Australia Likely To Tax Internet Purchases

My prediction is that the Australian Government, headed by the Labor Party and the Greens, will begin to tax purchases made on the Internet from foreign countries. I believe that online retailers in the US enjoy a tax-exempt status as they complained bitterly that it would hurt their fledgling businesses. This was in place for the first ten years of online business and was extended - correct me if I am wrong.

Currently Australian citizens can purchase goods online from an overseas country GST-free if the overall value is less than A$1000. This figure is also the same as the amount of goods that can be brought into Australia as tax-free purchases when you've been on holiday. It's a pretty generous figure I think you'll agree as it's much higher than most other countries. This probably came about so that Australian politicians could avoid our 12-32% sales tax, at the time (pre-GST), on any purchases they made offshore during travels. At least it's been extended to all and sundry. Citizens and permanent residents that is.

Aussies like a bargain. Our country provides a huge amount of commodities such as wood chips, oil, gas, coal, copper, iron ore, etc. The rest of the world requires these commodities to manufacture goods. They then seem to charge us more than our fair share for a comporable product. Don't believe me? Check your local iTunes store. The majority of singles cost A$1.69 - $2.19 apiece. I'll wager that in the US it's closer to US$0.99 a track. Xe.com informs me that the Aussie dollar is worth 1.01745 USD this morning. So, US$0.99 is closer to AU$0.973. Parity in the dollar but no parity in the pricing from Apple.

But there are many other companies from whom you can purchase a product at a much lower cost than you are able to in Australia. Take cameras for example. When I was hunting for a camera this time last year the price ranged between $249 and $399 in Australia for one particular model. I was able to purchase it from a company based in Hong Kong and, including DHL shipment, it came to only $202. Plus they offered a spare battery for an additional $22 when I couldn't purchase that in Australia for less than $65! That purchase was a bit of a no-brainer. And I'm not the only Australian to have noticed that money can be saved online.

Some major retailers in Australia have noticed the competition and called for purchases made overseas but online to be taxed with the GST. They include Gerry Harvey from Harvey Norman, Bernie Brookes from Myer and Solomon Lew from Premier Investments (which owns Just Jeans among others). They argue that the $1000 tax-free threshold is hurting their businesses. Heck, you can buy a couple of pairs of denim jeans from the States and have them shipped to Australia and it's still cheaper than buying them from a department store in this country.

Bernie Brookes has stated that Myer will open an online store so that customers can purchase directly from a China warehouse and avoid paying the GST. It will make purchases appear more attractive to the shopper and it's an attempt to keep your dollars flowing through to Myer.

Not long after that statement by Mr Brookes and Gerry Harvey said that he was planning a similar move.

Check out what Michael Pascoe, a well-respected finance commentator, has to say about the issue. He considers that the retailers are more concerned that Aussies know how much the goods are really worth and how much mark-up the retailers have.

The Australian Government has launched an investigation into online sales and the implications for avoiding payment of GST. This is due to take nine months to complete and certainly wouldn't help retailers this year in Australia make up for "lost" sales.

Make no mistake - there is a lot of money, and foregone tax revenue, going overseas from online purchases. And when the government has this spelt out to them in black and white you can be assured that this loophole will be closed. I forsee that tax-free purchases made overseas will be limited to those that are made when you are physically overseas and not online. Internet purchases will be made subject to the GST.

Great Time To Be Sick?

I wouldn't have considered that Christmas was a great time to be sick. I remember many years ago when my mum came down with the mumps on Christmas day and it completely ruined the day for her. Couple that with the fact that we were spending it three hours from home and it just added to the excitement.

As I hadn't had a break from work since the first week of Feb I thought that I might get sick due to relaxing too much and the body falling victim to the exhaustion that it should have experienced sometime during the year. That's happened before. This time around it was a little different.

On Christmas Eve my tummy didn't feel well. In the early hours of Christmas Day there I was talking on the great white telephone. I was calling Ralph although he wasn't answering. I thought that that would be the end of it. If something doesn't agree with the guts then the guts deals with it, right? Not in this case.

Two more days ensued of headaches, tiredness and general tummy upsetedness. Then came the runny poo. From 12:30 until 4:30 in the morning. The end of it? Nah.

Couple more days of nausea, not that I considered pregnancy to be a concern, before everything finished. One of my colleagues said that his father had the same issues and apparently it was going on at school just before they broke for the summer holidays too. Glad to hear that it wasn't just me.

