..read more..]

• 1015 - The start of another busy week. Had 4 babies born last week - this week looks like it will be the same #
• 1016 - Today’s car music was DragonForce “Valley of the Damned” - they are an amazing power metal band from the UK. Absolutely brilliant #
• 1023 - just got a package. Supplies of medicines for our trip - Antimalarials, antibiotics, anti-emetics, analgesics etc #

I must admit, for the last couple of months I’ve been a bit news-starved. I rarely catch the TV news and my newspaper abruptly stopped coming a while back (I didn’t bother chasing it since I knew I’d have to cancel it for our trip anyway)

So I get most of my news online, which is a bit of a patchy way to read the news because you can pick and choose which headlines are of interest. Often reading the Opinion sections of the news sites (esp The Australian) is the best way to get a handle on things.

So here’s a couple of opinion pieces that caught my interest today

A crawl to prosperity ain’t money for jam | Matt Price | The Australian - Matt Price is perhaps my favourite Australian journalist. Often humorous, always insightful, generally fair though perhaps with a very slight tilt to the right. And as an added bonus he comes from Perth, which means he gets it in a way that journos from the East don’t. The above article takes a step back and looks at why Kevin Rudd is so popular in the polls, how even in an environment of unprecedented economic prosperity, voters’ fears for the future, especially the future of their children, have a profound effect on their politics. Although Rudd certainly doesn’t have any better answers for these fears than Howard, it is his clever exploitation of these issues that may see him elected.

Noel Pearson: Politics aside, an end to the tears is our priority | Opinion | The Australian - this gives the perspective of an Aboriginal leader on John Howard’s extraordinary moves to address child abuse in indigenous communities. Pearson is broadly supportive of the Howard plan, however offers some important warnings about where it may fall short. For an analysis of the politics of the situation, check out this piece from Glen Milne - PM’s haters parade their own defects. Few people disagree totally with what Howard is doing, but many of the left-leaning journos are lining up to find dark, politically inspired motives behind it (aka the new Tampa) - Milne adroitly takes them to task in his article. I thought Kevin Rudd was very clever not to get “political” or criticize Howard much on this issue - he didn’t need to. All he needs is for the leftist press to sow the seeds of political doubt about Howard’s motives, and he can stand innocently to the side with his principled support. This issue will not be a new Tampa - sadly there are less people whose votes will be influenced by the plight of indigenous children than there were whose votes may have been affected by their fear of a wave of illegal immigrants and “terrorists.” Which hearkens back to the pointin the paragraph above - fear is a key political motivator. Howard (might have) used it in his favour in 2001, and it is Rudd who can use it to the opposite effect now.

Diners Club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diners Club International, originally founded as Diners Club, is a credit card company formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider and Casey R. Taylor. When it first emerged, it became the first independent credit card company in the world.

While many stores and businesses were in the practice of extending credit to their customers, or allowing them to set up charge accounts, the idea behind Diners Club was that the same card could be used to pay a variety of merchants. In 1950, the first Diners Club cards were given out to 200 associates of McNamara, mostly salesmen who often needed to dine with clients. Diners Club had signed up 14 restaurants in New York City. Membership grew quickly as both new customers applied for the card and more restaurants signed on. By the end of 1950, Diners Club had 20,000 customers and was accepted at over 1000 restaurants.  [..read more..]

Bruce Cockburn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bruce Cockburn, OC (IPA [’kobərn]; phonetically: “co-burn”) (born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer/songwriter. He has recorded an immense volume of work, his 29th album being released in summer 2006, and has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.

He had made his first solo appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1967, and was the headliner when Neil Young cancelled in order to appear at Woodstock. In 1970 he released his first, self-titled, solo album. Cockburn’s phenomenal guitar work and songwriting skills won him an enthusiastic following. His early work sparkles with rural and nautical imagery, biblical metaphors, and a sense of delight in the belief that whatever happens here on earth, heaven isn’t far away. Early in his career he became a devout Christian; many of his albums from the 1970s show evidence of his religious beliefs. His use of Christianity in his music is from such a fresh and personal perspective that it draws in nonbelievers and people from other faiths almost voyeuristically. “I’m certainly not a Christian, but if I were, I’d want to be one like Bruce” is a not uncommon refrain among his listeners.  [..read more..]

W. G. Grace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Gilbert “WG” Grace (July 18, 1848 – October 23, 1915) was an English cricketer who, by his extraordinary skills, made cricket perhaps the first modern spectator sport, and who developed most of the techniques of modern batting.

