Michael Ross

Marlin 917s Review - 17 HMR

2009-01-25T05:49:00.000+10:00

The 917s is a rifle in the 17 HMR caliber made by Marlin. And it is a recent addition to my collection of firearms. This is a small review of how I came to acquire it and its subsequent performance first time out.

Having decided to buy a 17 HMR rifle the decision was Which Brand? Do I get a Savage, CZ, Mosberg, Marlin, Ruger, etc? There are just so many to choose from. So I did my initial research online with the aid of locally published shooting magazines. And I was looking for something within a budget range. So $800 for a CZ onto which I add a scope was out of my range. Not that such cannot be afforded, but from what I Perceived I was getting for my money.

This essentially narrowed it down to Savage, Marlin and Mosberg. With Mosberg being the cheapie budget entry level firearm - it was quickly discarded as an option leaving just Marlin and Savage.

The available reviews online show those who own them love them. But that doesn't tell me much I can use. Although, that both shoot accurately meant the decision came down to Feel. How did either of them Feel in the hand?

A trip to my local gun store to get some hands-on. The Marlin with Varmint barrel felt ok - but - I didn't quite like the action. There was something about it I cannot accurately describe that turned me off it. The non-varmint barrel Marlin felt good. Had a good feeling action. Nice easily dropped magazines (of which you get two when you buy a Marlin). And the weight distribution was good for the field.

The Savage with Varmint Barrel felt too barrel-heavy for me. So in the field, shooting offhand or from taking a knee, the weight of the barrel would be straining your supporting arm. The action was Rough. And the magazine feed was too fiddley and odd to make work right. So the Savage was ruled out right away. Leaving just the Marlin with normal barrel - because it felt better to Me. So I put a 3 - 9 x 40 silver-colored scope on it and was set.

Being an avid shooter, getting the most from a firearm without spending additional money on bedding or floating or reinforcing means, ammo must be found which Your firearm shoots best with. Beacuse not all ammo is the same. Some is good in your firearm, some is terrible. It all comes down to finding which type of ammo from which manufacturer, your firearm shoots the tightest groups with.

I'd heard good things about Hornandy V Max so that was on the test list right away. And I also picked up a box of CCI V Max to test as a comparison. This would give me a choice of two. The winning cartridge would be bought again for testing against another brand's rounds. And so it was now time to shoot.

There is a Lot of debate about Breaking In a barrel. Some say to shoot single shots with a clean between each shot, for the first ten, then every other shot gets a barrel clean. Others say other things. But frankly, I didn't have time for that. Nor did I have enough ammo. I had one box of each. And so, as I've done with all my firearms, it was cleaned before heading to the range - and cleaned & oiled upon return. And the results kind of speak for themselves...

Sighting In

There are many methods discussed on How to sight in your rifle. This is the method I use... starting with the target you see pictured, I aim at the middle and shoot a small three shot group. I then adjust Windage only until it lines up pretty close to the virtical line. If my holes allow it I then still aim at the middle and now adjust height only. When I am reasonably close, I then test my ammo. And as you can see by this particular target, I did two-shot-groups for a total of ten shots to get it close enough to shoot test groups of the different ammo.

The shooting method I used for sighting in as well as the other shooting is... front of the stock was on a rest while the back was free - or in my case, supported only by my shoulder as I shot. I did Not use the usual Bench Rest Technique of having a rear sand bag which is Squeezed to elevate the rear of the rifle as may be required, thus giving greater stability.

CCI V Max - 50 Meters

Using an Airgun-Target placed at 50 meters, I then shot four shots into each target, for 20 shots in total for the sheet. As you can see, the CCI ammo did farily well at this distance. And I figured at this stage of the testing, the distance is so close almost any half decent ammo would suffice. And for Hunting purposes, all shots aim at the head kill zone of say a rabbit or hare would have resulted in a one shot kill - the ideal.

I did notice, putting some of the spent shells back into the box, that the shells had expanded and they were tighter to push back in. Meaning, a slightly larger powder load or casing imperfection for those particular rounds. One round was so tight in the barrel it slipped out of the bolt's grippers and I had to use a small flathead screwdriver to pry it out. But otherwise, the CCI performed well.

Hornandy V Max - 50 Meters

I had another sheet set up at the 50 meter range and shot the same four shot groups with the Hornandy V Max I've hear such great things about. The holes look more crisp because the Backing Board was of a different material. And measuring the groups, the Hornandy V Max in 17 grain gave the tighter groups. With target #2 having a two-shots-one-hole and target # 4 having a very small group with one flyer. Which is pretty good for the windy conditions I was shooting in.

As with the CCI, I put some spent shells back into the box. But none of the Hornandy's felt tight going in. A sign of a difference in their manufacturing processes. I was also testing the magazine - loading the mag with four rounds at a time to shoot each group. And the Hornandy rounds Felt better than the CCI. It's not a feeling I can accurately describe. Just that those rounds felt better in some way, as if more robust, better quality, etc.

100 Meters

I had also set up some targets at the 100 meter range - mine is the one on the left third row. Here you can see a rough idea of what I was seeing through the scope as well as a non-scope look at what it looked like. Behind the 100 meter targets is a 200 meter target zone and the one at the very back is 300 hundred meters. And to give you an idea, the airgun target's roundel is only 50mm (2") in diameter. So at 100 meters it's small even through the scope set at 9x power. And I could not see the holes I was punching into the paper.

And when looking through the scope, each time my heart beat the scope would make a slight move. Meaning, my point of aim was also shifting slightly. Which doesn't make much difference at 50m, but as the distance increases, the difference is amplified.

Also, now the wind had started to pick up. And not just a bit. So much so that at times I had to pull off my shot because the target board was swaying back and forth. Also, sometimes the wind was blowing into my face, sometimes from left to right and sometimes from right to left. Never behind me though. So the swirling gusty wind made it Challenging. But, I had heard people complain of Drift in wind with the caliber. So this was a great opportunity to see if that was really the case, and if so, did it matter?

CCI - 100 Meters

First cab off the rank was the CCI. The rifle now had a total of 50 rounds through it. And as can be seen, pretty well all shots are left of the aim point and beneath the aim point. As the rifle had not been Properly zeroed at 50 meters, this Downwardness is expected. The leftness of the shots is partly wind - and - partly recoil. As it was around about this time I noticed the recoil was sending the butt to my right, which would point the barrel slightly left. This could be the nature of this particular firearm - or - my shooting position based on how the range benches are set up - they are not 100% square into the target frames. Which resulted in me not being square on to the rifle, but slightly shooting across my body.

Either way, however, while the groups are Much wider than the 50m groups, all would have resulted in one shot kills if hunting and heart/lung shots were taken (greater distances go for the larger target). And while the shots do look wild, the groupings are around 50mm (2"). And you will notice target #5 only has a three shot group. That's because the second round in the magazine looked already fired when I went to feed it in, so I removed it. Later examination revealed the projectile had pushed back into the casing! I subsequently tipped the gunpowder out and put the round with projectile rattling around in the casing, back into the box. Odd.

Hornandy - 100 Meters

As can be seen here, the Hornandy rounds gave Much tighter groups at 100m compared to the CCI groups. With target #4 being sub MOA - sub one inch. And in the condition I was shooting in, that is awesome!

Target #3 is full of Flyers. And besides the additional wind at that time, I was being buzzed by flies - the range is at the back of a cattle farm. So shots were Rushed, others were taken while shooing flies away, or by involuntary head movement when flies land on your ear as you shoot.

Based on this, the Hornandy V Max is the winner out of these two cartridges. Which makes it the Bench Mark to test others against. And at only a buck or two more than the CCI for a box of 50, is well worth the extra.

The Gun Itself

The rifle itself performed well. For a non-varmint barrel I was quite impressed. And I figured it would do alright. After all, the varmint barrel isn't really that much thicker. And non varmint 22 magnums have been around for ages.

The discharge is much louder than a normal .22. To the point that just on sound alone you would think you are shooting something larger than a .17 caliber rifle. The recoil, while greater than a .22 is hardly worth writing about. Even the most frail woman could handle the recoil. And in fact, on the Booth next to me the fellow was shooting a 17HMR Savage with Varmint rifle, and allowing some Never-Shot-Before friends to have a go. And the woman said she liked it - and she'd never fired a rifle before in her life.

I put 90 rounds through the rifle in this session and my shoulder didn't feel any different. My neck didn't feel jarred and strained. Physically, I felt fine. And if I had the ammo and time I could have kept on going. It was a Pleasure to shoot.

The Marlin's trigger is, as much as I can tell, a single stage. But this isn't really a problem. After all, two-stage triggers usually have a might-as-well-not-be-there first stage. That sees you almost Instantly at the 2nd stage. With this, you are there at the beginning. And having said that, it doesn't make the rifle more Dangerous because it's not a touchy trigger. Nor is it too hard. I found it Just Right.

The bolt fed the rounds from the magazine with ease. Smooth. And regarding the magazine... it came with two magazines, a 4 shot and a 7 shot. With both ejecting from the bottom of the rifle without trouble. And also in the box was a breech cable lock - you feed it through the breech and lock it and you are unable to put a bolt into it (different to a trigger lock) - so Marlin is looking after Safety as well.

It also has sling mounts already attached. So if you have a sling you don't need to drill & tap anything. Just flip open your sling's pins, put them through the holes in the rifle's sling mounts, resecure and your sling is attached.

The only thing I had an issue with was the spent case ejector. With the CCI rounds, maybe 50% of them did not eject. And I needed to flick it out of the bolt's grip with my finger. With the Hornandy, maybe 25% needed manual removal. At the time I Thought this may have been due to Me not pulling back the bolt Fast enough to cause the ejection. But as I was examining the problem, it Looked to my untrained eye to be an issue of the ejector pin not even making contact with the casing - the pin being too low down. BUT, if I didn't pull back fast enough, then the casing is pushed up slightly by the ejector pin but without enough force to Pop it. So it stays held onto but now Higher than the ejector pin. Subsequent testing at home revealed... single feed rounds were ejected without problem - and - magazine fed rounds were also ejected without problem when the bolt was pulled back with conviction (with slight force and speed). So the only Issue I had was caused by Me not working the rifle correctly.

For in the field work, this rifle is the bomb. Throw a scope on it for further shots or use the open sights that are part of the rifle. I always go for the scope to give myself the edge. And so, in summation, I am pleased with the Marlin 917s. It's accurate, well balanced, has little recoil and is just plain old fun to shoot. And if you ain't havin' fun there's no point.

Test Ride & Review of the Yamaha Virago (Star - XV 250) and the Honda CBF 250

2009-01-12T19:34:00.000+10:00

Spent a good part of the day having a Test Ride of the above two motorcycles. The Final Purpose was to determine which bike would be bought. And so the rides had to include highway riding, bends and city riding. And whilst on those various sections I was paying attention to stop/go ability, how it felt Lean Wise in the bends, sturdiness/floatiness at highway speed, any notable vibration felt through handle bars or foot pegs and how I Physically Felt on the bike (not emotionally felt - the emotional feelings pass while the physical feelings, like seat discomfort, do not pass).

The test rides conducted were three. I started with a Honda Ride, drove 45 minutes away to the Yamaha dealership to ride the Virago/Star, then back up the road a few clicks to a nearby but different Honda yard for a second ride on a Honda. The second Honda ride was had because there was some additional wind in that area and I wanted to see how it felt in the wind. Also, the first ride, while on a highway was only on a slower section of highway so I didn't get to put the bike through everything I wanted to. Now first the Virago/Star Ride...

Yamaha Virago/Star 250 Review

As you can see by the picture, this bike is a Cruiser. It also has Two cylinders compared to the CBF's one. And it has a low seating position - something I was concerned with going into the ride as I am 6'2" tall and thought I might feel Cramped.

Ok. Initial thoughts as I took off and got to the first set of traffic lights were... first gear has slightly too low a ratio, which means a Slower take off before the bike gets into the power range of the gear. And while it's only marginal and you would get used to it, it is something to consider. Also first thought was, the mirrors give good vision as they have a slight convex (bulging outward) bend in them which gives greater side vision. Also, I thought it Sounded bloody awesome. A tad throaty but not too loud or rumbly. Just a nice sound coming from the V Twin engine. And as it was my first time on a cruiser, I needed to re-adjust to where the foot pegs were, but after the first take off this was no issue.

From here we went through some Twisties. A nice steady pace through Urban Twisties and the bike handled Wonderfully. I cannot fault this at all. It was Pure Pleasure as the lower center of gravity of the cruiser made cornering a breeze and you felt grounded while leaning. And the bike didn't feel heavy at all. This was a big plus for the bike for me. A Big plus.

I did notice, however, that the Turning Indicator Switch wasn't natural - it was Hard to put on and you weren't always certain if it had turned on. And you had to take your eyes off the road to look down to double check - the rider feedback display is down in such a way you need to move your head to look at them. That means eyes off the road. And that, to me, is a Negative.

After the twisties we negotiated some city traffic before heading onto the highway and then back through the city traffic after the highway. The bike handled the city traffic Very well. And not that such things matter to me, but I was getting looks from other drivers and their passengers - I think ALL cruisers get such looks as people try to determine if you're part of a Bikie Gang; either that or they thought "look how cramped that tall guy is" HA!. Anyway, the bike did ok here.

Now we entered the highway. And a section with a maximum speed limited of 90kph (about 57mph). Not super fast, but you could give it squirts to get the speed higher and thus test its acceleration around that speed. The bike still sounded Real nice.

It was around this time I started to notice a slight Twinge in my lower back. Nothing too bad or painful at that stage, but noticeable. And so I had to make a Conscious Effort to not slouch and make a slight seating position re-adjustment to see if that would help - but I can only sit just so far back in the seat as the pillion seat is in the way (by sitting back the angle from my leg to knee to foot pegs should diminish, but my knees were still higher than the seat). The back issue is caused by a combination of slouching - which cannot be helped as it's kind of like sitting on a stool with no backing and after a while your muscles start to tire from holding you straight and you do begin to slouch, even if only a little - and road bumps (as good as the suspension felt, without legs beneath you to take any up/down movement your back takes it all - and if slightly slouched, greater strain is thus put onto your lower back).

Also, I noticed vibration coming up through the foot pegs once I got around 80 kph (50 mph) and above. This was Very noticeable. And it wasn't a shaking kind of vibration, more like how a home appliance might vibrate - such as hair clippers. And I thought... 15+ minutes of this and your feet would start to feel numb. Not Good.

When we finished the ride I mentioned the back twinges to the salesman who I'd been following - he said nothing. And also mentioned the peg vibration to which he said, "Yeah, but the bike is revving pretty high at that speed". I replied, "Not that you can tell as there is no tacho". I also mentioned how first seemed like the ratio was wrong and overall it could do with a 6th gear. Then we went inside to discuss prices with me keeping this important thought in mind...

It pays to be circumspect about what the intended seller says to you - remember that he wants your money, not the bike

And

Don't fall for Shiny Bike Syndrome were you buy because, other people think it looks cool, you think it looks or sounds good while the physical effects of the bike are ignored

I told him I was looking at two bikes. One bike was the one I'd just ridden, the other was the Honda - even if I wasn't looking at two, I'd say this anyway to get a better price from them as they think I will buy outside of their brand (and even if it was a choice between two bikes of the same brand but different models, this allows me the chance to shop elsewhere at a different dealership).