Great. Sick on a Saturday (Christmas Day), Sunday and two public holidays and no sick leave. Hah. Not to worry. Did it ruin Christmas? No. The Boy was only interested in the presents and the missus in the Boxing Day sales. Everybody else got what they wanted. I just happened to have Christmas lunch a few days late. And to think that on Christmas Day I only ate a piece of toast and a cup of soup. No turkey for this turkey.

I'm all better now. Back to my sort of normal.

Just Remember People....

Just remember people - If you win an escape holiday that you will have to return to work. There is no escape.

Just remember people - A good haircut is known as a hairdo whereas a bad haircut, such as a comb over, is called a hairdon't.

Just remember people - The last minute has a disproportionate amount of work crammed in making the rest of the work process appear to be inefficient.

Just remember people - Phones were invented so that kids who didn't listen at home when growing up can call mum or dad for advice that had been given over and over and over and......

Quiet week this one. Gonna give this a rest for a while. Need a bit of inspiration. Hope you enjoyed this little series.

Photo scandal girl needs help: AFL

There's a rather interesting story at the moment involving a teenage girl in Melbourne and a nude photo of St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt. Although the girl claims to have taken the photo it appears that she may have stolen it. Didn't stop her from asking for $20,000 to hand it over before publishing it. Apparently this girl has slept with some 21 footballers and is pregnant to one of them.

The AFL issued a statement that the girl needs help. I'll say she does. A decent manager could have gotten closer to $50-75k for that.

You Could Knock Me Down With A Feather

I don't believe it. I just don't believe it. I received a USB stick from a supplier about a year ago. It was 1GB and probably worth about $12 retail. Considering that they are a huge multinational company their buying power possibly puts it in the $2-4 range. Still, it was a very nice, and handy, gift. Had to take a work colleague's vehicle the other day and took along my FM transmitter and the USB stick to play some music as it was about half an hour drive there and the same back. His car stereo plays MP3s very well and in an inspiring manner direct from USB.

At the end of the day I removed my stick and remember balancing it on the bags I was carrying before opening the front door. After that I was unable to locate it. Almost turned the house upside down in an attempt to find it. There wasn't much point in asking my colleague as I clearly remember taking it.

Roll onto tonight when I put a pair of shorts on. The pocket felt a bit strange as though I had a pocketknife or nail clippers in them. Reaching in I found the USB stick. Hmm, it had been through the wash and hung out on the clothes line to dry. With some trepidation I tried it on the computer. Imagine my shock when I found that the files were still intact and it still read them. OK, the little red light indicating file transfer doesn't work but I don't care. Who said electronic equipment is not hardy? You could knock me down with a feather I am so gobsmacked.

If I did have any naughty files on there I guess that they would have been cleaned up by now.

Very Bittersweet Irony - Boat People Tragedy

Australia has a bit of a problem with asylum seekers arriving by boat, otherwise known as boat people, to the tune of about 1500 per year. That pales in comparison with some refugee numbers in European countries but it is considered to be a big deal in this country. Nobody says too much about some two hundred thousand odd people a year who have arrived in the country legally and have come on planes, usually overstaying a visa and/or living/working illegally. You would have thought that it would be much simpler to keep an eye on these people and deport them once they've overstayed their welcome as you know who they are, when they are supposed to be leaving and would have a fair idea of where they are staying.

Back to the boat people. They can stay for years in detention centres waiting to be identified and granted asylum. Of course this leads to unrest, protest and violence as you can expect from people locked up for great lengths of time when they have come here for a better life.

Last week, on December 15th, a boat was smashed on the coastline of Christmas Island. The search for survivors has now been called off but those who did survive will be called upon to identify the bodies. I heard a report on the ABC news this morning that half of the 30 people known to have perished have been identified.

How very bittersweet. Instead of taking years to identify people in detention who are alive we can identify dead people within a week. What does this say about our processing of asylum seekers? We can do a much better job if we really want to. Maybe we haven't proven who they are though so it's not quite the same and they wouldn't be in a position to be granted asylum and released into the community if they were alive.

Just Remember People....

Just remember people - Don't think that it's possible to swim in ever decreasing circles as it's technically a spiral. And you're spiralling downwards in any case.

Just remember people - a bird in the hand will probably peck you.

Just remember people - it's not the thought that counts. It's the accountant.

Just remember people - luckily Jack thought highly of his mother or he might well have sold the old cow for a handful of beans.

