How To Make A Scotsman Happy
I was thinking about why Mary Donaldson's father, John Donaldson, was so happy that his daughter was marrying a prince.
Then it struck me. He wouldn't have to pay for the wedding. That would put a smile on any Scotsman's face.
Another Olympic Scandal
I just read today that countries competing in the taekwondo at the Olympics were only allowed a maximum of four competitors over the eight classes. The article said that this was designed to stop Korea from dominating. I thought the Olympics were supposed to be about the competitors and not countries?! What's next? The Americans can only send one athlete for the 100, 200 and 400 metres sprints for the men?
If they only sent one swimmer, in Michael Phelps, that we be enough by itself. Interestingly, in this article, he was compared with a Russian gymnast, Aleksandr Dityatin, for the possibility to tie a record of eight medals won at a single Olympics, which he did. The article fails to mention that the USA boycotted the Olympics in 1980. Phelps won eight medals against the whole world. He is an out and out champion.
Miky Is A Great Storyteller
I never had such an idea that Miky was a great storyteller. Yesterday we went to the park in South Perth overlooking the foreshore. We brought Yu-Jin's bike and went to a couple of the playgrounds. On the way back, when Yu-Jin got a bit tired, she started telling him the story of the Tiger and the Persimmon. I'll have to look it up sometime for you. Then she started Hansel and Gretel. The detail that she went into made me feel a bit slack. She remembered the story so well and considering that she would have heard/read it in Korean a lot longer ago than I did, she did a remarkable job. Yu-Jin was so intrigued she had to say it again.
Suffering from a sore throat Miky asked me to tell a story to Yu-Jin. He refused because he wanted mummy to tell him a story. As she told the story so nicely he failed to notice just how far he was riding and didn't get tired at all.
Bit Of Immobiliser Trouble
Miky's car has a half decent immobiliser fitted and we get an additional 10% reduction on the insurance premium because of the brand. Bonus. Especially for a frugal bastard. Anyway, she called me at work on Friday and said that she couldn't get the car started. Thoughts about the blonde Korean were starting to enter my head. When I got home I found that the led wasn't flashing meaning that it wasn't armed properly but it was armed, we just couldn't reset it.
I phoned the mechanic the next morning and he said that it had failed and would need to be replaced. However, he didn't do it and gave me the phone number of a guy who they called. I rang another couple of car parts shops and the second one was sold out of them. But they had a guy who fitted them. Unfortunately he had sold out and couldn't get any until Monday.
I pulled the black box apart and noticed four wires. With a bit of mucking around I discovered that if I pulled one of the wires off, reset the alarm, and then replaced the wire I could start the car fine. Not the sort of work-around that I could Miky to do. I rang another few companies and found an auto electrician, Lance Auto Electrics, and he asked me to bring the car down for a look. He didn't sell that model anymore but called one of his lads over to short the wires out so that we could use the car without the immobiliser. All for nothing. And he told me where I could get the immobiliser fixed. I guess that I'll be buying a box of chocolates to give to them for their service. And the plug for their Website.
I didn't think that an immobiliser would be so easy to bypass. No wonder cars still get stolen. A little knowledge can be dangerous.
Monday, August 30, 2004
And The Winner Of The Worst Olympic Games Closing Ceremony Speech Is...
Jacques Rogge.
Perhaps they should have dug up old Juan Antonio Samaranch to make the speech. What the hell was Rogge doing? It looked as though he was reading from a script or was he just making the whole thing up as he went along? For goodness sake, he had four years to write the bloody speech. And that was the best that he could come up with? What an utter disgrace.
It was almost as boring as listening to John Howard or Mark Latham prattle on about truth, honesty, interest rates, the Australian people, un-Australian behaviour, and why they should be elected for six weeks. Oh, that's right. We still have that to look forward to.
Perhaps there should be a special Australian Idol for Prime Minister. Get Little Johnny and Bruiser Latham to have a sing off. The most votes from the public gets the job of PM. At least there won't be as much silly voting as happens in Australian Idol. I heard one woman on the radio during last years final say that she had phoned about 20 times that day for Shannon Noll and when she got home she was going to vote another 20 times. I am sure that is more votes than Howard and Latham would get combined.