He was often referred to in print by his initials, and “W.G.” became something of a sobriquet for him. He had many others, too, including a few family ones that were never used in cricketing circles (”Gilby”, “Willy”, “William” and, most commonly, “Gilbert”). His mother is described as admonishing him, after he had been dismissed playing a poor shot: “How many times, Gilbert, have I told you how to play that ball?” He was also known in his later career as “The Doctor”, “The Old Man” (although this came into being when he was still in his early thirties) or, perhaps most fittingly, “The Champion”.

Grace played Test cricket against Australia from 1880 onwards, but he was already past his peak at that stage.

He was a doctor by profession and played cricket as a (nominal) amateur throughout his career.  [..read more..]

• 0928 - Busy morning. Had a baby born at 7am. Dropped Owen at school. Looking forward to a weekend off #
• 0934 - Today’s Car CD - Bruce Cockburn “In the Falling Dark” - I’ve been working through some of Bruce’s early albums all week #
• 1042 - Just walked across to the hospital - it’s a cold and windy day outside today #

Maputo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique. A port on the Indian Ocean, its economy is centered around the harbour. It has an official population of approximately 966,837 (1997), but the actual population is estimated to be much higher due to slums and other unofficial settlements. Coal, cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. The city manufactures cement, pottery, furniture, shoes, and rubber. There is also a large aluminiumsmelting plant, Mozal. The city is surrounded by Maputo Province, but is administered as its own province. Maputo is located on the west side of Maputo Bay, at the mouth of the Tembe River. The bay is 95 km (50 mi) long and 30 km (20 mi) wide. The Maputo River empties into the southern end of the bay. [..read more..]

Yet another joke sent to me by Shelley, who is proving to be a good source of blog material I’m not much of a pet person, but I still had a bit of a chuckle…

“Excerpts from a Dog’s Diary”

8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favourite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favourite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favourite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favourite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favourite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favourite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favourite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favourite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favourite thing!

“Excerpts from a Cat’s Diary”

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a “good little hunter” I am. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of “allergies.” I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow but, at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now…

Jerry Seinfeld - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jerome Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy award-winning American comedian, actor, and writer. Seinfeld is often described as an observational comedian. He is best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the long-running sitcom Seinfeld, which he co-created and executive produced.

Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Jewish parents. His father, Kálmán, was of Hungarian Jewish background and his mother, Betty, was of Syrian Jewish background. He grew up in Massapequa, New York and went to Massapequa High School. He then attended the State University of New York at Oswego in upstate New York, but he transferred out after a few semesters. During his time in college, he was an amateur wrestler who called himself “The Jewish Terror.” [..read more..]

CoffeeGeek - Cafe Culture Downunder

The above is a fascinating article from Coffee Geek, discussing Australian cafe culture and how (among other things) the Australian European immigration regulations following World War II contributed to the uniqueness of the Australian market.

What is unique is that, outside Italy, the Australian and New Zealand café markets are the only other 100% espresso-based markets in the world! The US and other countries are dominated by filter style, or brewed, coffee. You cannot give filter coffee away in Australia or New Zealand. Furthermore, the Australian and New Zealand markets are unique in that the espresso based coffees are nearly always served with milk - approximately 98%, compared to 5% milk based coffees in Italy.

As an indication of the highly competitive, sophisticated and quality-driven nature of these markets, we must look at some interesting statistics.

The ratio of espresso machines to population in Australia and New Zealand is approximately 850 people to 1 machine, only bested by Italy. In comparison, in the US, there are roughly 20,000 people per espresso machine. With such a limited number of customers per machine to draw on, cafés in Australia and New Zealand must use quality as the biggest drawcard.

In addition, less than 6% of small businesses in Australia and New Zealand are franchised, as compared to over 40% in North America. The sheer number of franchised stores in North America only serve to reduce the average quality of espresso-based coffee, not improve it.

I never realised how blessed we are here in Australia to live in an espresso-based market.  Even dodgy cafes and shopping mall donut stores here will have an espresso machine and most will serve a tolerable milk based coffee (”flat white”, cappucino, latte etc) - even our petrol stations now have proper espresso machines! As the quote says “you cannot give filter coffee away in Australia or New Zealand” - the only places I have seen filter coffee served are in people’s homes (where filter machines are rapidly being superseeded by home espresso machines), some businesses, and McDonalds.  But even in Maccas they now have big automatic espresso machines and the filter pot now sits unwanted in the corner, although the McDonalds espressos are of variable quality - I’ve had some pretty decent cups and some that are wretched, but then again if you want coffee at 4am on the way back from the hospital you don’t have a lot of choice.