Just remember people - you can be sure that the owners of 7-Eleven, Seven & I Holdings Co. of Japan, are rather glad that Al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Centre, The Pentagon and in Pennsylvania took place on September the 11th and not July the 11th as it would have darkened their name considerably.

Just remember people - If you have multiple personalities it only takes one to know one, it takes one to tango and one is a crowd.

Just remember people - the difference between being the most sexy and a discriminator on the basis of gender is just an ecstacy tablet.

Why Did Australia Miss Out On Hosting The World Cup?

Sure. You've heard the news. Qatar is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Australia, very hopeful of gaining the honour, after years of effort from Frank Lowy, scored one vote in the first round of voting and was eliminated. Japan and then Korea bowed out leaving the choice between the US and Qatar.

Maybe Japan, Korea and the US were being a bit greedy in trying to host the tournament again as they have all hosted it within living memory. But Qatar? A country with a population of 1.7 million, of whom approximately two-thirds are foreigners, and with a World Cup-time temperature averaging 46C? Over Australia? With a population of 22 million, existing stadia, reasonable transport, great destination, stable politically...?

Perhaps we were a little naive in our bid. Obviously we had no idea that money talked. Although there were rumours of improper vote-buying (gifts) for delegates or their wives from the Aussies. Maybe the bribes, as some have seen them, weren't good enough. It certainly wasn't the fault through lack of effort on Frank Lowy's behalf or the joining of the sales pitch by Julia Gillard. The result was quite seriously decided long before then. Why did we waste some $45.6m on the bid? Maybe we shouldn't have called those cheats from Italy cheats. Must have been seen as a blight upon the game or bringing it into disrepute.

Good luck to the Qataris. Nobody is going to want to play in those sorts of temperatures. Qatari football is not well known for its prowess. I'm shocked that they won the right to host the 2022 World Cup but not surprised to see that Australia missed out. Rather humiliating exiting in the first round of voting though.

Beware of Scammers - Windows User Call

A couple of weeks ago, on the weekend, I received a call from someone asking to speak if they could speak to Mr Me. I replied, "You are currently." The guy didn't understand this so I realised that I wasn't talking to someone who used English as their first language. Great start. He gave me his name and the company which he worked for and when I asked him to repeat the company name I still didn't catch it although it included "Technology" in the name.

I asked him what was the reason for his call. Was I using Windows on my computer? His concern was based upon the fact that malware was coming down from the Internet and had affected Windows users. His company was ringing all Windows users in my state to warn and assist them. "So you're calling all of the Windows users in my state?" I asked. "That must be four or five hundred thousand people."
"Well, there are other people calling as well," he responded. Apparently he wasn't on his own.

I ended the call with a polite, "So, you want me to turn on my computer so that you can ask me to find a few files and then inform me that they're malware and that I should download your program to fix them when it will, in fact, allow you access to my computer and steal my personal information and identity? Go and stick it up your arse."

With that I hung up. I've heard of this sort of scam. Don't let yourself become a victim. This cold calling amazed me but there must be some serious money in it for them if they do gain control of your computer.

Third Ashes Test Observations From Day One

A day of carnage for the Aussies on the opening day of the Third Ashes Test in Perth against England. Here a few observations made.

The Cancer Council's message has gotten through to the Aussie cricketers - stay out of the sun.

Including Beer in the team would have been akin to the Aussie selectors admitting that we had an ailing side. Terrible pun that.

There's no truth in the rumour that the Australian selectors were all lined up at the booth at the WACA near the entrance which was entitled "CHANGE".

Only Shane Warne is sticking it up the English.

Overheard on the Street

Overheard by me, and probably several others, a one way conversation between a cyclist and a BMW X3 (or 5) driver the other day.

"Indicate, you motherf*&#er!!!"

All I could do was give him a thumbs up as he passed. There was nothing that I could add in words. I like a man who speaks his mind.

Taekwondo Grading - Red Belt

Following our Christmas party at work on Friday I was very sore from a day of snorkeling and beach cricket. I didn't train on Friday night but did so on Saturday. Sunday morning I had grading to attempt for 3rd geup - red belt with one stripe.

Nervous as hell. Why do I feel like a kid about to enter an exam before grading? I guess we all are nervous about passing and take nothing for granted. Just couldn't wait to get on with it. By the time you start you done enough pattern practice to really confuse yourself.

Luckily once we started I didn't have to wait, the blue twos did but the blue threes graded, and the nerves faded away. Managed to do my three patterns ok without stuffing them up. Did muck up one of the line exercises but in a more difficult way. Oh well. My jumping back kicks were nothing to write home about and my spinning kicks were far from desirable. At least I didn't fall over and embarrass myself. Sparring was ok.