Jacques Rogge.
Perhaps they should have dug up old Juan Antonio Samaranch to make the speech. What the hell was Rogge doing? It looked as though he was reading from a script or was he just making the whole thing up as he went along? For goodness sake, he had four years to write the bloody speech. And that was the best that he could come up with? What an utter disgrace.
It was almost as boring as listening to John Howard or Mark Latham prattle on about truth, honesty, interest rates, the Australian people, un-Australian behaviour, and why they should be elected for six weeks. Oh, that's right. We still have that to look forward to.
Perhaps there should be a special Australian Idol for Prime Minister. Get Little Johnny and Bruiser Latham to have a sing off. The most votes from the public gets the job of PM. At least there won't be as much silly voting as happens in Australian Idol. I heard one woman on the radio during last years final say that she had phoned about 20 times that day for Shannon Noll and when she got home she was going to vote another 20 times. I am sure that is more votes than Howard and Latham would get combined.
What's New For The 2008 Olympics?
I guess that we'll see some more "sports" introduced for the Beijing Olympics. Stand by for:
noodle making - got 10000 athletes to feed
dragon dancing - gotta be better than synchronised swimming
wall building - complements fencing, I guess, in a grander style
Friday Night Farce
I hope not to see any more Friday night football with Eddie Maguire. Just who are his cronies that he has in the commentary box. It has been shocking to hear Dermott Brereton, one of Hawthorn's favourite sons, and Gary Lyon, a courageous former captain of Melbourne, grovelling and kowtowing to Eddie about how good Collingwood are and how sad we must all feel about them not being in the finals, etc.
Friday night football has just become the "We Love Eddie and Collingwood Show". The commentary was so blatantly biased it was unacceptable. Or, to use that catchphrase of the moment, un-Australian. Made me sick just listening to them. Not sure who the winner of the "I Love Eddie Award" should be.
What The Mouse Was Thinking
He obviously didn't have much time to think. I can see, and maybe you can if you look closely, but he's just started to sink his teeth into the peanut. Probably was about to think how nice the peanut was going to taste and what a good meal it would make. Didn't get to finish the thought though. That'll teach him. He won't be making that mistake again.
I guess that we'll see some more "sports" introduced for the Beijing Olympics. Stand by for:
noodle making - got 10000 athletes to feed
dragon dancing - gotta be better than synchronised swimming
wall building - complements fencing, I guess, in a grander style
Friday Night Farce
I hope not to see any more Friday night football with Eddie Maguire. Just who are his cronies that he has in the commentary box. It has been shocking to hear Dermott Brereton, one of Hawthorn's favourite sons, and Gary Lyon, a courageous former captain of Melbourne, grovelling and kowtowing to Eddie about how good Collingwood are and how sad we must all feel about them not being in the finals, etc.
Friday night football has just become the "We Love Eddie and Collingwood Show". The commentary was so blatantly biased it was unacceptable. Or, to use that catchphrase of the moment, un-Australian. Made me sick just listening to them. Not sure who the winner of the "I Love Eddie Award" should be.
What The Mouse Was Thinking
He obviously didn't have much time to think. I can see, and maybe you can if you look closely, but he's just started to sink his teeth into the peanut. Probably was about to think how nice the peanut was going to taste and what a good meal it would make. Didn't get to finish the thought though. That'll teach him. He won't be making that mistake again.
Utter Disgrace
Can’t say I’m too impressed by the Australian Government and its attitude towards the Bali bombers. They basically forced the Indonesian Government to implement new terrorism laws and use them upon the Bali bombers. The Indonesian Judiciary has followed the correct procedure. Laws can’t be applied retrospectively.
There were several opportunities and other laws that the bombers could have been tried by. Murder, ownership of explosives, causing grievous bodily harm, etc. But oh no. You have to try them as terrorists. That will scare the terrorists off.
Let’s just say that some of the Australian Government’s policies haven’t been too clever but to force another country to bring in new laws for its own benefit is pretty low. And then to get all flustered when they fall flat on their faces.
I think it is more a case of crossing a bridge when you get to it. They shouldn’t have tried to pre-empt the charges and make such a big deal out of terrorism.