He quoted me - for the Demo bike - the full retail price of a brand new bike plus their bullshit On Road Costs (ORC). This very quickly dropped by three to four hundred without really any prodding. And as I mentioned that I would now go ride the other bike so wanted to make sure of the price, it dropped again by another four hundred, changed to a brand new bike instead of the demo and had an "Excuse me, I'll check with the boss" comment.

The Boss came over - turns out it was a guy I'd been chatting with while they Readied the demo bike for me to ride. And he tried to Add to the wonderfulness of the bike by telling me: it had 2 cylinders and would thus last longer than a single cylinder CBF, for longer trips it would be less tiring (remember, he wants your money, not the bike), had Excellent resale value with even five year old bikes fetching not much less than new bikes (resale value in the yard is not private pricing or what they'll give you on a trade). Everything in an effort to dissuade me from anything likable about the Honda. I mentioned that as the Honda dealership was only just up the road I might as well go for a ride and see what it's like. He then has the younger salesman give me a couple of motorcycle magazines (trying to instill in me some sense of Obligation - he gave me something so now I give him something back such as my money).

Honda CBF 250 Review

This is your more traditionally styled bike. A naked (no farings) bike with a somewhat retro look. A look I like. It has one cylinder and a high seating position. And being more sporty than the cruiser (but not a full on sports bike), my legs would be more Underneath. Which, coming from a dirt bike background, was pretty important to taking the impact of bumps as you could raise yourself up a little if needed - something you cannot do on a cruiser. This bike was ridden twice...

Ride # 1: This was done at a local dealership Before riding the Virago/Star. And the salesman I followed rode a Scooter and didn't have his own helmet and Asked to Borrow one of the other salesmen's helmets - they flatly refused which is right as No-one other than you should wear your helmet. And so we took off. The route would be, semi-urban / semi-rural, rural, highway then urban with a mix of bends and traffic.

My initial thoughts as I took off from the dealership and onto the road were, Nice acceleration, not too tinny sounding and the seat and pegs feel natural. Brakes were responsive and the tacho and other LCD displays gave me Great Feedback.

It handled the road well, was responsive to lane repositioning to avoid Obstacles and in maintaining Safety Zone - Very Important. The legs gripped the tank naturally as the tank had small indents for just this purpose.

With the six gears, more precise gear selection was needed in some instances - such as going up hills. Not that you Needed to change down gear, because the bike didn't slow as I gave it more gas. Just that, by changing down you would totally avoid any engine lag plus give yourself some additional acceleration, if needed. Just like my first 5 speed car - depending on the speed, hills approached in the low end of 5th needed you to change down. Same here, hitting a hill at 80 kph (50 mph) is more to the low end of 6th gear on the CBF. Change down to 5th for no lag, or leave it in 6th with slower acceleration up and maybe some lag. But, this is to be expected because it is a single cylinder and the cylinder fires less often than the V-Twin Yamaha cylinders do, though the CBF's cylinder is larger so would have more thump per stroke. I would imagine no lag or need to change gears when hitting hills at higher speeds more suited to the gear you're in. (This is really a 5th gear vs 6th gear issue for the incline of the hill and the speed you're doing. You don't need to make this choice in the Virago because it only has 5 gears, though I feel a 6th is needed.)

Overall, the CBF performed well. I didn't notice any vibration through the handlebars or the foot pegs. Nor was it too noisy nor lacking in power. And the dials were all easily glanced at while riding.

After the ride we discussed prices. The salesman quoted me a price that was $1,900 above retail!!! That meant, he was adding the standard $1,200 - $1,300 ORC plus a heap of bullshit for negotiating. So he could be talked down to Standard making it look like he gave a good deal. As this was the first ride of the day and I had honestly told him I'd be riding the Virago/Star, he did say, "What price can we do to get your business so you don't even bother with the Virago". I told him, "You can do me a deal if you like and I can say I won't go ride it, but then when I walk out the door I will go ride it". He never gave me his Deal price.

Ride # 2: This was done After I'd ridden the Virago/Star. And was done along the same Highway as the Virago has been ridden, complete with strong wind. This salesman was the only one to wear protective gear like I was - a jacket and gloves as well as helmet. The others had ridden without gloves and without jackets!

Having come straight from the Virago and with my Twinge gone now, I was very interested to see if it would come back. I didn't. Which tells me, the Riding Position of the CBF is better for my back than the Virago.

The wind had negligible effect. So the lightness of the 250 wasn't an issue. As with the previous CBF 250 ride, the bike accelerated and slowed great. First gear was just right. The mirrors gave good vision - not convex like the Virago, but good nonetheless. With a tacho and fuel gauge (both missing in the Virago) I felt I had better information with which to make riding decisions. Cornering was fine. And accelerating from 90 kph (57 mph) to 100 kph (63 mph) was effortless and immediate. And I felt it would sit at 100 without effort, still with some oomph in reserve, and without any noticeable vibrations through handlebars or foot pegs.

And my mind flashed back to the Yamaha guy's comments about feeling less tired after an hour to hour and a half ride on the Yamaha vs the Honda. As I thought, maybe and maybe not but at least with the Honda I won't have a back ache and numb feet from peg vibration. And as for single cylinder life vs twin, Honda is renowned for their engine reliability - plus most people who buy these bikes trade Up after a short while so that doesn't come into it as they don't do 50,000 clicks on their bikes; and if you don't Flog an engine it will last you a Long time if you plan to keep it (I know this from experience as I once got 360,000 clicks out of an engine before it needed work on rings and valves).

After the ride we went in to discuss price. I told him I was choosing between this and a Virago, but was yet to ride the Virago - designed to encourage him to give me a better price. He gave me a price I expected, which was the proper full retail + ORC price. I said it would be a Cash sale so the dealership would make less money than from finance (this is true, they make more when you finance a bike than buy outright, so the idea that cash talks might not be as effective as you think) and asked if that was the best price. He said, make an offer. I made a way low offer which he said was nowhere near it. Instead of saying "What is near it" I raised it a few hundred dollars (my second offer). He said he could Not do it for that, but could do it for this. Which was four hundred beneath his standard retail and almost a grand lower than the first Honda dealer. I told him I'd go home, chat with my wife and get back to him.

===

The above covers the review itself. What follows it what transpired after that...

I had decided on the Honda CBF 250. I felt more at one on the bike, less cramped, better physically, there were no distracting vibrations and the bike provided more rider feedback information via its dials and LCD display. And as for resale, hey, they go for a good penny second hand as well and are Always in demand - as soon as the bike shop gets them in they sell.

Anyway. I called a Vehicle Broker from my car using Blue Tooth. Told him the make, model, color and Best price I'd been able to get and left it with him. I knew the best price I'd gotten didn't leave the dealer much and actually didn't expect the broker to be able to do anything. But, he called me back an hour later and said, he just Checked to see if the price Could be beaten. It can, so did I want him to find the deal. I told him yes.

Thirty minutes later he called. He'd managed to find a price that was another $200 cheaper than my best price and the dealer would call me in a few minutes. And a few minutes later the dealer's Salesman called. He expressed his surprise at the price I'd managed to wrangle from his boss but got the details he needed from me to get the ball rolling and we hung up. Then it got Interesting...

As it was Friday and we were in the last half hour of the day, the other Honda dealers gave me a Buzz. First was the first dealer I'd been to. I told him I'd ordered a bike through another dealership, and about the back pangs and foot vibrations of the Virago. He asked the price I got and I told him. I could hear calculator buttons being worked and he said, "we could have given a slightly better price." And I thought... dude, the price I got was a full $1,000 less than you quoted me. You were ready to Sting me for a grand more than you Now Say you Could have done it for. Screw you!

Not even five minutes later the second Honda dealer called. I told him I'd ordered a bike - and - they had called and said they would drop it off at His dealership. [odd hey?] He asked Who the dealership was and I told him. He said, "Bastards! that's one of Our dealerships, they shouldn't have taken the deal away from us." He asked How Much and I told him. To which he replied he could have squeezed that out of the boss. I told him "Oh well" and the conversation ended. But I thought, mate, I got the bike for less than my second off to you, a price you said you could not do, but now you are loosing the sale you Can do that price... should have given me the good deal to start with. Let that be a lesson to you.

About ten minutes passes and the second Honda dealer calls again. Asks if I've paid a deposit. I'd given my credit card details and told him so. And in the between time I'd been to the bank and got a Bank Check made to the other dealer and told him that too. He said he'd call the other dealership - or the boss would - and they'd Arrange something. I told him, "I don't care how you guys arrange your stock, if they transport one down for me, or you give me one of yours and then get one back from them or whatever. That's for you guys to sort out. All I know is, I'm picking it up from your yard when it's ready." We hung up and I smiled... smiled how the salesman was now antsy at losing a sale. But, he shouldn't have told me he could NOT do the deal at the price I ended up getting it for, then once losing the deal, said he Could do the deal for that price. Serves himself right.

This all happened on a Friday. The following Monday I spoke to the dealer who did right by me. They Thought they had my color out back, but it turns out they didn't, they had two of another color. So they've had to order a new one in from the Main Warehouse so it'll be a few days away yet. And, to avoid any Confusion, they will deliver the bike to my house. Considering they are driving two hours to deliver the bike, that's nice of them and shows the lengths some people will go to to make a sale. I also asked about the ridding-in concept inasmuch as keeping below a certain speed for the first thousand clicks and was told to ride at a variety of speeds (city and highway) and don't flog it hard.

===

A few things about this adventure...and... Advice For Others Deciding On Which Bike To Buy

The Yamaha guy never called me back at the time of this writing. Maybe he figured once I got on the CBF it'd be all over as I enjoyed the nippier pick up and less cramped riding position for my 6'2" frame. Or maybe he sells so many he doesn't care. But I know dealers Do care, as the second Honda dealer had said the CBF 250 is their best selling bike and they usually order between 5 and 10 at a time but he still got upset at losing the sale.

The Virago/Star was a demo and only had 600 on the clock. So it obviously hadn't been ridden-in (neither had the CBF though). This might explain the vibration. And a ride on an older model they had in their yard might have shown no foot peg vibration. And certainly the back thing just could have been a passing pinched nerve. But I didn't test those - didn't take an older model for a ride - to see if it was just something specific to that new bike which hadn't been ridden-in yet. But I don't think the back thing was old v new bike or pinched nerve. It was ridding position and that cannot be altered easily.

To do a deal you MUST go visit a dealer in person and spend Time with them at least initially. Take a bike for a test ride even if you know it's the bike you will buy. Get them to invest Their Time. The easiest thing to say to get them down is, "You've got to do better than that". But if they say, "How much better" or "What did you have in mind" go Way beyond what you had in mind but only come back up in small and decreasing increments. With the second dealer, I knocked $800 of his price so it was only $500 above retail as my offer. I KNEW it would be rejected as that hardly covers government fees, duties and taxes. But then I only went up an extra $300, and finally another $200 - which the other dealer who got the deal, came down.

Always leave a Higher Authority or Other Authority or Excuse why you cannot, right at this moment in time, Sign anything and Leave a deposit. I had two up my sleeve... I will be test riding another bike & I'll talk this purchase over with my wife in person. The wife one is Standard, and salesmen are used to it. The "other bike" one is better as it cannot be negated - they try though - plus it can get you a better deal. And, it allows you to get the salesman to invest more time with you when you ask, "What should I look out for when riding that other bike" as they think they are winning your trust by telling you stuff.

When comparing prices, make sure it is for the same deal. Six months registration or twelve months. Ignore accessories, they can be bought later and after market too.

When comparing bikes, compare things you can compare and not things you cannot. I was riding a cruiser and a semi sport bike. BUT, I was not comparing their nippiness. I was comparing how they handled bends, their breaking and other Safety Issues, how Physically Comfortable I would be on the bike, etc. All of it how it related to the riding I intended to do on the bike. Unlike most new riders, I was not so interested in Speed. And offer you this... if you want speedy sport in a 250, go for a Kawasaki Ninja. Otherwise, for more level headed riding, the CBF or Virago are your choices - Suzuki Intruder is also an option but does cost more than the CBF and the Virago.

Do not sacrifice comfort or ignore small annoyance over emotion. Sure a cruiser is Cool. The Virago Sounds good. But, vibrating foot pegs and a sore back will distract you from concentrating on riding. And Anything that infringes on your ability to concentrate while riding is a BIG negative. A BIG Negative. Bike-to-rider feedback is important. As long as dials are not distracting or overly complicated the more the better. In the Virago's case there is No Fuel Gauge and the tank is only 9.5 liters (2.5 gallons) with around 2.5 liter (0.6 gallon) reserve compared to the CBF's 16 liter (4.2 gallon) tank with 2.5 liter (0.6 gallon) reserve (you can go further on the CBF between refills than on the Virago). While no gauge might not seem an issue, it might be for you over time - a guy I work with has no gauge on his bike and he tells me it annoys the heck out of him as once he's done two hundred clicks he's looking for a place to fill up cause he doesn't really know how much he has left (of course, once he switches to reserve he knows how much he has left, as long as he remembers how big his reserve is).

And above all, remember... don't fall for shiny bike syndrome and...

It pays to be circumspect about what the intended seller says to you - remember that he wants your money, not the bike!

An Open Letter To My Local Member Of Parliament - About Internet Censorship in Australia

2009-01-06T18:47:00.000+10:00

Below you will find a copy of a letter I sent my local member for parliament. I deem such letters to be ineffectual and their only purpose is to get something off of your chest. The letter is about the proposed filtering of the intire internet feed into Australia. And you can keep tabs on it by visiting the No Clean Feed website - whose image I've used here.

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RE: Government Censoring of The Internet

Dear Mr. X:

Prior to writing this letter I had called your office (Oct 27) requesting further information on the subject at hand – the Australian Government's plans to censor the Internet. It was already being reported in newspapers in the U.K. and in computer magazines, but the mainstream Joe-worker media was (and, strangely, still is) silent. I was promised a reply by your staff. I am still waiting.

As an Elected Member your mandate is to Represent the people and not Lord Over the people. Not to dictate things to them. As you so rightly put in your first speech to parliament “I have come here to represent my local community”. And as my representative, my voice, I'd like you to Object to this Internet Censoring for a variety of reasons...

Reason # 1: It removes freedom of information.

I know, whenever someone has mentioned this, Senator Conroy's reply has been “Labor makes no apologies to those that argue that any regulation of the internet is like going down the Chinese road. If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the government is going to disagree”. But those who mention freedom of information are Not the one's equating it with watching child porn, Senator Conroy is the one doing that. Senator Conroy's repeated use of the two together is trying to create a Link in people's minds that his Censorship is all about Child Pornography – and - those against censoring thus want Child Porn. But it's not. And I'll come to that in a moment.

As we both know, Child Porn is already vehemently pursued by the likes of Interpol, Australian Federal Police, F.B.I. and various other policing agencies around the globe. And those who engage in the distribution of such material already do so outside of Website Channels. That being the case, saying it's all about Child Pornography is merely a tact to play on people's emotions, while simultaneously being completely non effective in curbing the distribution of such material. This is plainly obvious to anyone who can think.

No, Mr. X, freedom of information is exactly that. The ability to access Information – written, visual, audible – about a wide range of topics. For the purposes of Education and Debate. For Research and the pursuit of Knowledge.

For example: France banned people in the country from viewing auctions of Nazi-related items. Thus, anyone interested in researching Nazism is now limited. It doesn't stop the Neo Nazis from being Neo Nazis. They'll be that any way. But it certainly prevents research into the Culture of Neo Nazism. And for what? An image of an inanimate object.