Then we had to sit and watch the blue twos. One big guy, good friend of mine, had no partner so when it came to self defence and sparring I had to help out. I knew that I would be asked to do this as I am the same size, less 15kg, as him and nobody else at the grading was even close. Man, did I feel stuffed afterwards. When I sat down the girl next to me said, "Are you dead yet?" Yes, it was also a warm day and I did feel knackered.

Reasonable pass so now I'm a red belt. And with that comes responsibility. Ok, maybe there's not too much responsibility. But there were a few bruises.

Just Remember People....

Just remember people - everybody is in a race. The human race. Although some people aren't doing so well and don't look like getting a place.

Just remember people - Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer probably had a severe cold and shouldn't have been out working late especially in that cold weather. He should have joined the union movement and obtained sick leave.

Just remember people - success breeds success but bogans breed bogans.

Just remember people - the way to distinguish between a Muslim and non-Muslim woman during summer is quite easy. The Muslim woman wears non-revealing clothes so that only the eyes can be seen. The non-Muslim woman wears a large pair of designer glasses to hide her eyes and very little clothing.

Just remember people - it takes one to know one but it takes two to tango.

Just remember people - if beauty is in the eye of the beholder then ugly must be kept somewhere else. I'm guessing that it's probably burnt into an area in the brain.

Just remember people - two minute noodles take closer to five minutes to eat so don't believe the hype.

What Would You Do With A Lazy $110 Billion?

It would seem that the US of A has more money than it knows what to do with. Well, it has some useless money, some $110b of it, that it has to guard as it wasn't printed properly. And to think that they cost in the vicinity of $120m to produce it's a rather costly exercise. They aren't sure how the money should be disposed of. Might have to look at making a few suggestions.

What would you do with a lazy US$110b?

- The Yanks could pay off about 0.0795% of their national debt.
- You could buy-out Carlos (Slim) Helú and Bill Gates - Forbes list of billionaires.
- You could get about 75% of BHP Billiton Limited at current market capitalisation.
Argentina's foreign debt could be paid off - Wikipedia List of countries by external debt
- Plenty of nice Pacific islands going cheap enough.
- You may have enough to buy Chelski, er Chelsea.
Put the money in a high interest rate account, say 6.20% at Bankwest, and live off the $6.82b/yr it would pay. But seeing as the maximum in the account is $2m you'd need to set up 5,500 term deposits. And the term is only for 7 months. That would keep you rather busy. Too busy to enjoy your money perhaps.
- Might buy my son an ice cream. Might even buy the Mr Whippy van.
- Pay off my home loan. Buy the bank too.
- Maybe the Yanks could buy the Wikileaks Website.
- Purchase 57.8% of Google.

Any suggestions?

Julian Assange and the Sex by Surprise Charge

So, Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has been charged by Swedish authorities with "Sex by surprise". That's a rather strange charge but the linked article explains it relatively well. It's amusing that the Swedish government wants to extradite him from Britain when the maximum penalty is only 5,000 kronor (less than a grand). What's the bet that the US has some interest in the extradition.

If they have a law against sex by surprise surely they must have a law against non-surprising sex. Can you imagine being charged with being unadventurous in bed? In Sweden, of all places?

"You, sir, are boring in bed. You've brought the act of sex into disrepute. You have been charged with non-surprising sex."

What would the punishment be? Free lessons? I've seen the shirt - Sex Instructor - First Lesson Free.

Linkin Park in Concert at Burswood, Perth

The Boy and I went to see Linkin Park in concert at the Burswood Dome on Tuesday night. The support act was a local band called Sleepwalker who weren't too bad but didn't have too many songs that were notable.

I'm afraid to say that the gig wasn't a sellout and they closed the entire upper sections, where I had a ticket, and we were seated a little further back from the stage. I took earmuffs for The Boy and earplugs for myself as my ears were ringing for six days after their concert three years ago. Perhaps that took away from the enjoyment a bit, I'd say a lot actually as I listened to the last song without them and it sounded so much better, so that was a bit of a bummer. I'm getting old. Also, took my camera and filmed a few songs but unfortunately, and I didn't find out until the next day, the sound is distorted as it was so loud. Got a few good photos though. It was still quite an enjoyable night. And those three words at the conclusion of the concert from The Boy meant everything - "Awesome. Thanks Dad".