Anyway all this talk about coffee makes me want to get home and fire up my machine. I got it back from being repaired yesterday but was far too rushed last night and this morning to get it going. This evening will be rushed as well as I have a stupid meeting to go to but I’ll make it a priority to fit in a couple of cups

Seven Years’ War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seven Years’ War⁽ⁱ⁾ (1754 and 1756–1763), incorporating the Pomeranian War and the French and Indian War, enveloped both European and colonial theatres. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war,^[1] as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although most of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

This war involved all of the major European powers of the period: Prussia, Hanover, and Great Britain (including British colonies in North America, the British East India Company, and Ireland) were pitted against Austria, France (including the North American colony of New France and the French East India Company), the Russian Empire, Sweden, and Saxony. Spain and Portugal were later drawn into the conflict, and a force from the neutral Netherlands was attacked in India.  [..read more..]

• 1058 - A quiet half hour at work with no patients - so I’m looking at guitars online again - just over a month and I’ll be in Nashville! #
• 1318 - Picked up my espresso machine at lunchtime so I can finally have good cofffee again. Busy afternoon today - 3 Caesareans booked #

It’s bulk rubbish collection time in our neighbourhood at the moment which means people can put large unwanted stuff on their lawn for a big council truck to come and cart away. Driving around the local streets you can see lots of old TVs, washing machines, car parts, exercise machines, furniture and all sorts of bric-a-brac out the front of peoples homes. It’s the one time when no-one seems to mind the neighbourhood looking like a mess.  It’s also a great time for junk collectors - within hours of me putting a broken old bar fridge on our front lawn it was gone, and some other things Jenni put out were snapped up pretty fast. It’s like they say, one person’s trash is another one’s treasure.

One thought that always crosses my mind during this time is  that it’s often just by copying others that we find out about bulk rubbish collection. Sometime’s they put signs out on major roads but I can’t remember seeing one over the last 2 weeks. If you wanted to play a serious practical joke on the whole suburb the thing to do would be to get together with a few neighbours and put some junk out, and see how many people copy. Then once others are starting to put their junk out you could bring yours back in, waiting for the real bulk collection week. Anyway it seems like a good prank to me .

Paul Broca - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pierre Paul Broca (June 28, 1824 – July 9, 1880) was a French physician, anatomist, and anthropologist. He was born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, France.

Broca was a brilliant student. He entered medical school in Paris when he was only 17 years old and graduated at 20, when most of his contemporaries were just beginning as medical students.

Broca soon became a professor of surgical pathology at the University of Paris. He quickly excelled as a noted medical researcher in many areas. At the age of 24 he had received many awards, medals, and important positions. His early scientific works dealt with the histology of cartilage and bone, but he also studied cancer pathology, the treatment of aneurysms, and infant mortality. One of his major concerns was the comparative anatomy of the brain. His celebrated paper refers to many animal species. As a neuroanatomist he made important contributions to the understanding of the limbic system and rhinencephalon. Olfaction was for him a sign of animality. His research on the localization of speech led to entirely new research into the lateralization of brain function.

• 0838 - Today’s Car CD - Bruce Cockburn “Bruce Cockburn” - great Canadian acoustic folk rock debut from the early 70s #
• 1549 - Just had my 71st delivery for the year. Considering I had just short of 100 last year, it’s not a bad effort #
• 1635 - finally leaving work now. Ended up being a long day #

It’s the Coffee, Not Caffeine, for Gout Prevention — HealthandAge

Came across yet another story today on the health benefits of coffee. This time it’s a study that showed that regular drinkers of four or more cups a day had a 40% lower risk of developing gout than non-drinkers. Interestingly this benefit seemed to not be due to caffeine but to some other unidentified component of coffee. Drinkers of decaffeinated coffee still got some gout-reduction, whereas tea drinkers did not.

My home espresso machine has been out of action for a week now (was blowing off too much steam) and is off being fixed so I’ve been in a coffee drought, forced to drink cafe and instant coffee - I can almost feel my big toe starting to ache already…

Less than 3 weeks to go now until we head off on our trip, or to put it another way, 13 more days of work. The first, and most important, stop on our journey will be Kampala, Uganda, where we will again visit the Sanyu Babies Home.

It’ll be good to get back to Uganda again. My enthusiasm to see the country again was piqued last night when we finally got around to watching the Last King of Scotland DVD which was filmed almost entirely in Uganda. In addition to the film itself we watched an excellent featurette about Idi Amin, and the movie’s treatment of him. Much of the countryside, architecture, and some of the city sites were very familiar. Can’t wait to be there again.