And this falls into the realm of Senator Conroy's added censoring of “Unwanted Material” - about a broad a term as can be used, right?

When someone goes down the Unwanted road, they are now leaving it open to the arbitrary adding of items simply because They deem them to be Unwanted. Other items which could easily be deemed unwanted include...

=> Anti ALP webpages. After all, no govt Likes to have negative stuff written about it in the press or elsewhere.

=> Alternative health webpages. We already see the influence of the large pharmaceutical companies on health legislation. They certainly do not like anything that infringes upon their profitability.

=> Anorexia websites. No longer can people visit such sites to Counsel those who visit such sites. Or research the problem. No longer could they debate those topics – the same applies to euthanasia.

=> Truth revealing websites. Those which show the Dark side of Islam – such as exposing the blaming and stoning of women who are raped. No more discussion over things like the new Fatwa to be released about Malaysians not being allowed to Practice Yoga because it's not Islamic enough. No discussion about the Australian Aboriginal Community and their alcoholism and child sexual abuse. Why? Because such websites would be deemed Racist in some way and certainly Unwanted. Even if they are Truthful and discussing Real problems and issues.

When you remove a person's ability to get information, you are removing from them the ability to make informed decisions. You become no different than a Cult who restricts information not deemed Cult Worthy. No different to the dark ages of centuries past.

Reason # 2: It removes responsibility from the individual.

The Government exists to protect the citizens from foreign military invasion and to uphold the citizen's individual property rights. It does Not exist to tell us what we, as adults, can and cannot view, listen to or read about. It's is Not our Nanny. It is Not Big Brother.

If a parent is concerned about their children seeing things They don't want their children to see, let Them take the steps to filter their own Internet. Already, right at this moment in time, some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer a porn filter to parents. One phone call to the provider and the parents can have Pornography filtering.

Already, at this moment in time, there are numerous content filters available for parents to install. If they want to filter the Internet, let Them take the steps to do so. Let them do and be what parents of the past were... responsible for how they raise their children.

As a child, I am sure you were not allowed to watch certain things on the T.V. Things deemed unsuitable for you to see. And deemed that by your parents. I am sure there were movies you wanted to see at the cinema, but which your parents denied you due to their deciding those movies were not suitable for you at that moment in your life.

Leave parents to be responsible for the raising of their own children. And leave us adults to be responsible for viewing, listening to and reading that which we, as individuals, deem suitable for us.

Reason # 3: Internet censoring is not wanted.

Through various polls conducted on the subject, overwhelmingly, the people have said they do NOT want to have the Internet censored. As a Representative of the people, it is your Duty to uphold that. Not to let your own personal views sway you, but to do as the people want and not do as they do not want. (You are the Representative of the people, Not the Overlord of the people.)

You already said you believed in not longing for some utopian New Jerusalem. And didn't like how people were subject to the ideological obsessions of the previous government. You also said, “I believe in civil liberties” - censoring the Internet is infringing upon the civil liberties of ALL Australians.

So not only do the people not want the censoring, going by your own Words, you should also oppose it – if you have integrity and are true to your words and not just saying what you think people want to hear.

These reasons alone are ample enough to reject any notion of filtering the Internet. But honestly, I hold little faith in you, Sir, to even object to this censoring, let alone Do anything about it. I feel, my letter will be replied to (if at all) with a Form Letter which simply tries to convince me of the wonderfulness of the censoring as you bow down and toe the party line.

And as Trials are already scheduled to begin, I hold even less faith in the censoring being rejected. Because, as is seen time and time again, trials always lead to implementation down the road. And it's a road no other Western country has gone down.

If the government wants to censor all Internet access by government-owned computers (govt offices, schools, libraries, etc.), that is fine. Because that is government doing with government property as it sees fit. But controlling and censoring the Internet for all Australians, is a civil liberties infringement of the highest order! It will sit us along side the repressive governments of Communist China, Islamically Controlled Iran, Communist-Socialist-Dictatorial Cuba and Communist-Socialist-Dictatorial North Korea. It demeans us as a nation and it is offensive to our belief in a fair go.

===

While the above letter had been sent to my local member for parliament, I was recently contacted by his staff to ask my permission for them to forward it on to the Minister in question so he could read it and respond to it himself. They said they thought it was that good the minister himself should read it. I granted my permission while also informing them I expected nothing but a form response like he has already been giving to others - but - I would give him a chance. We shall see.

IF I get a reply, I predict it will bestow the virtues of the consorhip + tell me the Banned and Unwanted Material will be Decided on by some form of Committee - so no single person has the say. Decision by Committee - the Australian Labor Party method for dealing with everthing, so it's not any one person's fault and all can pass the blame as such. Again, we shall see.

My Day At Q-Ride (Q Ride Review) - Motorcycle Rider Training

2008-12-23T10:39:00.000+10:00

Having ridden Dirt Bikes off and on for a few years many years ago, I figured it was high time I got my Road Bike License. And so in my state that means I have two choices...

Choice # 1: Get a Learner's Permit, obtain a bike, then learn to ride on the road while accompanied by another rider - friend with bike. After 6 months, visit the local Department of Transport and go for a ride with Assessor in tow.

Choice # 2: Get Learner's Permit, visit an Q Ride Accredited Rider Training School, successfully complete their Q Ride course, receive a Certificate of Completion and take it to the Department of Transport for them to add the Motorcycle Endorsement onto my license. (Q Ride is a rider training program developed by the government.)

The second choice is, by far, the quickest. And, as the training is conducted by Skilled Practitioners in all the disciplines, any Bad Habits can be drilled out of you. Plus, the course is Adapted to the rider depending on their skill level. So I chose Option Two.

This is a Satellite Image of the initial training and assessing area (thank you Google Maps). The thing on the right that looks like a number 8, is where the Figure 8 training and assessing is done. Essentially, designed to teach sharp turning and change of direction with that sharp turning. Needed for, doing U Turns and other manoeuvres like in a car park. And to be deemed competent you must complete four full figure 8s in less than one minute without going too wide of the line or touching any witch's hats.

Just to the left of the Figure 8 - more in the middle of the image - you can just make out two Slalom Courses. One with the witch's hats further away from center line than the other. This is designed to teach quick directional changes. The idea is, you ride around the outside of the track so you have some speed and then enter one of the Runs. You must complete the run doing a minimum speed - in this case, at Least 25kph (about 16mph). And while that is not fast overall, within the course layout, too much faster and you wouldn't be able to change direction in time for the next witch's hat.

About one third up from the bottom of the image and just to the left of center is a short diagonal line. This line serves two purposes and both deal with breaking. The first is, starting from the short line to the right of the figure 8 and just above it, you head towards the top of the image, turn and head right at the diagonal line - increasing your speed to at least 40kph (25mph). You then apply the breaks to stop before the line. This is designed to teach stopping at intersections and correct breaking technique. The second exercise is like the first but, this time you only apply the breaks when the instructor says to - and - you stop in as little distance as possible. This is designed to teach Emergency Breaking techniques.

On the left of the image almost half way up, is a small horizontal line. The idea here is, starting from that line you ride to the end of the dotted line (where the shade cloth is) as slow as possible, taking the longest time you can. Without putting your feet on the ground or wobbling too far to the left or right. This is designed to teach the ability to stay upright in congested traffic situations or slow traffic situations such as in car parks or toll booths. To make it more interesting, upon completing the distance it is suggested to accelerate and negotiate the slalom runs to get back to the start line.

The obvious track that splits and comes back together, has been painted over and a newer version now exists. This newer version keeps the start of the old one, but then varies with more obvious obstacles. The idea is, you ride around the track towards the top of the image, enter the narrow lane and head towards the Obstacle. Once you reach a set point you either suddenly veer left or right. Designed to teach Evasive Manoeuvres such as avoiding cars that poke out onto the road, debris on the road, pot holes, pedestrians, etc.

Besides these basic skills, correct technique must be used and the exercises done in both directions so the Learner doesn't just learn how to lean in one direction. And essential Bike Safety Check procedures are also taught.

It is Only after you are deemed fully competent in the above - and that you feel comfortable enough to do so - that you are taken out onto the road. And this part sees you negotiate highway merging, traveling and exiting, side road negotiations such as U Turns and P Turns. Hill starts. Parking on the side of the road. Congested roads and free flowing roads. Round-a-bouts. Straight roads. Winding roads. And you are under constant supervision by the lead rider and the trailing rider. Essentially employing the training area skills onto the public roadways.

In my case, we also stopped off for lunch. And garnered quite a few looks as a group of nine motorcycles rode into a shopping center carpark.

Contrary to what people think, these training people don't just run the numbers and send you on your way with a piece of paper. In my group of seven riders, only me and one other fellow had previous Experience before the course. One fellow, this was his fourth day of training, the two girls in our group both had their own bikes at home but this was also their second day of training - they had done the course, not passed, went home and practiced for a month, and came back for this second day of training (both their husbands wouldn't let them on the bike until they had done at least one day of professional training - which is a good thing). Another fellow had Never ridden a motorcycle before in his life, ever! And the other guy was like the girls, had done a day, not passed, went home and practiced for a month, then come again.

Before beginning, the instructors asked us about Any previous experience we had. And for any Motivations we might have had for getting a license. This is so they know what they've got to work with. And so, they could spend more time with the Complete Beginner than with me and the other fellow both with Dirt Bike Experience. And they could keep the beginner at lower level skills for longer until he Got It.

And in case you think, "I'll tell them I have experience so they won't watch me as much and I'll sneak through". Forget it. They know. Just looking at how someone gets on a bike, takes off, and rides around a basic oval in a left and right position, tells them plenty. How you stop tells them plenty. And they picked up my dirt bike habits - habits I didn't even know I had, and it had been Years since I'd ridden! So you won't Sneak through. And they won't pass you unless you are competent - and not Just competent, but properly competent.

The end result was, everyone in our class passed except the complete beginner. And while he was certainly disappointed, he could also see how it was important for him to do another day of professional training and how doing so would enhance his skills even more.

Oh. And best part was, we didn't spend endless hours in a classroom. We spent the vast majority of our time with our bums on the saddle. And it makes sense. After all, you cannot learn to ride a bicycle or motorcycle by reading about it and passing a multiple choice exam. You can Only learn to ride by riding and being given advice to correct your technique.

I did my Q-Ride at Pro Ride based at Pro Honda in Rocklea (Brisbane). And while I am biased to recommend them, I did my research before hand and found them to be the most adaptive to various experience levels, as well as the Cheapest in the city. And I found out they also offer Ride Events for their course graduates - graduate and then you can go on an organised ride with other graduates - Cool!

While there we also watched a video called Ride On. It's about identifying hazards, what kind of Actions to take and so on. And I recommend for both Riders & Drivers to watch it. This is available as a DVD from the Australian Government for $5.50 from their website at here (scroll down)

Mike Wallace Interviews Ayn Rand in New York City 1959

2008-12-11T02:41:00.002+10:00

About the interview...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

,___,
[O.o]
/)__)
-"--"-

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." ~ Ayn Rand

Dismantling André Rieu's Concert Stage

2008-12-07T16:25:00.000+10:00

After helping build André Rieu's which you can read about here it came time to take the stage apart. This is how it went... (To see a larger image, just click the image of your choice and it will pop up in a window in full size. If you are having troubles with the images here, I've reproduced the entire build and de-rig here http://www.michaelrossonline.com/AndreR.html )

De-Rigging Begins. The show ended Thursday night. De-rigging began at 3.00am Friday morning. I arrived at 6:00am and this is what I saw. One side of the stage already had the facade removed. The video screens gone. The fake columns gone. The speakers gone. Additional lighting, gone. The control console gone. The lights on the roof gone. The fountains gone. The ice rinks gone. The chairs the people sat on gone. And hardly anyone about as they were all having breakfast.

The activity of the day was yet to begin in earnest - even though a lot had been done already - as the Labor Hire people were not in just yet and they had a hard day ahead.

Taking Down The Facade. If you have a look at the top of the image, where the walking platform is, you'll see something jutting out. The facade is attached by a cable to that piece, then the cable goes back down to the ground to the motor. These facades are lowed to the lower platform. Each side piece is removed and placed into special dollies on the top of a large scissor lift. Once the dollies are full they are lifted off of the scissor lift with a crane, and then the crane lifts an empty dollie into place to be filled again.

The facades - these ones - are made of aluminum and have a texture sprayed onto them. The facades that were placed Above the stage's roof were aluminum frame with a vinyl front cover which was attached to the frame by Velcro - so those frames can be used for other sets just by changing the pattern/picture on the vinyl.

Facade Almost All Down. While the scissor lift was taking down those facade pieces, the cranes were busy taking the others down. As well as beginning to take down the vertical pieces to which the facade panels were attached. As with the facade frames above the stage roof, the wall facades also come in joined segments. The crane lifts it to just above the ground. A dollie is rolled beneath it and then the frame lowered down. Once down on the dollie the crane keeps a hold while the bottom section is disconnected from the rest. The crane then slightly lifts the facade frame from the disconnected one and lowers again so the next piece can be disconnected. This is repeated for all facade frames. And the process goes fairly quick. Specially if you've got people who have done it before, haven't but have some other kind of Rigging Experience, or who are Switched On.

Still to remove before the roof can be seen to, is all the scaffolding on the stage - including the curved stairways. But the sturdy plastic squares have been removed from the grass area in the foreground to reveal the landscape cloth used to protect the surface where the grass had been.

Almost Roof Time. With the facade all gone and additional set frame work also removed and the stage scaffold gone, it's time to consider the main roof. And what happens here is... the cranes hook up to either side of the roof at the front and take their respective weight - they lift their section of roof until the crane's load indicator tells them they have the correct weight (which is the same weight they had when they were lifting the roof - 7,000kg). The electric motors at the back of the stage also take their weight. Then, with two climbers/riggers at each secured point, the securing pins are hammered out - if the cranes didn't take the correct weight, there could be one tonne of force - or more - pushing on the pins and they'd be impossible to hammer out.

Once the pins are out in all secure points around the roof and the roof is being suspended in the air by the cranes at the front and the motors at the back, the lowering procedures begins. This involves the front cranes lowering at the same speed to avoid the roof leaning to one side more than the other. It can take up to 15 minutes to lower the roof down.

You'll also notice, the landscape cloth has been removed as the groundsmen begin to ready the surface for new grass.

Roof Down. In this image the roof is Almost down. It is suspended around shoulder height so all the diagonal cross bracing can be removed and the trolleys put in place.

The trolleys rest on the stage and support the roof frame and keep it just off the stage. This allows the various sections to be disconnected from each other and still rest on a trolley. So they can then be wheeled out of the way. All trolleys are put into rough place. The roof is lowered to just inches above them and then their position is corrected before the roof is lowered completely.

While this is going on the other cranes keep removing set frame work. But this time, they try to remove it in larger sections so it can be disconnected on the ground.

Dark & Wet. Following the dismantling of the roof, which also involved the crane lifting bracing sections onto the ground for any one of the 16 forklifts to take away, additional high walkways and tower sections were taken down. Then stacked next to the field for moving later - moving to the other end where there was another crane lifting the sections into open-top shipping containers.

It also started to rain and there was a bit of lightening. So all High work was stopped and the cranes put their booms back in to avoid being hit by lightening. It was around 8:00pm - 14 hours after I arrived and time to call it a day.

A New Day Begins. Early the next morning a truck is dropping off an open-top shipping container, while tower sections and a stack of 9 base pads wait to be put into those containers. So far the de-rig has gone well - very well. And what was scheduled to take four days to do, looks like it'll be done in two days.

