June 2016

Happy birthday old mate!

I stopped footy tipping because too many of the results were statistically suspicious as hell. We'll see.

Happy ##th birthday! (## numbers have been withheld because i ran out of fingers)

Awww, what a shame. You bloody big chickens.

Thanks to @[1132287098:2048:Russell Commins]. It's a conspiracy, I tells ya ;) Bit funny actually, crocs lack heel support, which supposedly makes the toes grab. Anybody walking barefoot therefore lacks both heel and arch support, we're cripples without shoes.

Happy birthday Rob!

Some help in holiday planning for those tired of the tyranny of government. We can band together to send the Tories, Republicans and Abbott-LNP folk to all of those countries coloured orange or red, which have either no government or weak government. And bugger me, if they aren't the most dangerous places in the world, go figure.

If you've never experienced binaural sound recordings, put your headphones on and try this. You must wear headphones/earphones for it to work. These are actually easy to make. They're not 'surround sound', they're even more sophisticated than that, but also easier to do. This is true surround sound, as if you were actually there.

Antidepressants really should be a last resort. And even when they are used, they're rarely effective, especially in the longer term.

The sort of story that tells you a lot about how the world is changing. Cynics will hate it, I think it's superb.

So true, kids teach adults more than adults teach kids. Kids also change societies, they don't just wait for adults to do that for them. Most changes to language for example come from kids. Pets are not children either. They don't teach you the same things.

Why are women so often so bloody horrible to each other? It's exhausting to see it and be around it, and it starts very young. 'Relational aggression' is the term the people who study the behaviour use. It does seem like a feminist issue as well, in that it's often the case that people who are more powerless turn on each other rather than on the situation or on those oppressing them. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-long-reach-childhood/201109/bullying-in-the-female-world

Happy birthday :)

So true. Even flies show remarkable intelligence, you just have to know what to look for. We're so vain. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/do-we-really-know-how-smart-animals-are/7500722

Hitler? Stalin? Anders Breivik?

You can't argue with research. Although I'm sure I'm reading correctly that the 3 times a month guys have the lowest risk of all? http://www.higherperspectives.com/ejaculating-1770078249.html

Yes, cut teachers some slack, all true. But...teachers also need to get rid of the idea that teaching is all about interpersonal relationships. Teaching is about...teaching. If teachers don't want to constantly be held accountable for things, then they need to develop their own internal teaching standards, which collectively show how to take any child and help them to learn. Just like other professions do, all of them, except teaching. The job isn't about inspiring students or connecting with them, those are nice in some ways but actually irrelevant. Do we go to a doctor or builder because they inspire us? Or because they heal us and do a good job building?

All for LGBTI rights. But i do wonder if it's correct to use the phrase "LGBTI community". Is it a community? I would say no. Sexuality isn't community, it's sexuality. LGBTI people are diverse and probably disagree on all sorts of things.

Had mine checked, I think the kids were disappointed we weren't being demolished.

For all parents of boys :-)

Animals are so much smarter than we understand. Except maybe plovers, I'm struggling to defend them.

Rickon (noun). Inability to swerve when running.

So Australia's average peak broadband speed has dropped from 30th in the world, to 60th in the world, in the last 3 years. What an innovation nation we are. National Fraudband Network

The people who decide elections ask themselves only one question. Do things seem generally OK? If the answer to that is "yes", they vote to keep the current lot, no matter what brand they are. All politics is about this basic point.

Ripper.

Exactly right. America's problem isn't guns. It's violence. Understanding violence is the key.

Brumotactillophobia. The fear of different foods touching on a plate. Seems to be a bit of it about.

The Bureau of Meteorology "MetEye" function is a bit cool. You can zoom into very specific locations and see forecasts for particular times at that location, rather than just an averaged daily forecast. Jennifer Whichelo may take comfort from this forecast for lunchtime in Lithgow tomorrow.

Hmm, yes thanks Dave Nell Thompson. Righto, day one. 15 years back takes me into hair territory.

Day Two. Not 100% sure which is me, I assume Michael Drengenberg is the one eating the mud. I think we need to see Cameron Stevenson as a young peacock next.

Watching the Brexit results. There are some simple things that go wrong in countries, and every generation forgets them. It took us to 2 world wars, and we still forget. 1. If things are unequally shared, people get pissed off. 2. That anger can easily be channelled into finding scapegoats, like government itself, and immigration. 3. A rise in patriotism and flags is one of the early warning signs. Breaking down and criticism of unions is another critical early warning sign. 4. Anger against 'elites' skyrockets, where elites are nearly always defined culturally - people with high levels of education commonly. 5. Financial elites are usually the main backers of 2 above, and so aren't seen as elites, or as the main cause of the entire process. 6. Everyday discussion becomes dominated by politics. People see everything as a 'Left' or a 'Right' thing. Nobody really understands what the Left and Right are.

Day 3 for me. Think I'm in the red. All of my 80s and 90s pics are buried somewhere.

Still one of the most important shows ever made. And still so misunderstood, Humphrey isn't the bad guy. Maybe a nice salve for those feeling a bit grumpy today.

Day 4, I think. This one because Kirsten Drengenberg will love it too :) I think we may need some embarrassing pics of Russell Commins.

Anybody else in Lithgow getting the push marketing from Simply Energy lately? The con where they knock on your door and make out as if they're just passing on the good news about a cut to the official electricity rate, and can they come inside and sign you up to the new rates? They don't mention they're actually from a rival energy retailer, trying to get you to change suppliers. I've had other retailers try this before too.

You could be excused for thinking Lithgow is an alpine resort.

Cosmopolitanism and art, priceless. And noble speeches no doubt, because they make us feel good about being useless. Politics is what we need, done proper.

Oops, forgot my final pic. I think this one is almost exactly 15 years old. I still own that jumper.

Happy birthday you 'hip' dudette! You're like the bionic woman, an inspiration to the rest of us, although we know it sucks from your end sometimes.

Happy Birthday! Free of the teen years.

Happy bday :)

It's slowly dawning on more people that the millions who want to vote for Trump or Brexit, and who are just fed up with politics altogether, are often the same people who *used* to be in trade unions. Lots of triumphant claptrap about the death of unions. You can see what valuable role they played now. The Liberals/Tories/Republicans managed to seduce ex-unionists for a while with immigrant and gay bashing and a bit of patriotic flag waving, and promises that everybody can be a millionaire if they just work hard, but that time is coming to an end. The genie is out of the bottle, it's just incoherent rage now. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

Brexit may be the best thing that ever happened to democracy.

Dad has the moves.

The passion.