Mike Shinoda exploding

A little bit more mellow

Nice set and a jumping crowd

If you get the chance to see them on their A Thousand Suns 2010-2011 World Tour do yourself a favour and do so.

Linkin Park in Concert, Perth on Facebook.

Michael Clarke's Bat - Collector's Item

The Sunday Times has a competition whereby you could win Ashes tickets to the match in Perth and meet and greet Michael Clarke and grab his signed Slazenger bat.

Win Michael Clarke's signed bat

Okay, tickets to the match sound great. But will Michael Clarke be at the match as I, and many others, think that he should be dropped as his form with the bat is abysmal? He doesn't deserve to be in the team even if he is the vice captain. Assuming he does get picked for the starting 11 you won't have much time to meet him as he'll either be spending most of the time fielding as the Poms are rather difficult to dismiss currently. If the Aussies are batting you may miss your opportunity to meet him in the frenzied rush to and from the pitch.

At least his bat will be in mint condition. There shouldn't be any nicks or red marks on it as he's hardly put bat on ball this series. Should look just like a bought one.

Gillard Has Declared 2011 a Year of Delivery and Decision for her Government.

So, Julia Gillard has declared 2011 a year of delivery and decision for her government. Well thank goodness the Labor Party has actually achieved something after three years in charge - a decent slogan. Is anybody still buying this shit? And how the hell are you going to increase job opportunities when unemployment is hovering around the 4% mark which is generally regarded as full employment?

Wake up Australia. The years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 we just as good for delivery and decisions. Still plenty of time this year to deliver and decide. I'm sick of this political spin and bulldust.

Curtin Robofair 2010

The Boy and I attended the Curtin Robofair yesterday. There were quite a few robots on display and lots of children in attendance. Even the police had a couple of robots to show including a bomb disposal robot. My favourite was the robot spider which you could play with. We were there for less than an hour though. A little bit disappointing. If we'd gone a bit earlier we would have had time to build a model robot.

Curtin Robofair 2010 Video

Pity that the engineering students don't have to spell properly. I would have thought that code has to be exact for a program to compile.

Just Remember People....

Just remember people - Mein Kampf is not a child's story recounting a school camp.

Just remember people - shops that advertise sales as "Personal shoppers only" are discriminating against those shoppers who wish to be impersonal.

Just remember people - A short survival guide for American gays in the military - 'Don't arse, don't tell.'

Just remember people - there's a level to just how crazy words are.
ornamental - 60%
sentimental - 55%
departmental - 50%
experimental - 50%
governmental - 50%
developmental - 46%
environmental - 46%
temperamental - 46%
interdepartmental - 35%

Just remember people - tradesmen may drive the quickest and most erratically on the roads but they are still late for appointments.

Just remember people - if shit is going to hit the fan then you have a short period of time to act and try to save the situation before it actually hits. Alternatively you have some time to make your escape.

Just remember people - there's probably an inventive Nigerian who is collecting royalties everytime a "Nigerian" scam is mentioned in the press as he's trademarked the term.

Just remember people - fish makes for a versatile food. If it's cooked properly you can serve it as fish. If it's not cooked properly then you might be able to get away with calling it sashimi.

Dancing Robot - Ed-E from Keepad

Attended Curtin Robofair 2010 today. Here's a video of one of the robots on display - he dances!


Ed-E the dancing robot

Funny Cricket Scorecard

I thought that I saw a funny line in the cricket scorecard at the second Test match today in Adelaide.

WatSON c. PieterSEN b. AnderSON for 51.

Ok, not quite as funny as Lillee c. Willey b. Dilley for 19 which happened in a test match in Perth in 1985 if my sources are correct. Wikipedia says that it happened in 1979.

And what about the Patel match?

Cricket Masterchef - New Program

You've seen Masterchef Australia. You've watched, but not necessarily understood, Iron Chef. You've been amazed by Junior Masterchef Australia. Now prepare for the latest culinary and gastronomic tv series - Cricket Masterchef.

Cricket Masterchef stars the Australian Test Cricket team but you'd have to say that the variety of dishes is sadly lacking. There's very little spice and not much zest included in the ingredients. Let's have a look at some of the dishes forthcoming from the second Ashes test match being held in Adelaide.

Simon Katich - he's prepared a duck, the platinum (or diamond) version after being out without facing a ball.
Ricky Ponting - he's also prepared a duck, a golden duck, after departing first ball.
Michael Clarke - his speciality is goose, of which he's made himself out to be, after only making two runs. It could be said that his preparation was unassisted and that he has cooked his own goose.
Ryan Harris - another golden duck. So litte imagination in the kitchen these Aussies.
Doug Bollinger - he's a bunny.