Obviously, it all needs to come down. But there are certain orders in which things need to happen. Such as, the frame work between the high towers needs to be lowered completely to the ground before anything is taking from those high towers - even pieces connected to the sides. To maintain structural strength all the time. And a constant vigilance must be paid to those who haven't done such work before in case they do something they Think needs doing but which could be Dangerous to do at that moment in time.

Walkways Come Down. When the walkways are taken down, they are taken down as a complete unit - handrails and all. Then placed onto the ground for the ground crew to dismantle and put scaffold pieces into their respective scaffold-stillages and for forklifts to take away the larger pieces to be put into containers.

Also in this image you'll notice in the background there is a person in the stands spreading out a large black cloth over the chairs - to dry from the night before. That cloth has been draped into strategic positions within the frame work - and some is still visible on the tower sections, such as beneath the climber wearing the red shirt and yellow helmet - to prevent light shining from behind the stage through gaps and into the audience.

Facing the camera in black singlet is Mayo. People were calling him Mario so he went with it and said he was Super Mario (whenever he needed a forklift he'd Yell Out "FORKLIFT" towards where the forklifts were parked waiting to be called upon). To the right with white helmet and red sleeveless top is Jimmy. Him and Super Mario are from Germany and are leading hands in charge of sections next to each other. And as the sections were coming down they used each others resources - crane and personnel - interchangeably.

Almost There. There are only a few tower sections to come down now. And so on the far side, one crane has also started putting pieces into shipping containers, as well as a crane to the right of the camera which cannot be seen. The other crane which had helped lower the roof has moved into the Boneyard to start putting stuff into containers there as well. And the near side crane is just lifting its last tower section before it will also start lifting items into containers.

The visible crane on the right of picture will take down the remaining tower sections in three picks - one for the platform and one for each tower with the tower then taken apart on the ground. It will then come towards the camera to pick up that last little piece of tower barely visible on the right of all that silver scaffold. Once the tower sections are down the base sections will be removed with forklifts.

All Toweres Down. There was a bit of a scare when taking down the last high tower, due to an inexperienced rigger. You see, each tower section is secured to a base. That base then rests on a two tonne base plate and is chained to the plate. This gives tremendous stability as the center of gravity becomes so low it's nigh on impossible to fall. BUT. Disconnect the base from the 2,200kg base plate and the stability is compromised.

Well what happened was, an inexperienced rigger, having seen the base be disconnected from the plate on the other side of the stage After the tower had been removed, came over to the last tower and started to disconnect the base from the base plate. He was seen just in time. Yelled at! And then made to reconnect it. And it reminded me of something me and Louis has been discussing. And that was, all the "riggers" walking around on the ground wearing safety harnesses - as if they were part of the climbing rigger team. Why do that? So the hired-in labor which is used to help carry scaffold bits and the like, would think that person must be skilled - so in their eyes they are getting Mental Kudos. And it also exemplifies why you need to remain vigilant - and - to work with the same crew.

Done. All towers gone. All bases gone. All base plates gone. A crane leaving the stadium about to run over me :o) And a couple of cranes left behind to put the last remaining pieces into containers. Completely derigged in two days. And a good two days it was too. With one of the riggers finishing here and then later that night derigging the Billy Joel concert which was also in town.

Despite the high humidity and oppressive 34ºC, the job was done enthusiastically and injury free - no injuries during set up and not during derig, even with all the crew and 16 forklifts on the go. Copious amounts of water were drunk by all. And thankfully, we also had a person regularly doing the rounds with a cart filled with bottles of cold water for people to drink. Because it's such conditions that people can do internal damage - working long and hard in the heat without drinking adequate amounts of water.

I enjoyed the build and the derig. Met a bunch of nice people - from intra and inter state as well as from overseas - and enjoyed it. And it was probably the largest single set any of us have worked on - four cranes used to build and five in the stadium during the derig; 16 forklifts running around Constantly, a couple of hundred crew - labor as well as climbers/riggers. Look forward to the next one.

Building André Rieu's Concert Stage

2008-11-30T10:01:00.000+10:00

Andre Rieu is that world famous Dutch violin player who is, at the time of this writing, touring around with a Huge Stage - 107 meters from left to right. I had the opportunity to be a part of the crew putting his stage together. Here are a series of images captured during the stage-building at a 52,000 seat stadium. The guys overseeing the build are from Belgium and Germany - one leading hand and one climber per designated section, with the other climbers and floor crew hired locally, some of whom have even been traveling overseas to work on the build on his concerts in Europe. (To see a larger image, just click the image of your choice and it will pop up in a window in full size)

The Beginning. This is before anything has really started. The first of four cranes is in position one - it will end up in four different positions, one not nearby and the other two almost in the same position but facing different ways.

In this image you can see a forklift carrying a 2,200kg base plate which will sit under the tower section bases. Against the seats the large dark things (bases) will be joined together and sit on the base plate, with the tower sections sitting on top of those. Second fellow from the right - with the long dark hair in two braids on either side of his head - is Louis who is Australian and just come back from six months putting together Madonna's stage on her tour in Europe

The High Towers. Here you see all the base plates have been laid and the large base segments put into place. Onto these, tower sections have been started to be put into place. On the other side of the high towers you can see the actual stage itself. This is roughly 1.8 meters above the ground.

On top of the high tower you see Ben on the right (he's from Belgium and works like a machine) and Mandy on the left (she's from Australia and a good climber & rigger who puts a lot of other riggers to shame, as well as the only female on the build at this stage - not counting office staff). They are awaiting a section which will join those two towers. Then they will await more tower sections to take the towers even higher.

In the foreground is Mayo from Germany on the right, Mathew from Aust in the middle and Mark bending over. They are inspecting a base segment to make sure it is the right one - the base segments look similar but there are subtle differences.

The scaffold pieces you see on the right will be placed in amongst the base segments and then a floor system placed on top so crew can walk around and roll equipment boxes around freely.

The Day Ends. At the end of day one we have two high towers installed. And going from those high towers to the left is the frame work which will support another platform. The ground frame work will continue to the left and will hide the left hand crane for a while. Eventually, this crane will come around to the front and continue working, but it needs to be there to allow access for trucks with gear to come into the stadium.

The high towers have had their top pieces added and will not be higher - they are 27 meters high. From these towers electric motors are suspended - if you follow the tower down to the stage you will see a black thing, kinda shaped like a sea horse or number 9, these are the black bags which the chains the motor climbs will feed into so as not to be seen when they are in the air with the roof section.

Off Shoots. The other side of the stage has now got its high towers. They were missing some pieces and so were delayed in high tower work for half a day so did other ground prep work until they found their missing bits - with 200+ shipping containers full of gear, no wonder some stuff can go missing.

On the near side you can now see the platform in mid air. You can also see more tower sections leading up from the mid air platform, which are braced back with a diagonal truss. On that platform is Mandy watching Ben climb up. In the foreground, the fellow with his back to the camera and wearing the yellow hard hat, is also named Ben - a leading hand from Belgium who is all go go go, while the leading hand overseeing Ben and Mandy's work is Ben's father and is more laid back but gets things done quicker.

Taking Shape. The off shoots are now hiding the left side crane from view. On the left of the image, with his back to the camera is Glen (Aust climber). And the section with the wheels on it is part of staging which will have a tower segment joined to a cross platform and then another tower. What happens is, the small platform is lifted just high enough to join it to one side of the tower. It is then lifted slowly into the air and the two tower section roll neatly into place beneath it. The climbers then climb the tower to secure it to the platform and then the entire thing is lifted into place - that's how all those sections were done which go from the forklift side of the image to the left seats side of the image - the low down ones.

Between both sides of the stage's high towers, you can now see part of the roof structure. There are two levels of structure. On the front, those vertical pieces on those roof structures will have the facade attached to it. Frame work first and then facade last.

In the mid ground we have leading hand Ben walking towards the camera. As we move to the left we see the other Ben with his back to the camera, then his leading hand father Wilfred standing on another platform which will be lifted into place. Next to Wilfred and barely visible is Louis bending over making some kind of adjustment to the platform. Then Mandy carrying some scaffolding which will be attached to the platform as safety rail.

Facades Begin. You'll notice the platform which was being worked on in the last image, has now been lifted high into place and all hand rails are installed. So now there is a safe working platform for other work which is to go on up there. From that platform and back to the right towards the high towers is now a walkway with hand rails.

The crane which had put those up has now gone into its third position on the far right out of shot. It is erecting the main spotlight tower and platform - from which chandeliers will be hung. Once that is in place, the concert people will assess the viewing angles and release more tickets to the sold out show.

What the crane on the left still needs to do is install another high platform and then go to its second position. The crane on the far right is duplication the left crane's job. While facade is being lifted into place on the right.

Day of The Big Lift. The middle crane is now back and in position four. It still needs to place a tower section at the front of the stage, as well as place more vertical facade holders and more access walkways. The stage is covered in frame work which will become the roof and be lifted into place later in the day.

In front of the stage on the ground you see a large rectangular cream colored thing. That is the facade. It works like this... each facade as seen up high is actually four pieces. The crane lifts the top piece just high enough for it to be attached to the piece next to it in the rack. This is repeated until all four pieces are joined, then it is lifted into place for the climbers to secure to the frame work. Once the roof is ready to be lifted and the top facades in place, the roof will go up.

There are still tower sections to by installed by the far left and right cranes, and they need to adjust their positions to then install addition spotlight towers from the side.

Getting Close. The left side crane is in its second position. And has completed the spotlight tower installation as well as an addition platform in the air (far left). The chair the spotlight operator sits on up there is quite comfortable. I suppose it needs to be as he is there for a long time.

The facade at the top front is complete. There are a couple of side facade panels to be installed, but due to missing pieces those will go in later.

The roof is complete and is actually in the air being supported by the two cranes at the front and electric motors at the back. There are people walking underneath it at this moment installing the diagonal bracing and double and triple checking it is all ok to lift further.

The crane on the far end of the image is packing up and getting ready to move into its second position to install a spotlight tower.

It's Up. There was drama with the roof. It was lifted into position and the climbing riggers were just about to install it when we got a Sever Weather Alert. High wind, heavy rain possibly hail and lightening. So all climbers got down in a jiffy and the roof was lowered back down to the ground. It was kept at an angle so the water would run off and secured to the towers with tie down ratchet straps.

When the brief storm passed, the roof was again lifted into place. An event which brought the site to a standstill as everyone - climbers, riggers, ground crew and office staff - all watched from the stands and where they were on the ground as it was lifted into place.

Both cranes which lifted the roof had now finished and were either packed up or packing up to drive out. The crane on the left is also almost done and was gone thirty minutes later, as was the crane on the far right which isn't visible in the photo.

A lot of the remaining work will be done without cranes. As small electric motors are used to lift things, like lighting, into place. And if you look closely at the last photo, you'll see scaffolding has started to be built on the stage to allow the lighting and decorating guys to get up into the roof to attached their bits.

At the moment I am having a break from the build. And may or may not get back to it before show day. But must say, the Belgiums are quite Pleasant to work with. They speak Flemish over their radios to each other but also speak English quite well. During the build all food and liquid refreshment is provided - breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as soda, Gatorade-type drinks and bottled water (the crew favorite in the 32°C heat (90°F) with ridiculous humidity).

Louis tells me, if he wants to stay in Australia there is Plenty of work to keep him busy all year. But he likes to do gigs he thinks will be interesting, or do overseas places he thinks are interesting. While Wilfred tells me, he only works nine months a year and has three months off - because he can afford to.

With four cranes to set up and take down the stage, a small fleet of nine forklifts on the go to get stuff to the cranes and ground crew, two flatbed trucks constantly loading gear into the stadium and a set up crew of almost 200 (climbing riggers, ground riggers, ground labor, lighting, scaffolding, etc.), you can see why concert tickets need to be the price they are. Not to mention grass - all the grass in the stadium was ripped up for the event and will need to be relaid - easier to rip it up before hand seeing as it would get damaged and need ripping up anyway.

Airgun Review - Cometa Fenix 400 .22 Caliber

2008-10-19T19:51:00.000+10:00

Stock is wooden. And while I do like a synthetic stock, there is something about wood in a stock. Be it the heft, the tactile feel of it, the look, or a combination of all of them. Photos just don't do wooden stocks justice. Because what you Get out of holding a wooden stock cannot be conveyed via photo. Like in the movie Star Trek First Contact when Capt Picard was touching the Phoenix and Lieutenant Commander Data the android couldn't understand what Picard was Getting out of the Touch.

Anyway. Mounted on top is a Crosman Mil-Dot Scope... 3 - 9 x 40 10=>infinity parallax. As well as the dayglow open sights for if I ever get tired of using a scope.

The barrel breaks open with ease and cocking it just as easy. Of course, I am a guy who does a Physical job - but - my wife is able to cock it so great upper body strength is not needed to crack it open, fully cock it, load it, close her up and fire at least once.

Weight wise... I found no great effort required to hold it while shooting from a standing position, nor did my wife. And figure the brief time spent in such a postion while hunting would be negligible.

For testing purposes I used a variety of pellets. Because different pellets perform differently in different guns. They were...

Match-Kugeln Flat/Wadcutter
Beeman H&N Match
Rocket (Gamo)
EXP Pointed
Winchester Round Nose - made in NZ

ProPell Round Nose
Crosman pointed-ish
Beeman RamJet

Pro Magnum (pointed-ish) by Gamo
JSB Exacts
Beeman Crow magnum
Beeman Silver Bear

Here they are pictured in the order mentioned above - going from left to right... Match Kugeln, Beeman Match, Rocket, etc. (All three rows are the same row taken from different angles)

Haven't used the Rockets before so was Interested to see how they'd go. Would they be usable or just a gimmick, as I suspected, despite the overzealous reviews of them online? I was intrigued to find out. Because you just never know for certain until you give it a try. After all, the product description is "By utilizing a design compressing a round BB into a hollow-point pellet, the Rocket delivers maximum shock to the target, making it ideal for hunting." Of course, missing from that description is the word Accuracy - don't matter if they hit hard, if they can't hit where you aim, right? (Of course, with the box having attached Belt Clips, the box itself could come in handy for other things even if the pellets are crap - such as a small field first aid box with some cotton balls, band aids and disinfectant wipes; or a small fire kit with some BBQ fire lighters/starters and a box of matches or small cigarette lighter.)

Onward.

To sight in I used a Huge X target available from Bob Friesenhahn's site at http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/airguns/targets/index.html. Aimed at the middle and shot a group, to make sure I could group. Then, made windage adjustments only, to bring it to center windage-wise. Then concentrated on Height Adjustment only to bring it to center of aim height-wise. Distance sighted in at was 10 metres. Conditions were Very Windy - 20 kmph. Seated at a bench but front supported by hand about a foot above the low bench.

Once sighted in I shot five three-pellet groups of each pellet at a 25 target sheet also from Bob Friesenhahn's site - 180 pellets in total at 10 metres. All pellets, unwashed, unweighed and unsorted, just used as they came out of the tin. Conditions were windy - the frame the target sat on was wobbling side to side as well as back to front at times. And first two rows were shot without a bench rest, just supported in my hand. The results are below...

As can be seen, the pellets which gave the best grouping under these conditions were...

