New Government

Australia now has a change of government basically on the back of a free pass given to the conservatives when the ruling party hit the self destruct button. This took any oxygen out of the achievements that might have given them kudos for re-election. Now we are stuck with a leader who looks to have been dragged straight off the set of “Mad Men”. A guy born into a wrong time period carrying a bunch of idea’s that firmly belong to the 1950’s.
Like dropping the price on carbon just when the new IPCC report is released stating more than ever humans are the biggest contributor to global warming. Then there is the crippling of the National Broadband project, the country’s biggest infrastructure expenditure since WW2. Equivalent to building the bridge across Sydney harbour then stopping halfway using wooden planks to fill the gap leaving the entire investment at risk. Oh and lets not forget the other flagship policy “stop the boats” for refugee arrivals by sea. Completely media driven without any rational thought process taking place on the repercussions for our Asian neighbours nor how it can be implemented in a practical way. Not exactly what you would call smart diplomacy. I just hope in 12 months time the consensus feeling is all about some new achievements and not “what have we done!”
Footnote: Unfortunately we have been screaming “What have we done” for the past two years but he just won’t go away. Most likely will go down in history as the worst government of all time in Australia.

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Gerroa surrounds

Taken on a recent trip to South Coast in a area I hadn’t visited before. It has some breath taking scenery including Coolangatta Estate which includes a winery dating back to the early 1800’s a site of the first European settlement on the South coast. It’s a nice area of the coastline that has not been ravaged by development. The same can’t be said of for other parts of the country that once had pristine beaches.

Early Morning Seven Mile Beach Coolangatta Estate

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Space Oddity with a twist

I have to admit my vintage in liking the original version of this song but this is something else. In a high-flying, perfectly pitched first, the Canadian astronaut Commander Hadfield on the International Space Station is bowing out of orbit with a musical video of his own custom version of David Bowie’s classic. It’s believed to be the first music video made in space, according to NASA. Being a fan of both I couldn’t resist posting it here.

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Sky Whale Canberra

This was Canberra’s gift to itself for the Centenary celebrations. Personally I think another big party on the Lake would have been better received. However it was commissioned to a former Canberra artist Patricia Piccinini by the ACT Government to design the balloon for Canberra’s 100th birthday. With a $300K price tag something more conventional might have sufficed, like a huge candle on top of Parliament house. However judge for yourself on its artistic merit.

skywhale

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My New Toy

While I have had various Nissan Z models over the years I like this as much as the first one I had. A lil bit of tweaking to get the audio up to spec and now it does everything except make coffee & cook toast. The best fun with these cars is cruising up a mountain crossing with lots of curves and corners. A careful blend of muscle & sports car performance. I just love it!
But there is another Nissan I like even better, check it out. AMS GTR

gregszcar

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Peace Keepers on the Roll of Honour

This story has a personal family connection which I was not aware of until recent months. It relates to peace keepers being killed while on missions overseas yet being neglected by the Australian War Memorial for their service. If they can construct a memorial with every name of those killed in 9/11 and Bali. Surely the fitting place for active servicemen and women losing their life while serving on missions abroad deserves the same honor at the War Memorial. Story featured on the Project
Link to the story below, would be grateful to anyone who agrees to sign the petition to lobby the government to include those names of the fallen.
Update on this post: Thanks to all who signed the petition it helped bring a successful outcome. Video

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Super Bowl ad

Just viewed the ad for the new mercedes model released later in the year and of course I WANT ONE! So this gets added to my bucket list along with a bunch of other things I never tick off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJKeaTRpT1c

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Canberra Centenary 2013

The city I live in hosts it’s centenary year in 2013 with lots of events planned during the year. I hope to make it to the ones appealing to me. Although I notice there is a web site registering 100 things locals like about living here which will be compiled after the votes are tallied in March. But on my list of favorite things is the walk around Canberra Lake Burley Griffin foreshores. It can be congested at times with cyclists but if you go early enough it’s a walk you have without noticing you have done it.

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US Politics

As the US presidential Elections are fast drawing to a close I thought I would throw my hat into the ring on who will win. At the risk of offending some it has been my opinion that Obama will win a second term. Not because he is Mr Marvellous but basically because the other side of the argument has been hi-jacked by, “The Tea Party” movement. This gives the Republicans little room to move towards sanity during an Economic crisis. I thought Romney would have been a better candidate 2008 but that didn’t pan out. Only now for a guy who did have some decent ideas has been forced to shelve them due to these extremist views infiltrating the Republican movement.

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Griffith NSW

This was taken from a visit to Griffith over the past week which is now the center of attention regarding the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and water rights. The main entry road into the town displayed some interesting ways of using oranges without eating them. I wonder how long those displays will survive before someone wants to taste.

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