Olympic Medal Tally
Commentators kept going on about the record medal tally for Australia at the Olypmics. Ok, we won more gold medals than ever before and that is some sort of achievement. But how many more medal sports are there now compared with the Melbourne Games of ’56? Taekwondo, beach volleyball, trampolining, synchronised swimming and diving, the list goes on. We should be winning more medals at each Olympics.
Boxing, At The Olympics, During The Marathon
I guess we’ll never see the best boxing that took place during the Olympics. It would have taken place during the marathon when that stupid bastard attacked the lead runner from Brazil. A big guy from the crowd in a light blue shirt jumped the fence and reached the attacker before the police did. My guess is that he laid into the idiot and there would have been some good combinations thrown. Love to see the aftermath.
How bloody ridiculous. Glad to see that the runner got the bronze and the Pierre de Coubertin medal in recognition of his "exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values."
Can’t say I’m too impressed by the Australian Government and its attitude towards the Bali bombers. They basically forced the Indonesian Government to implement new terrorism laws and use them upon the Bali bombers. The Indonesian Judiciary has followed the correct procedure. Laws can’t be applied retrospectively.
There were several opportunities and other laws that the bombers could have been tried by. Murder, ownership of explosives, causing grievous bodily harm, etc. But oh no. You have to try them as terrorists. That will scare the terrorists off.
Let’s just say that some of the Australian Government’s policies haven’t been too clever but to force another country to bring in new laws for its own benefit is pretty low. And then to get all flustered when they fall flat on their faces.
I think it is more a case of crossing a bridge when you get to it. They shouldn’t have tried to pre-empt the charges and make such a big deal out of terrorism.
Olympic Medal Tally
Commentators kept going on about the record medal tally for Australia at the Olypmics. Ok, we won more gold medals than ever before and that is some sort of achievement. But how many more medal sports are there now compared with the Melbourne Games of ’56? Taekwondo, beach volleyball, trampolining, synchronised swimming and diving, the list goes on. We should be winning more medals at each Olympics.
Boxing, At The Olympics, During The Marathon
I guess we’ll never see the best boxing that took place during the Olympics. It would have taken place during the marathon when that stupid bastard attacked the lead runner from Brazil. A big guy from the crowd in a light blue shirt jumped the fence and reached the attacker before the police did. My guess is that he laid into the idiot and there would have been some good combinations thrown. Love to see the aftermath.
How bloody ridiculous. Glad to see that the runner got the bronze and the Pierre de Coubertin medal in recognition of his "exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values."
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Don’t Try To Pinch My Food
I mentioned previously that we had a mouse on the loose in the house. The little bugger had been eating my rice and a few other food items that were stored in the pantry. And he seemed to be making a nice bed for himself and the dish towels and place mats. So last weekend Yu-Jin and I went for a walk to Bunnings and purchased some mouse traps.
Now, my best man’s cousin had had problems with mice when he was in Japan. In actual fact it turned out to be a rat. So I visited his Weblog and looked at his methods of eradication. Also checked out a site for bait for the trap. Chocolate, peanuts, cheese, among others, were the recommended bait.
Having some Easter eggs left over from April I loaded up a trap in the study with some chocolate. I had seen him in the study one night before. After a couple of days I had caught nothing. And the little bugger was still sleeping in the pantry. So, the trap got set in the pantry with one peanut. It took a few minutes to set the trap as it was a bit trigger happy. A couple of days later, voila!
Once again, don’t try to pinch my food.
Speaking of Food
This must be the deal of the century. Especially for those of you who enjoy your coffee and cake. I spotted a restaurant in South Perth on the way to work one morning. It is called Reflections Restaurant. They have an offer for:
Coffee & Cake
All Day from 11:00am - $6.95
Wow. All you can drink/eat coffee and cake for only $6.95. I reckon that I could stay all day and polish off two cakes for that sort of money.
Finally, Some Support For Sally Robbins
Somebody read my blog and got a little bit pissed about my comments regarding Sally Robbins. It is much easier to make up funny comments than to speak from the heart. I’ll admit, this girl is pretty damn fit, in more ways than one.