JSB Exact
Beeman H&N Match
Crosman
Crow Magnum
Silver Bear

The worst by far were the Pro Pells. They were so bad, compared to what I'd already shot, I wondered if it was me. After all, I'd had to move shooting location for the second target sheet and was now shooting slightly downhill. But the Crosman groupings which followed proved it was the Pro Pell pellet which was pathetic. Having such a wide and high grouping as to prevent any use of the row of targets under the aim point. The ProPells are thus no good for target or hunting use... only being useful to plink aluminum cans and other similar fun stuff.

The RamJets did ok. As did the Pro Magnums with some wadcutter-like holes. And surprisingly, the Gamo Rockets. Although, the Rockets were the most inconsistent to load. Some slid in, some were tight. Whereas, all Winchester pellets slid in easily. And their groupings aren't that bad either.

Yes, there are other brands of Pellet on the market. But these 12 brands are the most readily available to me and easiest to obtain, at the moment. But additional pellets will be sourced and tested further along the track. For now, for the Review of the firearm, these pellets will suffice.

The recoil was quite manageable. After 180+ rounds my shoulder was none the worse for wear. And cocking the airarm was also easy in the seated position - with butt on leg near groin, my left hand easily pulled the barrel into the open position.

The safety engages automatically when cocking it. But it is easily pushed forward into the Ready To Fire position with your thumb. The trigger was consitent. Not too lose or light, nor too heavy. Somewhere in the middle. The doverails easily accommodate the once piece mount and hold it close to the barrel and in line with the barrel - no flat spot on the barrel for the Stop Screw to sit in, but movement shouldn't really happen, as after 180 shots there was no noticeable shift in the scope's position. There was no real noticeable barrel droop either as it was shooting high at 10 metres straight out of the box with the scope on. And there is a rubber recoil pad which is also not to hard nor too soft but somewhere in the middle.

I don't own a Chrony. And couldn't be bothered hiring the range Chrony. I was just there to get groupings for the pellets. Velocity can wait for another day at the range. But next time, I'll just use the five best performers as mentioned already.

Overall, the airarm has a solid feel, and one of Quality. I'm am pleased with its purchase and would buy it again if it were damaged beyond repair due to natural disaster.

The REAL Source Of All Unresolved Conflict - And - How To Resolve It

2008-04-16T02:53:00.000+10:00

There is a Lot of conflict in the world - between politicians, minority/affiliate/religious groups and even on a personal level. My research shows that...

Two people/groups can come to Agreement on anything unless...

# 1: One person/group is trying to Extract Values from another person/group Without Exchanging Values of their own (they vehemently want control).

E.g. A guy wants a girl who will cook, clean and provide sex for him, while he stays out late with the boys and offers her nothing in return. Or the girl who Uses the guy as a source of gifts, expensive restaurant meals and the like, without anything in return. Basically, either person/group trying to Get It Over the other person/group. Even in a Controlling way. Can include Psychic Vampires.

# 2: There is a Third Party involved stirring things up. (The most common reason.)

E.g. A workmate, friend or relative making a Comment to you about your companion (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.). And it can be subtle too. For instance...

Two office girl workmates are Chatting over lunch and one says, "My Johnny is always bringing me flowers. It shows he really cares."

The idea has now been planted. And the other girl will think her guy might be lacking in the Care Department because he doesn't bring flowers. Even if, during the lunch chat, she denies (or makes excuses why) a lack of flowers doesn't bother her. But when she is home, she might Accuse her guy of not caring. And if this is Resolved, it raises its head again after more Chats Over Coffee with the workmates.

Or the girl is chatting with her mom who remarks, "if he cared he'd buy you flowers every week" - or - "he needs to earn more money to make a better home for you / you'll never get anywhere with him working that deadend job". And now the girl feels/accuses him of not caring because of that. Or that he's not working hard enough or not striving enough or needs a better job.

To resolve this conflict is relatively easy.

Step 1 is to let the other person know about the Third Party Rule - all conflict can be resolved unless there is a Third Party involved who Promotes/Triggers the conflict. And no matter how Innocent this third party appears to be, They are the True Cause of the unresolved conflict.

Step 2 is to ASK them (the person you're in conflict with) if anyone - friend, workmate, relative, radio/tv show host, etc. - has said anything bad, has hinted at anything bad, or if they have heard anything bad... about you. And bad here can be anything Negative in any way, no matter how minor.

Armed with the knowledge of the Third Party Rule and then when asked this question, they will quickly identify the source of the Negativity. And will (should) now understand how the conflict was brought about by that other person. And can now fore-arm themselves against other Insidious Assaults into their life in the future. Most people upon discovering the Third Party simply Shun them as a way to keep their Negativity out of their life.

Something to keep in mind when locating this Third Party. There might be a tendency to be in denial about Them being the Culprit. If for no other reason than it seem so hard to believe that this Person is ultimately the Cause of the Trouble. But if you Think about it, you will see they Are the Cause of the Trouble.

A quick word about Lawyers here. If you go to a Lawyer to Resolve your Problem, no matter which side you are on you will be told... "You'll win." Why? Because if you don't hear those words you'll go to another lawyer who will tell you - and you'll keep going to lawyers until you find one who'll tell you those magic words you long to hear. Why do they say that? Because having clients is how they make their money - and the longer you are a client and the longer you are paying them, the more money they make. So it is in Their Interest to string the Conflict out as long as possible.

A relative of mine is a Troublemaker at work. A union troublemaker. And just when it would seem he and management had come to agreement on something, there'd be more trouble coming from him. What management didn't know was... he would get home at night and talk to his wife who would Gee Him Up and the next day he'd be at them again. We used to say, his wife made the bullets and he fired them. His wife was the Hidden Third Party.

Once, a few people at work made commented to me about something - a negative something. So I simply asked them, "Where did you hear that?" And then asked that person where They had heard it. I Very Quickly discovered the culprit (and slyly asked them if they had Heard of this thing about me, as a test to see their reaction - they denied hearing it but said they knew who Would have started it - caught out!). Later, when I Outed Them, I did it in front of many of the co-workers who had heard his venom. And told him to Stop spreading lies about me and telling people things about me that just aren't true. I did it this way so my coworkers could all see He was the Source of what they had heard. I could have just as easily handled it all silently with each person - confronting him and revealing the truth to the others as I came across them during the day - but knew he'd either not stop, or would change tact. This way, Everyone knew his tricks. (Yes, I probably made myself a Visceral Opponent, but so be it - why should I care about him when he was trying to bring me done.)

Just remember, the third party is always there. They are not obvious as the culprit. It could be a coworker, friend, relative, tv/radio show host, trashy magazine columnist, leader of your Affinity/Religious/Minority Group, etc. And you might find it too incredible to accept it is them but if you Think about it you will discover it is the case.

Grow Your Own Psychic - Psychic Trickery Revealed

2007-12-16T02:58:00.000+10:00

The other day I listened in as someone who Claims to be a psychic and who Claims to "see dead people" did a so-called live impromptu reading. I started to Count the number of Questions this "psychic" asked and stopped counting at around 30 questions. Questions I deem rather General and somewhat like Fishing for a Hit. Let me give you an example and then show you some more of how You can do the same.

First we start with a typical approach from so-called psychics...

Have you or anyone you know experienced or been subject to or been involved in in some way, a violent act against person or property that was either deliberate or accidental?

Let's break this down...

YOU is specific but "OR anyone you know" has just widened the Possibility (Of Getting a Hit) Net.

Experienced OR been subject to OR been involved in. The Net is getting wider.

A violent act. Nice net widening as that could be anything from a bar room fight, street mugging, any kind of assault, property destruction, car crash and so on.

Against person OR Property. So the net is getting Real wide now.

Either deliberate OR accidental. And now the net has been cast. It is so wide at this point I will say here and now that YOU, the person reading this, whomever you are, will answer YES to the above Fishing Question from the so-called psychic. And in so doing you won't answer just "Yes" - not that it would matter as the so-called psychic will ask more questions anyway to narrow it down - but will volunteer additional information. You might say... "Yes, my father was involved in a car crash and spent two weeks in hospital."

This is a Great Opening for the so-called psychic to now jump in with all kinds of Touchy Feely stuff - you were concerned, tears were shed, a lot of worrying, blah blah blah.

Another approach...

I'm getting May or the number 5. I can't quite zero in on it but it's 5 or May.

Break it down...

There are Only 12 months in the year and there is a good chance if you Think about it you will find something to match - could be the month someone was born, or any Event in the person's life. But if that doesn't ring any bells the fall back is the number - 5. As it has to do with months (they always pick months) then they only go as high as 12. 12 months and 12 numbers. That's 24 chances of a Hit on something. Again they cast their net wide to try to get a match. If they do... "Yes, my mother had five siblings" they can go on. Maybe they'll talk about sibling fights or disagreements (nothing new there, right) or similar. If the person being read is Older, then the siblings are more than likely in different states so that could be mentioned.

Another approach goes something like...

I'm picking up something in the chest area. Could be the lungs or the heart. It's definitely something around there maybe even a little higher or slightly lower.

Breaking this down...

Chest Area. Heart OR Lung. Could be heart palpitations, arrhythmia, actual heart problem, asthma, bronchitis, TB, chest injury. Slightly higher OR lower. Each time the word OR is used it widens the Possibility Net wider and wider.

Ok. Let me stop here for a moment and ask YOU to Think about things in your own life. I can Guarantee you will find someone in your life who has something about May or the number 5 in any way shape or form, who has or had some kinds of issues of the torso (which is what a chest area, slightly higher and lower is) and who has experienced accidental or deliberate damage to property or person. Might be a passed relative or some such. You can connect with this can't you?

Sure, some who Believe this so-called psychic will give them excuses such as "they are asking questions just for clarification". But they miss the point... the questions aren't clarifying anything because they are so wide and general and could apply to lots of people. And if they are truly in communication with a dead person and receiving information, then their reading should go like this...

"I am getting the person's name as Joe. He was your uncle and married to Betty. They had four children and you used to play a lot with their third child, Rebbecca."

In other words, providing hard information. Not wishy washy vague question asking.

The thing with the so-called psychics is, only people who are Emotionally Vulnerable visit them. Only those who Want to believe will visit them. So the so-called psychic has the edge from the beginning - they have a person Willing to ignore the misses and plain wrong guesses and provide excuses for the same while believing the vagueness as accurate psychic abilities.

Michael Shermer Proved that anyone could play the role of psychic by doing tarot, palm, astrology and even medium without any prolonged training. And you can read his complete article about it, and how one woman said it was the best reading she'd had in ten years, here: How to become a psychic in one day. (I can already hear the excuses for it now... he was just releasing the gift he already possessed.)

There is also a very interesting three part article called So, you wanna be a psychic ? Reading this three part series was like reliving the reading I listened to. The same Ploys were used. Ploys such as Month/Number I mentioned previously as well as things to do with the chest area. As if the so-called psychic had read the articles and then thought she could do the same thing.

As with before, I can already hear the excuses about it "being Intuition, which is a form of Psychic Power". So let me address that...

An older woman - say in the 70s - goes to a so-called psychic. Is it intuition to deduce that her husband has probably passed, she loves her grandchildren, and her husband had been in the war OR the family effected greatly by the war - or - is it deduced logic to come to those conclusions.

Try it a little yourself. Play with figuring out answers. Go to a real estate website and look at homes for sale. Look at the inside photos and see what you can deduce from what you see. Is there a loofer sponge in the bathroom? If so, pretty high probability there is a woman living there. What evidence, besides an outright photo of a child's bedroom, can be seen in other areas of the house that reveal a child lives there? It's a fun game to play and hurts no-one nor preys on their emotions, unlike self-proclaimed psychics.

Main Stream Media - Propaganda or Just The Facts?

2007-11-23T03:00:00.000+10:00

The media is biased and has an agenda. Not an agenda which they all have a copy of and run everything by before they release it, but a General Agenda which seems to...

=> Gloss over anything Bad against Socialist Figures
=> Give Right Leaning people are Harder Time than Left Leaning people
=> Champion the cause of those who segregate themselves into groups and call themselves Minorities
=> Be Down on Big Business, Medium Business and even Small Business and anything to do with Capitalism
=> Be Anti-Progress (not "progressive" as has been adopted by the radical leftists who so name their asinine ideas of socialism and collective theft, but Progress as in terms of building, infrastructure and so on)
=> Be Anti-Christian and Pro-Muslim
=> And so on and so forth.

Of course, you'll need some Backing up. So let's start with this point...

There are around 6 billion people on this planet living in 200 or so countries and unknown towns and cities. And roughly 150,000 of those die each and every day. That being the case, how come the News seems to show so little of anything? And Who selects what it does show?

A kid gets his hand caught in a drain at school. Considering all that is going on in the world of 6 billion people, who selected That story over Everything else?

Some Muslim Iman has a Complaint about something. Who selects to show That instead of people on the street telling him to Get Over It - or - If You Don't Like It Leave - or - Why should we bow down to how You want it, why don't YOU get along - or - who cares what those idiots think who make their woman dress in black tents and hide away from the world - and so on and so forth as people on the street think? And who decided to show that, instead of something else entirely?

Something happens at a Christian Church. Who decides to show people on the street Bagging the Christians as Backwards? Who decides to show that instead of something else?

Why is it the Media Commentators during an Election will call Right Wing Announcements mere "Election Campaigning to Gain Votes" but Left Wing Announcements "Promises". Why will those same Talking Heads want proof of Right Wing Policies and harshly question the same, while Left Wing Policies are not questioned harshly? Why will they call Right Wing Spending "Buying Votes" and "Wild Spending" and other Adjectives, while Left Wing Spending is not deemed to be "Buying Votes" or "Wild Spending"?

Who decides that Mugabe's efforts in Zimbabwe to Strip private ownership of farms, kick farmers off their land, and give it to unproductive people, is not newsworthy? Who decides that Mugabe's socialism is not worth ripping to bits as plain old wrong?

Go to Google News and search for Right Wing Extremist and then Left Wing Extremist and notice the difference. Apparently, there are not Left Wing Extremists in the news. Despite the Lefties - as I call them - being behind Street Marches and Protests and other disruptions to production.

Obviously, someone is Selecting the News you will get to see. And not only that, but choosing which parts of the News you will get to see.

For instance, a woman buys a car from a car yard. It was a trade-in and not Ready to be sold. But she persisted and didn't want it to be made Ready with a warranty as that would have bumped up the price. She Wanted to buy it "As Is". Later, things went wrong and she was told she'd bought it "As is" and had even signed as such on the purchase agreement. She called the media about it and also complained some more to the seller. The seller, having had enough, got her to bring back the car, Upgraded her for free to a Better Car with Warranty and wished her farewell. She didn't tell the Media who subsequently Interviewed the Car Manager pleasantly. But when it aired... with Creative Editing, it made the manager out to be crook.

I have seen this first hand... the Original Reply and the Broadcast Edited Version. Where a simple answer to "You sold her a car without a warranty knowing it was faulty" of "Yes, and she knew of all its faults as we gave her a list and even have her signed acknowledgment of such but in the end we gave her a car at near Double the price with warranty for free" is broadcast as "Yes" so it looks like a brazen admission of fraud.

It is due to the media's duplicity that Henry Kissinger makes it a rule to Never do a TV interview unless it goes Live to air. This prevents Creative Editing later on to make what was said, seem like something else.

Recently, researchers in Canada made a Cancer Breakthrough where a simple, Non-Patentable digestion enhancing drug could kill cancer without nasty side effects. The media paid this no mind and gave no mention. Of course, the Big Pharmaceutical companies buy a Lot of advertising from them. So it makes Good Financial Sense for the media to not do things which harm their Golden Geese.