I'd like to have seen a batsmen score zero and play at his best. That would be a Peking (peaking) duck. You'd have to say that it was a pressure cooker situation for the Australians in the middle at the Adelaide Oval today. And didn't they get a basting from the Poms? Mind you, the Poms aren't very imaginative when it comes to cooking either. They just had the Aussies on toast.

The Australians didn't get to enjoy their dishes today and the only cooking that they've tasted for a while is humble pie. Well Ricky, revenge is a dish best served cold and we can see that the Aussies are not cooking with gas. With the Aussies' cooking skills it will probably end up as Ashes anyway.

Spanish Woman Claims Ownership of the Sun

Well, I've heard some downright stupid things in my time but my time obviously isn't up as this takes the cake. A Spanish woman has claimed ownership of the sun. Apparently she wants to charge for usage of the sun and pay 50% of the proceedings to the Spanish Government, 20% to the national pension fund, 10% to research, another 10% to fighting world hunger and keep a measly 10% for herself.

And you thought that it could happen only in America. Not so. Just what does she think she is going to charge for? Sunlight? Waves (generated by the sun, actually), heat, promotion of plant growth, etc?

We have laws in this country whereby fruit from a neighbour's tree that is in your property becomes your property. Doesn't that also mean that sunlight in my backyard belongs to me? Anything that is freely available and invades my personal space surely doesn't belong to anyone else. How can you charge for something that you have no control over? Sunlight falling on a solar collector that I own belongs to no-one else, does it?

Gee, would I even give her two years before the lawsuits start? People will sue for premature aging due to the sun, skin cancer, sunstroke, faded curtains, dried up dams, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, damage to the Antartic ice shelf, melting of glaciers, damage to roads, bending of railway lines and subsequent train derailments, people burning feet on roadways, purchase of sunscreen, fires caused by sunlight on broken glass, cracks in render... I could go on. Has she really though this through? I don't think much of her claim, "I am not stupid, I know the law," as I really don't think that she has seen how much trouble she could be asking for. And how many jurisdictions would she have to defend herself in? What do the communist states think of this?

What sort of money raising taxes has she imagined? Is she going to charge a commission from every state/country that uses daylight savings? Will we have to pay a commission of the solar energy collected on our roofs? What about those countries that are in the Artic and Antarctic circles and experience 24 hours of sunlight - will they pay more but get a rebate in winter? Will the charges be in Euros? What about countries that are not able to access foreign currency?

I think that it will be some time before a more stupid idea is brought to life. Maybe she had a siesta in the sun for a little too long. Or received a great dose of sunstroke herself.

Who Wants To Bowl For Australia?

The Australian bowlers, with the exception of Peter Siddle in England's first innings, where he picked up a hat-trick, struggled to make any sort of impression in the first test match at the Gabba. So, who is going to be dropped and who will replace them?

Mitchell Johnson didn't have a great game. In fact, it was the first test match, his 39th, in which he failed to take a wicket. Coupled with his duck and a regulation dropped catch he didn't have a great match. By those figures Marcus North appears positively lethal with his score of one with the bat and all of the England wickets that fell in the second innings (one). North could even elevate himself to a frontline bowler with that effort.

I'm an admirer of Johnson. He's terrorised batsmen and performed very well for his country. On a wicket that offered nothing for the bowlers as the match went on I don't think that he can be singled out for his lack of penetration with the ball. Get rid of the moustache and the sleeve tattoo and he'll be back to his best.

Siddle will probably hold his place. Hilfenhaus, who bowled beautifully at times, is also under the pump. But the coach doesn't want to make wholesale changes. Let's see how much fortitude the selectors have.

Still, Dougie Bollinger looks a likely replacement and Ryan Harris, if he wasn't susceptible to injury, is also making a strong case for a call-up. I think that getting a match at the Adelaide Oval for a fast bowler is a bit of a poisoned chalice as it's usually a flat track and doesn't offer the quicks much. Look at England to post around 600 runs in an innings.

Overheard on the Bus

A few weeks ago I overheard part of a conversation on the bus. A women said to a guy, "I worked with a guy who suicided himself."

Suicided himself? Sure he didn't suicide anybody else? Talk about murderising the English language. Maybe Dr Death could have suicided somebody else.