If Sally Robbins had torn a muscle in her arm or cracked a rib with the oar then everyone would feel sorry for her. There are very few of us who can relate to how hard she pushes her body for her sport. Almost everyone felt sympathy for Jana Pittman. It wasn’t her fault that her knee required surgery. It was unavoidable. If somebody falls over at the velodrome people don’t start pointing the finger. Too bad, let’s think about the other athletes.
In the case of Sally Robbins, she’s an Aussie. Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if she changed nations after the way she has been treated. But if she hadn’t been an Aussie, nobody in this country would be bagging her. The incident would have been looked at with very little scrutiny. Oh, one of the Croatian rowers has collapsed. How sad.
Yeah, I do feel sorry for Sally Robbins. I hope that she can recover from this. It will be a huge test of her mental strength. I wish her all the best.
No Money For Library Books
Yu-Jin is reading the same books as I did when I was his age. At childcare they have Meg and Mog books which I can remember. And Miky borrowed a book from the city library about Hendrika the cow and her trip down the canal on a raft. I read that when I was a youngster. Obviously no-one has any money to spend for library books these days.
Appropriate Dress
We had pizza on Friday night. Whilst Yu-Jin and I were waiting in the shop some guy pulled up in his big 4WD and parked it across three parking bays. It makes my blood boil to see someone too lazy to park their vehicle properly. I felt like telling him off (I haven’t changed).
But the way he was dressed summed it up. Big fleecy top, fleecy pants and Ugg boots. The only way he could have spent less time getting dressed was if he didn’t bother to wear any clothes. And he bought four pizzas. Looked like the sort of bloke who could demolish them too.
I mentioned previously that we had a mouse on the loose in the house. The little bugger had been eating my rice and a few other food items that were stored in the pantry. And he seemed to be making a nice bed for himself and the dish towels and place mats. So last weekend Yu-Jin and I went for a walk to Bunnings and purchased some mouse traps.
Now, my best man’s cousin had had problems with mice when he was in Japan. In actual fact it turned out to be a rat. So I visited his Weblog and looked at his methods of eradication. Also checked out a site for bait for the trap. Chocolate, peanuts, cheese, among others, were the recommended bait.
Having some Easter eggs left over from April I loaded up a trap in the study with some chocolate. I had seen him in the study one night before. After a couple of days I had caught nothing. And the little bugger was still sleeping in the pantry. So, the trap got set in the pantry with one peanut. It took a few minutes to set the trap as it was a bit trigger happy. A couple of days later, voila!
Once again, don’t try to pinch my food.
Speaking of Food
This must be the deal of the century. Especially for those of you who enjoy your coffee and cake. I spotted a restaurant in South Perth on the way to work one morning. It is called Reflections Restaurant. They have an offer for:
Coffee & Cake
All Day from 11:00am - $6.95
Wow. All you can drink/eat coffee and cake for only $6.95. I reckon that I could stay all day and polish off two cakes for that sort of money.
Finally, Some Support For Sally Robbins
Somebody read my blog and got a little bit pissed about my comments regarding Sally Robbins. It is much easier to make up funny comments than to speak from the heart. I’ll admit, this girl is pretty damn fit, in more ways than one.
If Sally Robbins had torn a muscle in her arm or cracked a rib with the oar then everyone would feel sorry for her. There are very few of us who can relate to how hard she pushes her body for her sport. Almost everyone felt sympathy for Jana Pittman. It wasn’t her fault that her knee required surgery. It was unavoidable. If somebody falls over at the velodrome people don’t start pointing the finger. Too bad, let’s think about the other athletes.
In the case of Sally Robbins, she’s an Aussie. Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if she changed nations after the way she has been treated. But if she hadn’t been an Aussie, nobody in this country would be bagging her. The incident would have been looked at with very little scrutiny. Oh, one of the Croatian rowers has collapsed. How sad.
Yeah, I do feel sorry for Sally Robbins. I hope that she can recover from this. It will be a huge test of her mental strength. I wish her all the best.
No Money For Library Books
Yu-Jin is reading the same books as I did when I was his age. At childcare they have Meg and Mog books which I can remember. And Miky borrowed a book from the city library about Hendrika the cow and her trip down the canal on a raft. I read that when I was a youngster. Obviously no-one has any money to spend for library books these days.