And speaking of media advertising... there is not one single place where out-and-out lies, half truths and Deliberate Implies can be seen, more than what's seen on the All Knowing Eye.

Recently, we've been seeing ads where different women talk about Pap Smear Tests and how they've decided to get the Anti-HPV Injections to Help Prevent cervical cancer. To the careful viewer, in Tiny Writing can be seen that this is an ad run by Big Pharma who makes the drug. The same from the Anti Impotence ads which stared famous soccer player PelÃ©. The same from a Toothpaste ad designed to harden your teeth's enamel.

And while the TV is just a Vehicle... it is up to the individual station owners to set their own standards. And those standards seem to follow a line... whatever can convince you you're not well and cannot make decisions for yourself and you don't own your own hard earned fruits of labor, is pushed by the Mainstream Media. Whatever hints at freedom is ignored or reported on in a downward manner. And while *I* and others like me can spot it clearly, the majority of people do not and are influenced by what they see and hear and read.

Humanity? Hardly Worth The Effort

2007-11-03T03:02:00.000+10:00

There's a saying... "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink".

I have another one... "You can tell a person anything but you cannot make them think."

People are Sheep - Sheeple. A mindless mass that, while thinking itself mentally evolved, is dumber than dirt and Chooses to accept the Fantasies it grew up with in favor of a truth - any truth. And when I say "Dumb" I am not referring to Academic Intelligence or an ability to pass a Math Test or other Govt Approved Education. No. I am talking about the ability to Think, to Reason. To Deduce and Induce. To Conclude based on rational thought and logic. To have an independent thought that wasn't first put into their head by the media, politicians, lobby groups, religious leaders or by someone at work repeating gossip.

Without thinking rationally, we aren't too much better than any animal walking around on all fours. Sure we can communicate and share ideas and concepts with that communication. Sure we can operate heavy machinery and the like. But what truly sets us apart is our ability to Think. To create in our mind and then make real. And to figure out truth from fiction. To look at our own actions and determine if they are best, and to decide that Rationally.

When faced with such a small way to define ourselves you'd think it easy to see it present in all Humanity. But you do not. Most Want to keep hold of their Ignorance. Most do not question, themselves let alone anything else. And if a point is raised that would cause a thought in their head, they remark how Odd you are, that you don't get out much, need a different hobby, or some other remark to avoid having to think themselves.

And when the masses blindly accept things without their own thinking, and the accepting has a detrimental effect on all and they do it any way, then I give up on humanity. And I think, humorously, I must have been abducted by Aliens and accidentally replaced on Stupid Earth in the Stupid Dimension instead of Thinking Earth where they took me from.

Is there a cure for Them?

Yep. To remove themselves from the Mob. To Stop socializing at the coffee shop and weekend parties all the time. To Isolate themselves from society. Avoid the newspaper and the TV News. Toss the Gossip Mags. Etc. This will Begin to free their mind to think on its own accord. Of course, one side effect will see them also give up on humanity HA!

But Alas, humanity will Not change. They will not Come To Their Senses. The all knowing eye grows larger and larger by the year. Watching time increases. Thinking time decreases. And things will be as they have been for quite a long time. A read of the 1841 classic, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness Of Crowds (it's free) should dispel any idea that humanity, as a group, can change. "Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one!"

Galileo and Copernicus know too well what the Mob Mind can do. And how resistant it was to new ideas that could set it free of a flat Earth at the center of the Solar System.

Those killed by the Spanish Inquisition also know how Insane groups can be with a Group Mindless Mind.

Look at the Muslim suicide Bombers. More delusion group mind brainwashing UnThink from them.

And on and on it goes. From extreme at the one end to mild at the other. But it is there. Insidious. Infecting everyone who allows themselves to be infected and effected.

But don't expect a change. People won't change... because... what would their friend's think?

The Importance of Future Value

2007-09-12T03:08:00.000+10:00

Future Value is the idea that, I have a future - and - as a result of that idea, that I can enhance my future for when it comes around. That I can take action Now for a Future Benefit.

This Simple Concept is what a Farmer operates under. An Investment in Crop Sewing now for a Future Crop Reaping Reward later on. The farmer thinks he has a Future and is willing to spend Now Time, Now Money and Now Effort for the reward to come later. A reward which will enhance his future with an abundance of food and some money which can be invested into other Future Reward Programs - more crop sewing as well as monetary investments.

If you are paying off a home, or Saving for a Deposit, or Saving for anything, or working towards anything, you too believe you have a Future and are devoting some of your Now Time, Now Effort and Now Money towards that end.

A little-known part of Future Value is its Intrinsic Link to Capitalism. As much as a Socialist or Collectivist likes to think or wish otherwise, those Socialist/Collectivist systems Deprive people of a Sense of Future. Why work and save and whatnot, when I can Own nothing and therefore not enhance My Future in any way, shape or form?

Capitalism, on the other hand, is All about Future Value. The Free Exchange of Values we Possess, creates a system where we strive for Future Rewards. We exchange our Now Time, Now Money and Now Effort for something we deem of Value to us - Money. We then exchange the Value of money for Goods and Services where we deem the Good or Service has Equal or More Value - to us - than the money we exchange for it. A "Value For Value Exchange".

If we did not believe we had a future, we would not spend years getting a Degree or Trade Qualification or learning an instrument in the Hopes of a Reward in the future. We'd spend no time increasing our skill set or learning new things. We'd spend all our money doing what we wanted, when we wanted, and would most likely not even bother getting a job and would live on welfare. There would be no roads built for Future population growth, no buildings built to house the people or businesses which will come in the future. There would be no products made for people to use. Because no money would be spent with the idea of Waiting for the payoff. Progress would halt.

We'd become little more than subsistence societies. Which would eventually either Wake Up to the idea of Future Value - or - would simply diminish until we vanished altogether. Leaving nothing more than tribal types who hunt and gather what is available as is needed. Relying, like all other animals, on the fortune, or lack of, of mother nature to provide.

The sense, idea, concept of Future Value is what keeps us in inside running warm water, comfortable clothes, advanced medical treatment - and - dwellings with more Mod-Cons than the Royals of Medieval Europe had just a short 200 years ago.

You Have To Learn To Share - Excuse Me!?

2007-09-12T03:07:00.000+10:00

You've heard it - as a kid and said to kids - and may have even said it to your own children, or children you are looking after. But have you Thought of the connotations and hypocrisy behind it?

Picture this: A child is happily playing with a toy. Another child Wants the toy and tries to take it. The first child resists. Maybe some squabbling noises are heard. A nearby adult steps in and says, "You've got to learn to share" to the toy's owner.

What has this taught the children involved?

1. That it's alright to take someone else's stuff.

2. If resistance is had it can always be referred to a Higher Authority

3. That mom and dad do not let other people share their things and thus the Rule is inconsistent and they are hypocrites.

It has NOT instilled anything good into the children.

Far better to tell the child who wants the toy that he cannot have it because it does not belong to him. And to NOT take other people's stuff. Then, he will learn to Respect other people's property and will subsequently learn the value of his own stuff even more so.

This Sharing thing is just like the idea of Compromise. The toy owner Gave Up something of value - possession of the toy - to someone (the Toy Wanter) who had nothing of value to exchange for it.

Sad, those who preach to Share do not live that way themselves (or they have something to gain from others who will do the sharing) making them hypocrites, nor do they realize the Consequences of teaching a child it is alright to take other people's stuff and to have no respect for other people's property.

Compromise - Ain't No Such Thing

2007-09-12T03:04:00.000+10:00

We have a word - compromise - and it's often bandied about when two parties cannot agree to something. The way forward, it is suggested, is to compromise. To both Give Up something to the other.

But is that the reality? Do both parties really give up something of value to the other party?

The answer is...

NO!

What actually happens is... one party give up something of value and the other party gives up how much it wants (something of no value).

For example: The Boss is offering a 10% pay rise and the employees want a 15% payrise. They are paid $500 a week - the boss is offering $50 a week rise and the workers Want $75. It is agreed that they will both compromise - the boss will go up to 12.5% and the employees will go down to 12.5%.

But all that happened is, the boss Lost Out and the employees gave up nothing except a Want and thus only gained. The boss is out of pocket $62.50 per week per employee and gets nothing in return except the employees agreement not to want $75 a week. It's Win Win for the employee and Lose Lose for the boss.

What about in a court case?

Same. The Compromise just sees the plaintiff agree to take less and the defendant pay less. Either way, the defendant still pays and the plaintiff still gains.

Compromise is really about one person Gaining Something Of Value and the other person Losing Something Of Value. There is no true compromise where both give up something of value to the other. A Have always ends up giving to a Have Not. The Have Not has nothing the Have wants.

Be aware of this the next time someone suggests to Compromise.

AIDS and Other Catastrophes - More Mythbusting

2007-05-06T21:51:00.000+10:00

Any long-time reader of my stuff will know of my Disdain for the Commonly Accepted and Unquestioned idea that HIV causes AIDS. And I Cringe everytime there is a news item referring to HIV/AIDS.

There is Ample evidence to suggest AIDS is NOT caused by HIV. But it is not needed. All that is needed is this one little Fact - NOT all people with AIDS have HIV. That alone should seal the fate of the unproven idea that HIV causes AIDS. But, the medical profession have too much of a vested interest to accept that HIV dies not cause AIDS. Their research grants would suddenly dry up.

For Years I have been saying that AIDS - an Immune system Deficiency - is due to chemicals and other environmental toxins which, over time, put such a strain on the immune system it can no longer function correctly. For some reason, this simple and obvious idea is Ignored in favor of the idiotic notion that something we are immune to can make us ill and kill us and we can get this same illness and death even when we don't have the thing we are immune to.

Further more, there are MANY scientists who have been saying for years - almost as soon as HIV was deemed the cause of AIDS, that the idea of an AIDS Virus was a myth and the greatest HOAX pulled on the people.

Anyway. As the medical profession likes to Lump things together and have Single Causes for Single Effects, the question can be asked... if HIV doesn't cause AIDS, is there one specific thing which Could cause it?

There is a Substance which is quite harmful to our health and which is in widespread use. It has been Known as a Toxic substance with Severe Harmful Effects for well over 100 years. Yet little is written about it in the Main Stream Media (MSM), or talked about by Politicians who are always trying to Force things upon us for our own good. Its Effects can be attributed to Many New World Diseases - such as Chronic Fatigue. And its effects read like a Who's Who of diseases with effects as...

» Prolonged fever
» Fatigue
» Rash
» Cough/flu-like symptoms
» Intestinal disorders
» Lymphadenopathy
» Pneumonias
» Neuropathy
» Scleroderma
» Hepatitis
» Diarrhea
» Thrush/candida infection
» Sweats
» Wasting
» T-cell abnormalities
» Retinitis
» Cutaneous skin lesions
» Fibrosis
» Inflammation
» Insomnia
» Headaches
» CD4/CD8 inverted ratio
» Internal lesions
» Nerve degeneration
» Dementia/memory loss
» Myalgia
» Secondary Infections

As you can see, this list of Effects is quite extensive and people with AIDS and Chronic Fatigue exhibit just about all of them. And yet this same single substance can also cause all of these effects in our bodies.

That being the case, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to Figure that maybe this particular substance is the thing making people have AIDS and the more mild Chronic Fatigue. At the very least this substance should be earmarked as Extremely Toxic to our health and treated as such. And certainly not Added to food items.

What is this Toxic Substance?

Benzene!!!

It belongs to a family of chemicals known as Aromatic Hydrocarbons and whose other members include Naphthalene, Aniline, Hydroquinone, Phenol, Xylene and Toulene. All accumulate in bone marrow and suppress the immune system. And derivatives include benzoic acid which is sometimes known as sodium benzoate, methylparaben and propylparaben.

Interestingly, Condom Lubricants have Benzene in them (gays use such lubricants). AIDS was blamed on people coming from Haiti - such people were given Clioquinol (which contains a Benzene derivative) to supposedly kill parasite infections, and which is marketed Heavily in countries like Zaire and Angola - countries rife with AIDS.

Besides Prescription drugs, drugs like cocaine, heroin, and crystal methamphetamine are manufactured with coal tar derivatives like kerosene which contain high amounts of benzene. And other drugs are made with Acetone - another Toxic Substance which causes changes in carbohydrate metabolism, nasal effects, conjunctiva irritation, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, kidney damage, and various metabolic and biochemical changes.

In 1906 (over 100 years ago) Dr Harvey Wiley, the founder of the FDA, conducted experiments to determine the Health Risks of these products. The test subjects - who gave their permission to be subjects - all suffered night sweats, fever, muscle loss, anorexia, lymph swelling, etc. The same symtoms of AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, illicit drug use, and other benzene-induced conditions.

He testified before congress that the use of benzoic acid, boric acid, salicylates, and cinnamic aldehyde would be disastrous if added to products consumed by people. He was successful for a while but was eventually expelled from the FDA, the very body he founded! And in a book he wrote he predicted serious epidemics in the future would result from the use of these benzene chemicals.

There is Much which can be said of the Harmful effects of Benzene and Benzoic Acid (sodium benzoate, benzoate of soda, methylparaben, propylparaben, or paraben). And people think I am an Oddball when I refuse to rub petro-chemical substances on my skin, or spray derived Fragrances in the air, or live in a house with formaldehyde (the simplest aldehyde) fumes coming off Carpet. But I have NOT been ill since 1992, so there's more than a good chance I know a thing or two, don't you think?

Anyway. If you want to do some of your own reading, I suggest the article by Stephen C. Byrnes PhD, called Benzene, Lubricants and AIDS which can be found on the VirusMyth website at http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/data/sblubejob.htm as well as the Health Report website at http://www.health-report.co.uk/benzene-lubricants-condoms.htm.

If benzene is so bad, and its harmful effects are so well known, why has this information not been made public and pursued?

One word...

LIABILITY!

Imagine the Liability the makers of lubricants would face if it was accepted that all AIDS deaths in the homosexual community were caused by the very lubricants sold to them? The Massive Class Action lawsuits from Chronic Fatigue sufferers against all makers of decafe coffee and other Lite foods and the like.

Sorry folks... but Money Talks. There is Way Too Much To Lose to accept such a liability. So it is ignored, covered over, or rebutted with Acceptable Limits and Use Warnings on labels.

If you want to stay as healthy as you can, you need to Naturalize your life as much as possible. Eat FRESH food - nothing processed in any way - and drink purified water which you purify yourself. The less Human Intereference in the product, the better.

Case of not doing the above and suffering the results: Woman I used to do some work for. Each and every power point in her home had a plug-in air freshener - a small container of scented oil which gradually Boils off. And in one corner she had a plug-in mosquito repellent.

Any time I was in her home my throat became quite aggitated within minutes. And it got worse when I was closer to the mosquito Oil thing. I noticed she Always was blowing her nose and carrying a tissue around - a sign her mucus linings were aggitated. I suggested the scented plug-in air fresheners were causing it as it aggitated my throat. She dismissed it.

A few months later she moved to a larger home with more plugs and put in more plug in air fresheners. It was so bad now I had to take several deep breaths outside until I felt light-headed with oxygen before entering and doing work in some of the rooms. I can only imagine the Damage being done living in that Toxic place all the time. Six months later she was dead from respiratory ailments - after a gradual decline of health due to "unknown reasons".