As for the movie itself, it was very good. Forrest Whitaker’s Oscar winning performance as Amin was superb, and James McAvoy (aka Mr Tumnus in Narnia) was excellent as the central character Dr Nicholas Garrigan. Having read the book on which it was based though, I must say I was a little disappointed. In many ways the plot deviated significantly from the book - many key events and characters were left out entirely and certain events were completely changed. There’s always a challenge in making a movie out of an excellent book and while this movie certainly is very very good, I’d have to say the book is much better. If you haven’t done either I’d say watch the movie first, and then read the book - that way you might not find the movie to be a bit of a let down. You can read my initial thoughts on the book from last August here.

Aside from that the weekend was pretty good. Owen’s soccer match on Saturday was an intense, high standard game (well by 6 year old standards it was), and we spent the afternoon shopping before watching the classic movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Sunday at church we had an excellent sermon preached by Pastor Julie and then went up to our nephew Jason’s 4th birthday. Almost a shame to be back at work but I’ll just keep counting down those days - 12 work days to go after today…

Metalocalypse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Metalocalypse is an animated television series on Adult Swim created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. It has been described as “Spinal Tap meets Scooby-Doo meets Norway“.^[1] The series was originally pitched as Deathclock, but the name could not be used due to an existing trademark. The show and the main characters’ band were then renamed Dethklok. The show’s title was then extended to Death Clock Metalocalypse, although the starring band still retained the name Dethklok. The crew finally shortened the title to Metalocalypse because the extended show title was too complicated.

The show’s first season consists of twenty eleven-minute episodes, the first of which premiered on the Adult Swim Fix on August 4, 2006, and on Adult Swim proper the following Sunday. According to AdultSwim, Metalocalypse has been renewed for a second season consisting of twenty episodes to begin airing in late 2007.  [..read more..]

Burundi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burundi (IPA: /buɾundi/), officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Although the country is landlocked, much of its western border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The country’s modern name is derived from its Bantu language, Kirundi.

Geographically isolated, facing population pressures and having sparse resources, Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. It is also one of the most conflict-ridden countries in Africa and in the world. Its small size belies the magnitude of the problems it faces in reconciling the claims of the Tutsi minority with the Hutu majority. [..read more..]

Just thought I’d update on something I posted about a while back. As you may recall I was having some trouble booking flights using my surplus of QANTAS frequent flyer points for my mission trip to Uganda in October. Initially there were no seats available at all and I was expecting to have to pay for my tickets. Then I downloaded a program called Frequent Flyer Friend which sits on my desktop and automatically checks airline websites for reward tickets on the days I want. Initially no results but a few weeks later a big smiley face appeared informing me flights were available. So I booked the tickets, happy that I wouldn’t have to pay, but still not entirely happy because the trip was cut short by several days (seats on my ideal days still weren’t available) and because I had to fly back to Perth from Johannesburg via Sydney.

Fast forward another few weeks to early June. The software still sitting there, checking daily and sending a report on it’s findings to my email. Most days the smiley face alert appears on my desktop telling me about the same flights I’ve already booked or other, even worse, ones. But then one day a whole crop of smileys appears - it seems a bunch of new reward seats have been released, and for much better days. I quickly phoned up the airline and got my flights changed, at the cost of only a small penalty of 2,500 points but I was happy enough with that. So now I’m leaving on the day I had originally planned (October 10) and returning on October 29th - which means I will be there for the whole duration of the medical team mission instead of missing a few days. I’m still returning to Perth via Sydney, but I can live with that.

Since then I haven’t bothered to load Frequent Flyer friend, but I just happened to click on the icon today, and guess what? All the good flights are gone. There’s now no flights at all to South Africa and only a couple back (via Sydney) several days after I want to return. So thanks to Frequent Flyer Friend I was lucky enough to find the small window when those seats were available and book my tickets. A very handy piece of software indeed

Queen’s Personal Australian Flag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Queen’s Personal Australian Flag, sometimes known as the Royal Standard of Australia is the personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of Australia. The flag was approved for use in 1962. It is only used by the Queen when she is in Australia, or attending an event abroad in her role as head of state of Australia. The Queen’s representative, the Governor-General of Australia has their own flag.

The flag consists of a banner of the coat of arms of Australia, defaced with a gold seven-pointed star with a blue disc containing the letter E below a crown, surrounded by a garland of golden roses. [..read more..]