Appropriate Dress
We had pizza on Friday night. Whilst Yu-Jin and I were waiting in the shop some guy pulled up in his big 4WD and parked it across three parking bays. It makes my blood boil to see someone too lazy to park their vehicle properly. I felt like telling him off (I haven’t changed).
But the way he was dressed summed it up. Big fleecy top, fleecy pants and Ugg boots. The only way he could have spent less time getting dressed was if he didn’t bother to wear any clothes. And he bought four pizzas. Looked like the sort of bloke who could demolish them too.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Death Of A Friend
I wouldn't say he was a close friend but I liked the bloke. Simon Schreiber is no longer with us.
My mum sent some Border Chronicles over and I was reading a couple last night. There was an interesting story about Midge Jones from Keith who had opened his own business. It included a picture of Midge, his wife and two kids. I was thinking, "I played cricket and football against this bloke." It left a warm feeling inside.
In another paper was an obituary to Simon Schreiber. I was gobsmacked. This was a bloke my age, I had played cricket and footy against him, I had played district cricket and football with him, and I felt that he was a top bloke and a fair player. He was, in fact, an excellent sportsman. Simon was my age and has two little boys and I know the name of his wife. Nowhere in the obituary did it mention what killed him. Couldn't believe it.
Still can't get over it. He was a nice bloke.
Mum rang me tonight and said that a brain tumour had killed him. Gee, I know a few blokes who have died early and they were both great people. The world is better for knowing them but I am saddened by their absence.
I wouldn't say he was a close friend but I liked the bloke. Simon Schreiber is no longer with us.
My mum sent some Border Chronicles over and I was reading a couple last night. There was an interesting story about Midge Jones from Keith who had opened his own business. It included a picture of Midge, his wife and two kids. I was thinking, "I played cricket and football against this bloke." It left a warm feeling inside.
In another paper was an obituary to Simon Schreiber. I was gobsmacked. This was a bloke my age, I had played cricket and footy against him, I had played district cricket and football with him, and I felt that he was a top bloke and a fair player. He was, in fact, an excellent sportsman. Simon was my age and has two little boys and I know the name of his wife. Nowhere in the obituary did it mention what killed him. Couldn't believe it.
Still can't get over it. He was a nice bloke.
Mum rang me tonight and said that a brain tumour had killed him. Gee, I know a few blokes who have died early and they were both great people. The world is better for knowing them but I am saddened by their absence.
More Olympics Goings On
Athletics
Congrats to Fani No-oneseverheardovus, the Greek 400m hurdler, who beat Jana Pittman. And the three other women who did.
Cathy Freeman will be smiling. I’m sure she is. She and Jana never saw eye to eye.
Bugger it. Jana, bloody good onya. No need to make a big deal about it, your knee and all. As an Australian we would expect nothing less from you. Top effort though.
Taekwondo
What is it with this sport? Two people dressed up in battle armour facing off. They bounce up and down and all around the mat. It is a funny sight with their arms by their sides and just bouncing around. I get the impression that they are thinking, “I’m gonna kick you! Don’t get any closer because I’ll deck you. Yeah, that’s it, you’re scared, aren’t you?”
They only look serious when they start laying into each other.
Water Polo
How come the water polo players are the only women with breasts at the Olympics?
Q. How Many Weetbix Did Sally Robbins Have?
A. Nowhere near enough.
Athletics
Congrats to Fani No-oneseverheardovus, the Greek 400m hurdler, who beat Jana Pittman. And the three other women who did.
Cathy Freeman will be smiling. I’m sure she is. She and Jana never saw eye to eye.
Bugger it. Jana, bloody good onya. No need to make a big deal about it, your knee and all. As an Australian we would expect nothing less from you. Top effort though.
Taekwondo
What is it with this sport? Two people dressed up in battle armour facing off. They bounce up and down and all around the mat. It is a funny sight with their arms by their sides and just bouncing around. I get the impression that they are thinking, “I’m gonna kick you! Don’t get any closer because I’ll deck you. Yeah, that’s it, you’re scared, aren’t you?”
They only look serious when they start laying into each other.
Water Polo
How come the water polo players are the only women with breasts at the Olympics?
Q. How Many Weetbix Did Sally Robbins Have?
A. Nowhere near enough.
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