It's Alright To Lie

2007-04-19T18:16:00.000+10:00

The media - TV, newspaper, etc. - is a funny thing. Besides News Items they carry Advertising Messages. And often, those advertising messages are out and out lies. But only on TV. In print, it seems, you cannot lie, only in TV ads.

For example. There was an ad where a well-known actor in Australia used to say, "All I do in the morning is enter the data from the newspaper into the computer. The software tells me what to put my money on. And I make as much as $5,000 a day". The problem is, the actor never used that software ever. It was an out and out lie.

He Could have said, "All you need to do is.... and you can make as much as $5,000 a day" and he would have been ok - But - by claiming it was something HE did, he was dishonest. But he was Given A Pass because the gig was considered an Acting Role. And we all know Acting is really a fancy word for Playing Pretend - Make Believe

In print, he couldn't have put his name to "All I do in the morning" because that is taken as Testimony. And if not true, then he is guilty of defrauding the public.

That's not to say some TV ads aren't found guilty of such - specially infomercials - but those are the Exceptions rather than the rule.

Women Claim to feed their babies formulas. Other Ad People claim to buy certain insurance, stay at certain hotels, shop at certain stores, use certain equipment, and so on. When, in fact, they do not. Cleaning Product ads show someone wiping away Dried Coffee off a sink after claiming it is Grease or Grime, or dried cornflour water after claiming it is built up soap scum. But it's all considered OK because they are considered to be in an Acting Role.

Just remember, whatever Political or TV Ad message is directed your way is produced by people who want you to believe in a certain way. And they will lie to achieve their goal.

Subsidized Water Outrage Hypocrisy

2007-04-07T07:42:00.000+10:00

As you would have figured out if you read my entries, I am Against "Income Theft", otherwise known as Income Tax. As I deem it as turning us into Sacrificial Animals whose lives are spent to support others (sometimes called Subsidies).

Examples of this include...

Baby Bonus: A lump sum of money paid to people when they have a child. That money comes out of my pocket - and the pockets of many thousands of other people. If the parents are in such dire financial troubles they need the money, maybe they shouldn't be having a baby in the first place.

Child Care Rebates: Childcare centers receive Govt Funding to Help Cover the Cost of providing childcare. They have Convinced the govt that what the Parent pays is not enough. And the Only way to stay in business is with Govt Funding to cover the difference. And where does that Govt money come from? My pocket.

Free Health Care: The income of the doctors and nurses is paid for by the Govt. Treatments are given Free to any and all who desire such treatments. Who pays for the heath care needs of all those welfare people? The Govt, after stealing the money out of my pocket and calling it Tax.

And so on and so forth, the list is almost never ending - rent subsidies, farming subsidies, low income subsidies, subsidies to take on apprentices, etc. And the overwhelming majority of people agree with this system - either because they don't fully understand it, they understand and still agree with it, or they Benefit from it and don't want to lose their Benefit.

So it is funny when the very argument that could be used Against this entire system, is used by a supporter of the system when they feel it is Unfair and works against Them on a more Personal level.

For you see, there is a woman who lives in a Condo building. And the rules of such buildings with regards to water use are: there is one water meter and Everyone pays an Equal Share of the Water Usage Fee. But now with city wide water restrictions this woman is now complaining. Complaining that she, a low water user, has to Subsidize the High Water Use of her neighbors, and she doesn't like it.

She is Silent about her subsidizing the birthing and daycare of other people's children - after all, she also received such money. Is silent about subsidizing other people's health care - she is probably a big user of the system. But does not like to subsidize other people's water use. To which I say, TOUGH. You wanted a system like this, now accept it and deal with it. You cannot choose which parts of the system you want to take advantage of and which parts you do not want to fund. If you Want to Benefit from the theft of other people's incomes, then you must allow other people to benefit from the theft of your income. You cannot "have your cake and eat it to". You cannot Expect other people to be Sacrificed for you while you do not sacrifice yourself for them.

Funny how people change their tune when the Crap they Want Forced onto others is suddenly forced onto them too. Typical hypocrisy.

Is there a Solution to the above Subsidy mess?

Yes. It's very simple. And it existed Before Govts decided we had to Support the Unproductive Hordes. It's called User Pays. If you WANT to send a child to daycare, then You Pay The Lot. If you want a child, YOU wear the burden of it All, without taking My Money to support you. If You want to get medical treatment YOU Pay for it.

If a User Pays system is created, Insurance Companies will quickly jump at the chance to offer Insurance - child insurance, medical treatment insurance. Then the Shared Contributions which are distributed to those who met the Need Criteria, is done so on a Voluntary basis - how it should be - instead of the Enslaved basis our current system runs under.

What Exactly Are Property Rights And Why Are They So Good

2007-04-04T18:44:00.000+10:00

To fully understand Property Rights we first need to grasp certain definitions.

Property: What is earned, made, created, bought, inherited, given, trade for and already owned, all without coercion.

Infringe: Take, damage and/or control the use of, without uncoerced permission.

With these two definitions we now have Property Rights as...

What I earn, make, create, buy, inherit, am given, trade for and already own, all without coercion, is My property and no person shall infringe upon it.

A Violation of an individual's Property Rights is Wrong.

Using just the above two sentences we can run a society as we now have a Moral Base from which everyone can live. Any decision effecting society can be run by the two sentences and we can have our answer about going ahead with it, or if it is right or wrong.

So let's see it in action...

1. Two children are playing. One child desires the toy of the other child and grabs it. The owner of the toy begins to cry and make a fuss. Or, the other child want the toy but there is resistance from the toy's owner. Either case, the parents tell the crying/resisting child "You have to learn to share". Right or wrong?

Answer: Wrong. The owner of the toy was not asked for the toy and was Coerced into giving up his control and use of it. Far better for the parents to tell the other child, "You do not take toys or things that do not belong to you". This will instill a Right/Wrong value system into the child. The other way teaches the child that it's alright to take as it can always be referred to a higher authority who will give permission and make it so.

The child also learns there are no consistent rules as it never sees its parents share the car, house or other items with other adults.

2. A restaurant owner receives a letter from the local authorities informing him "for the health of all patrons, smoking is now banned inside all eating establishments. Infringements of this new Law will incur a $1,000 fine." Right or Wrong?

Answer: Wrong. Despite the reason for the law, it is coercing the Owner of the restaurant and Controlling his property (the restaurant) without his uncoerced permission. Far better to allow the patrons to decide for themselves whether they will eat in a restaurant which allows smoking and for the restaurant owner to also decide if they will allow inside smoking or not.

3. The local authorities decide to make the previously Optional Ambulance Subscription (pay $x per year to the Ambulance and if you need an ambulance it won't cost you anything) into a Compulsory Ambulance Subscription. They then add the subscription fee to your electricity bill. Don't pay the subscription and your electricity is cut off. Right or Wrong?

Answer: Wrong. They are Controlling the electricity supply company. And they are coercing you into paying a fee you might not want to pay. Even if you are a previous subscriber to the ambulance, that you are now Forced into paying the fee makes it wrong. It doesn't matter if the excuse is, "Seniors who don't subscribe cannot afford the Hefty fee if they need an ambulance." That is Not my problem. By coercing payment from me, they are turning me into a sacrificial animal who is now supporting the ambulance use of seniors, whether I like it or not. And it's little solace to be told, if I don't want to pay it I have a choice and can go without electricity. Our civilization is dependent upon that power, they are giving me a choiceless choice.

4. Income tax. The mandatory theft of part of your income for whatever Sounds Good Reason they come up with - roads, rail, other infrastructure, police, fire department, social services, pension for old age, etc.

Answer: Wrong. I earned that money and they Take it. If I do not pay it I am fined and/or jailed. As such, they take it under coercion and are basically telling me, let us take a little now or we'll take a lot more as punishment. Again, turning me into a sacrificial animal to support the voting needy hordes and interest groups and other Projects of the government's which I object to - such as free health care.

If it is wrong for me to come into your house, threaten you with harm if you object to my actions, take $100 out of your wallet, and then go buy some medicine with it, or even pay rent with it, then it is equally wrong when a Gang who calls itself Government does it - takes money from you and gives it to others for medicine and living accommodation.

5. Business Licensing. Where before I can conduct business I need to get a Permit to do so.

Answer: Wrong. If I do not pay the license, but then do business, I will be fined and/or be sent to jail. Hence I am coerced into paying the license. And as such, the license is nothing more than a sanctioned-by-them bribe. If I pay one Officer it is called a bribe. But when my funds go into a communal pool from which they all get a cut of (which they then call their income) then it is considered ok. Either way, and no matter what they call it, as it involved meaningless permission and coercion it is wrong.

This is not to say that certain Standards cannot be adhered to. But that "paying for permission under threat of fine or imprisonment" is wrong. Let the Market create it's own groups which track standards and which consumers can consult before doing business. And let's remember, Bought governmental permission doesn't mean you are any good and guarantees nothing. And the government bodies issuing those Licenses are toothless tigers - as many people find out when they go to them for help about shonky business owners.

But what about the shonky fly by night guys? First, it doesn't stop them now, does it? Second, if people are Raised with Property Rights as their moral standard instead of the "it's ok to take from others" standard we have now, such people will almost be a thing of the past.

Look. The fact of the matter is, our current system Punishes Effort and hard work by taxing it and Rewards Laziness by paying it from the taxed money stolen from the productive. With such a base from which to work from, is it any wonder we have such societal turmoil as it is?

Our current society is a Collectivist one. It turns the productive members into Sacrificial Animals to keep the unproductive alive and for the Common Good (whatever is meant by Good and for whomever defines it at the time). And CONvinces us that this is Nobel and Good - to give up your life for others. As such, theft is the order of the day - from the highest government echelons all the way down to the lowest criminal. And such is even taught in schools and promoted by religious and do-gooder groups. The result is the mess we have now.

A society based on Property Rights will see an end to that theft as such theft would be going against the core of the system.

Doubt it? Then ask me any "What about this..." question you can think of. I'll run it by the Property Rights Barometer and give you your answer, and why the answer is what it is.

Averting Big Brotherism By Understanding The TRUE Nature of POWER And How It Relates To The Sanctity Of The Victim (long but good)

2007-03-31T11:35:00.000+10:00

There are Two basic forms of Power: Physical and Non-Physical.

Physical Power only gets you so far and no further. At some point you Will meet resistance - often Very Violent resistance. Think of it like a cat... when you push a cat they push back, when you pull a cat they pull away. Physical power. Usually enforced at the barrel of a gun or other weapon - such as a Taser.

The other type of power - non-physical power - is far more insidious. And it's this kind of power I'll talk about in this entry and show how to Overcome it.

Non-Physical Power is actually Given by the lorded over and Not Taken by the lord as you may think. Making the wielded power a Result of the Sanctity of the Victim - the victim goes along with it.

Think of the typical employer/employee situation where the Boss Orders the Employee around. The boss has the Power. But only inasmuch as the employee Gives it to him first. For what would happen if the employee just ignored the boss? Apart from Maybe not having a job anymore - and jobs can be found again so no big deal there - the boss would have Zero Power.

When a person ignores, or stops listening to and acting on the words of, other people, they Take Back the power they gave those people. We are all controlled Only by the degree we give other people (boss, spouse, police, etc.) power to control us. When we stop listening the power they wielded vanishes.

What would happen if a spouse stopped listening to their other half. Such as a guy and girl at a pub or bar and the guy starts getting into a heated altercation with another patron. The girl would be like, "Come on let's go" but her words would not be paid attention to and acted upon. Her Perceived Power, which she never really had in the first place but was given, disappears as he stops listening to her. She is then in Shock as her Illusion Of Power is taken from her.

Look at how powerless Police really are. When confronted by someone who Ignores them and doesn't give them power, the police Quickly resort to Physical Power - then charge the person with Disobeying A Police Action/Directive (effectively charging them with not giving the police power).

The Rebellious Teenager is enacting the above removal of Power - not listening to the Parent. The Parent didn't Lose Control - they never had it to begin with, they only Thought they did. The Teenager simply chose not to listen and obey and give power anymore.

A Classic and Enhanced Version of this is the Tiananmen Square Incident when a lone unarmed student stood in front of Four Tanks. That student Took Back The Sanctity he had given the leaders and they were found to be exposed to the truth - the only power they ever had was the power the people gave to them on a daily basis. And when that was withdrawn, they resorted to Physical Power - killing their own people - and showed us what All governments are really about - control at the point of a gun, even if the gun isn't visible all the time.

This is the True nature of power. Those with the Power only have it as a Result of the Sanctity of the Victim. When the Victim removes their sanctity the power disappears. And usually, at this point, depending on how strenuously the controller wants power, they will resort to Physical Power - what the Police do when someone ignores them.

Imagine if all Employers decided to Stop being Tax Collectors for the Govt and paid the employees the Full Wage they Earned instead of deducting tax. And all Employers Refused to become Tax Collectors again from that moment on no matter how many letters were sent to them. What Could the Govt do about it? It cannot take them all to court because by the time that came around the country would have Zero Revenue to run and the Govt would collapse.

Obviously, this will not happen. Because while there may be Some employers who would agree to leave the paying of tax up to the employed person - such as those who hire Subcontractors, pay them the full amount and leave the income tax paying to the subcontractor - not all will do it. And such action requires Everyone to do it.

And this is how it is with all Govt Power. It works across the nation because the Overwhelming Majority of people Give the power to the Govt. And those majorities will Not take it back. Nor can they be Convinced to take it back. The Mass Mind wins the day. You only need to read Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness of Crowds to begin to Comprehend the Insanity the Masses embrace and continue to Embrace.

Look at how Ineffectual Nation-Wide Protests are. That should give you a Clue that the People cannot change the mind of the Govt (all those protests against going into Iraq, for example, didn't stop it). So the Only way out of the idiocy the Govt would impose on us, is to do it on an Individual Level. Instead of trying to get the Govt to change, the Individual needs to take action For Themselves.

Let me repeat this...

Instead of trying to get the Govt to change, the Individual needs to take action For Themselves.

If you disagree with the Homosexualising of the schools, then take your child out of school and Home-School. If you don't like the High Taxes that are stolen from you, then move to a state which has lower tax, or a country with lower tax (at this stage there are no countries with zero income tax when income is earned In the country, but there are countries with zero income tax on income earned Outside of the country and then brought in. Though this entry doesn't have the time to go into those countries. Maybe a later entry.)

If you don't like water restrictions where you live, move to a place without such restrictions (vote with your feet, in other words). If you don't want fluoride in the water, filter it out - it's quicker and cheaper for you to do that than to petition govt to change its policy. Same goes with Firearm Laws, TV Tax laws, and any other Restrictive Laws you may face in your jurisdiction. Your solution is to Act, as an Individual. To take Individual Action to solve the problem Yourself, For You and you alone.

To spend time and money trying to effect change through the political process is folly - you cannot change the mind of a mad crowd and the equally mad rulers. You will achieve Far More for yourself when you Take Action For Yourself alone. When you Remove Your Sanction. And when you Vote With Your Feet. (Of course, if you feel you want to Write Letters, then do so if for no other reason than to Get It Off Your Chest. But know that your letters will have Zero Effect.)

You want to know what insanity is? Insanity is complaining about something you need not subject yourself to. That is, choosing to subject yourself to something and then complaining about that same something. And this is how the Vast Majority of people are. You cannot talk reason into an unreasonable person. But you can Act of your own accord and do what's right for You - as long as it does not infringe upon someone else's Property Rights.

When you do this you will find, you are able to find a great deal of freedom - freedom For yourself and From power you gave to others when you didn't understand the nature of power - in this unfree world we all live in.

End Note: There are Some intrusions upon our freedoms that are hard to avoid. Such as the govt messing with bank accounts and our ability to open them - with the aid of the banks who do so at the end of a gun barrel. And while you can certainly avoid those intrusions by moving country, you might not have the means, or the desire. In which case, you'll just need to Suck It Up a tad while you look for your own ways to prevent the intrusions. This is something you need to weigh up on a case-by-case basis. But either way, know that you will NOT change the mind of the Govt.

Second End Note: The Govt's usual process is to send letters to Encourage you to Give the power back to them. And the letters will usually become more harsh and threatening until they issue you with a Court Order to appear in court. If ignored again they May then issue an Arrest Warrant - all Paper Stuff. With the Final Stage being Physical Forced backed up with Guns. BUT, and this is from my observation and knowledge of the system, if what you have done is minor and you own and owe nothing, they will leave you alone. If you Own property - such as a home - they have something they can Seize and use as Leverage to try to get you to obey them - of course, always wanting you to obey them of your own volition even though they are using Leverage and Coercing you. It's as if They Need Your Sanction to make it right. Never give them your sanction and they have no power left but the physical, which they loath to use for fear of what it shows others.

Third End Note: In the movie V for Vendetta the people Cease giving their power to the rulers and enforcement agents. The result is, near the end, the soldiers know Not what to do and give in to the oncoming mass of unarmed people. BUT, as the Govt and its building is effectively destroyed, what would actually ensue is a period of turmoil and possible breakdown of the system into smaller and more localized Gangs (the ruling Govt is just another Gang, with more and better weapons). You cannot go from Govt to No Govt and then expect a Govt to emerge out of the debris. The USA founding fathers knew this which is why they created a constitution and Govt to replace the disposed British - those who led the revolution created the system to replace the disposed Govt. Without such a system you will either end up like Pakistan - a country with a central Govt which has no effective power in outer regions which are really controlled by War Lords, as seems to be the Muslim way - OR - a system more like the Celtic System which saw localized Groups trading in harmony without a centralized government controlling them all. V was happy to Let Things Be What They May after ending the government of the time.

Fourth End Note: In the movie Instinct, starring Anthony Hopkins, there is a scene where Hugo Gooding Junior's Character is trying to Get Through to Hopkins' character who seems to be preoccupied with removing some duct tape from a chair, in a not-interested going-through-the-motions manner. Suddenly, Hopkins leaps across the table, slaps the tape across Gooding's mouth, gets him in a neck-snapping headlock and tells him to Write Down what I took from you. Gooding writes "Control" to which Hopkins says he never had it in the first place. Then writes "Freedom" to which again Hopkins replies in the negative. And with one last guess before his neck is snapped he writes "Illusions" and is correct. Hopkins took away his Illusions he had control, power and freedom.

Go Directly To Jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200 - More British Insanity

2007-03-27T19:48:00.000+10:00

I USED to think Britain would be a pretty cool place to live. What with it being a Modern City with a Tremendous Amount of History and Historical Buildings, mixed with a conglomeration of European cultures.

That's what I USED to think. Before I found out how fucked up Britain has become and is going to become...

It's virtually a Criminal Offense to Protect Yourself, with almost every story about self defense - even in the person's home when a robber broke in - ending with the defender/home-owner being found guilty of breaking the law and sentenced to jail.

And you know of the Homosexualising of the schools in the U.K. And may know of the Surgically Implanted Locating and Identification Tags being tested. Or the Banning of which foods can and cannot be advertised on TV. But did you know this...

Britain aims to implement new laws that make it illegal to leave school at 16. And if you do you will be Fined and/or Go To Jail and/or Do Community Service and receive a Criminal Record on top.

And while you might be allowed out of the public school education system, it will be made Compulsory to do Training, at least until you are 18. So no leaving school at 16 and getting a job as a laborer, or farm hand, or whatever. And by way of Additional Threat, the Govt would also Confiscate Your Driver's License as punishment. And if you were below 18 and already employed, you would be Expected to take additional training courses.

But it doesn't end there. Oh no. It gets worse because the names of All 16 and 17-year-olds will be added to a Database held by local authorities so that they can Track their participation in education or training.

Currently, parents face criminal prosecution if they fail to ensure that a child under 16 goes to school. But after 16, the Govt is looking to pass the criminal prosecution into the child.

And still it gets worse... Employers will face fines if they do not allow employees aged 16 and 17 to undertake accredited training they are forced to take. And this rule will apply equally to parents employing their children in a family business!!!

Look. I can understand if the Govt wants to train school leavers below 18 who are Unemployed, but to Force such Training onto someone who is gainfully employed is sheer madness. They have already shown their moxy and drive by getting a job. What, other than waste their time, their employer's time and the teacher's time, will this training accomplish? It won't make them leave to get another job where they can use the skill. And what of the reality that some school leavers leave because they cannot handle the school brainwashing courses? The Govt solution is that they, "Need to be offered courses that are not too difficult" - no-can-fail stuff in other words, that no employer will consider worth the time it took to do.

Not a month goes by that some kind of news isn't coming out of the UK which shows they are becoming the "1984 / V for Vendetta" Police State we see in the movies and read in books. You want to see Big Brother in action? Look to Britain.

What will the Spin Doctors say? That they are Creating Jobs (for all those trainers and the Govt Dept created to oversee the Program) and helping to Fight Unemployment and Making Britain More Competitive on the International Market. Of course, how a 16 year old farm hand who does a cannot-fail course that has no relevance to helping around a farm, will help Britain is not stated. We aren't supposed to Ask such questions about the looney laws... just to accept them and follow them.

Here Come The Homosexuals

2007-03-24T12:16:00.000+10:00

Homosexuality is NOT a sexual orientation, it is a Fetish - just like feet, stocking, latex, etc., can all be the source of arousal and thus a fetish. But in this case, the arousal is the same sex.

When thought of in this way - its True nature - the idea of Homosexual Rights is ludicrous. It's as insane as having special rights for Foot Fetishists, or Stocking Fetishists. And then the idea of a Phobia is also idiotic. As idiotic as saying you have a Foot Fetishist Phobia, or Stocking Lover Phobia. Or you discriminated against me because I am into Latex. And the idea of Coming Out also loses it's power, for it would sound stupid to proclaim to your parents and friends that you get aroused sucking a woman's feet, or looking at a woman in stockings, or even wearing stockings yourself. And then all claims of discrimination and the like would be seen for the absurdity they are.

So the ruse Must be maintained. Homosexuality Must be proclaimed, by those who get off on it, as a condition like Heterosexuality instead of the Fetish it really is. And then the idea of discrimination and Homo Rights can be Pushed, as it has been in England.

First, the Homo Groups Pushed to have Homosexual Discrimination made illegal in Schools. Those who were Against such a move, saying it would lead to the Promotion of Homosexuality in schools, were dismissed as Over-reacting. While those who know of The Creep of any and all legislation, knew differently.

Next, and now, they have Pushed to have Homosexuality as part of the school curriculum and to Teach Homosexuality To School Children. And Any idea or thought of Preventing such is now met with the "you cannot discriminate against homosexuality" line. And those who knew it would come to this via The Creep have been vindicated, as have those who were told their concerns of it coming to this were over-reacting.

Part of this Push has come in the form of 3 books, which are aimed at 4 year old children!!! One book called King and King about two Male Princess who fall in love and hook up (a book which some libraries in the US have moved from the children's section to the Adult's section as Homosexual Stories are deemed Inappropriate for children), one about someone with two mommies, and a third about two Male Penguins that get together.

And not even the Private Religious Schools are immune. They are also Targeted, with claims that the idea of theirs that men and women are the ideal over men and men or women and women, should NOT be pushed. And that the homo stuff should also be taught in their schools.

Frankly, that the Homosexual Agenda is being pushed onto 4 year olds is an abomination (it's an abomination it be taught at school at all). And is just another example of why Homeschooling Is The Better Choice.

Think about this... A 4 year old child still thinks there is a Santa Clause. So their ability to Reason is diminished. Pushing the Homo Line on to them is akin to brainwashing. As the child will then be subjected to that same agenda all through school and thus come to think of it as right/normal when Nature dictates that it is Not Normal lest the species perishes.

Another Day In Socialist Paradise

2007-03-22T21:18:00.000+10:00

Socialists, leftists, communists and left leaning libertarians, are ALL scum because their entire doctrine is about TAKING from those of ability and then giving it to those who did not earn it. The productive are punished with high taxes while the unproductive are rewarded with welfare money.

Forget the Fantasy of socialism - there are No Happy Endings with the system. It's true nature is revealed every time a country adopts it. And the latest example - of which the Main Stream Media seems to be deathly quiet about - is the country of Zimbabwe and its Evil Ruler, Robert Mugabe.

A while back Mugabe TOOK the land off of the productive white farmers, kicked them off the land that had once been their property, and GAVE it to unproductive blacks to farm. Now, in the present, the country has an inflation rate of 1,700% per annum, freedom of speech does not exist, people are unable to Protest for fear of reprisals from the police, there is little to no food, no money to buy what food is available, the middle classes and two thirds of the productive people have fled leaving just the poor, the rich - who got rich through nepotism and corruption - and the incompetent. Welcome to just another day in Socialist Paradise.

Of course, Mugabe reckons it's Britain's fault. Or the fault of the big foreign corporations. Anyone's fault but his fault and the System he has put the country under. As if his Operation Murambatsvina - which has effected 2.4 million people, left MANY without homes (they were demolished) and ended the livelihood of over 30,000 merchants - has had nothing to do with it.

Next time you hear Anyone sing the praises of socialism, think of Mugabe and Zimbabwe to snap yourself back to reality. And if you want to know more, check out Mugabe at Google News. Truly a despotic socialist dictator. Almost makes Hitler look like an Amateur.

Sure, those who can see No Wrong in Socialism will tell us, "It's not the system it's the people" to make the point the system would work but for the people not working it right. Denying the reality which stares them in the face - the socialist system creates and encourages such people who want to Take from others without earning it. Such a system is Doomed before it begins. It is a system based on Theft. And EVERY time it has been tried it has been an unmitigated disaster - both in terms of prosperity, progress, living standard, life expectancy and every way you can think of.

The Nature of Delusions - Why Most People Are Living A Delusion

2007-03-17T10:40:00.000+10:00

The Truth may set you free... but it'll piss you off first

People have a tendency to get upset at the truth - whether the Truth is directed at them in a verbal assault (which leads to the "the truth hurts, doesn't it?" saying) or is a general written/video/audio piece they associate themselves with.

Well. In this entry I am sure to upset most people.

First, so we are on the same track and to help prevent people inserting their own meanings, let's reveal the True Meanings of some words...

Delusional - Someone suffering from a delusion, or multiple delusions.

Delusion - A false idea typically originating from a misinterpretation but firmly believed and strongly maintained in spite of contradictory proof or evidence; To believe in something that contradicts reality; Anything that deceives the mind with a false impression, a deception, a fixed false opinion or belief that cannot be shaken by reason; A persistent false belief that is strongly held despite clear evidence that the belief is actually false; A false belief that a person maintains in spite of evidence that proves it untrue.

Based on the above, is there Anything that you believe which... contradicts reality, defies reason, contradicts proof of evidence?

There is probably Something which popped into your head when reading the above question, but which you quickly dismissed for fear of looking deeper into yourself. That's to be expected as you like to hold onto your brain child. Or as Tannis says in the movie Underworld Evolution, "the truth is harder to accept than lies."

For instance, you might believe in Santa Clause. Yet, such a person goes against Reality. No one person is able to visit the homes of every single person on a single night. Heck, a person cannot even visit all the homes of a city on a single night. For if we assume a visit - in and out - can be achieved in just one minute, and we also assume this is done from 6pm until 6am the next morning, we have a 12 hour window. If we also assume no travel time, the number of homes visited comes to only 720 - that's one home per minute for 12 hours. Heck, even at a home every ten second that only comes to 7,200. As such, a belief in Santa Clause is a Delusion.

If you are a Christian and believe in Jesus as the son of God (and by God I mean a supernatural intelligent being who consciously created the universe and everything in it, including man) who died and came back to life three days later, you are also believing a delusion. Let me show you...

When a person dies they suffer Irreversible Brain Damage after a few minutes because of lack of oxygen. The lactic acid build up in the muscles undergoes a reaction and a kind of Gel is formed, which outwardly is known as rigormortis - where the body goes stiff. The bacteria in the gut begin to multiply without obstruction from the now inoperative immune system and in a short order will eat through the gut wall. The mitochondria in the cells perishes, the cell wall integrity fails and cells die off. The blood gathers at the lowest points of the body and coagulates and congeals. All within a few days. That is the Reality of death. Once death has been entered into in this manner, the Body is Physically Incapable of sustaining animated life.

As such, the belief that a person died and then came back many days later, counteracts all reality. And is thus a delusion. It contradicts the evidence of what happens to a body when it dies, and is thus also a delusion.

If the person did not die and was only Thought to have died a physical death, then the belief that the person did die is also a delusion. As it's a false idea originating from a misinterpretation.

So either way you look at it, the belief that Jesus truly died - and wasn't just Thought to have died (mistaken death) or was only ex-communicated (spiritual death as pronounced by the rabbinical elders) - is a delusion because it goes against reality and reason and contradicts proof to the contrary.

And to call it something else - such as legitimizing it buy calling it a Religion and that we mustn't say anything Against religion - is also to Deny Reality. A thing is what a thing is. To deny that, is to deny reality and to lie to yourself and others.

Religious people will be upset by my words. But I always feel That is a Good Thing because the truth will set you free, but it will piss you off first. Plus, it's always a Good Idea to Examine Why you might be upset, because when you are upset at a thought you need to Pay Attention because you are about to Learn Something About Yourself.

Look. If I said the universe is created automatically as a result of a person writing a novel, and what they write is created instantly in our universe, some would believe me while most would agree I was delusional.

If I said the universe was poured into existence out of a tea pot, and that the tea pot is right now floating within the universe somewhere and if anything were to happen to it the entire universe would disappear in the blink of an eye, again most would say I was delusional.

Neither example can be Disproven. Yet, to gather many millions of equally delusional people who believe either example, lump them together, call their delusion a religion, and outlaw speech against it, doesn't suddenly make the insanity they believe, to be real. And in this regard I am in agreement with Robert Pirsig's observation that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."

Let me give you another example...

If I say, I saw Joe Bloggs turn into a bat, fly out of his apartment window into the night sky, down into a dark alley frequented by homeless people, turn back into a human form and suck the blood out of one of the vagabonds before turning back into a bat and flying back into his apartment, you would say I was delusional. But what if I find three or four others to agree with me? Does that make it real? No! What if five million people agree it happened... or believe me when I tell them it happened? Does that mean it happened? No! Does it make them All delusional? Yes!!!

In this example, what I SAY happened cannot be DISproved. But just because it cannot be disproved, doesn't mean it really happened, does it? Of course not!

But Why don't you think it happened? What Criteria did you use to Reason that it did not happen? Was it simply that That Is Impossible? (goes against reality). If so, and you are religious, why don't you apply the same Degree of Skepticism to your religious belief? What are you so scared of discovering? It wouldn't be that you believe a delusion, would it? Well, now you have nothing to fear for I have shown that you do believe a delusion. So you must now ask... why continue to believe it?

Retirement Gift Results In 9 Month Court Ordeal For Retired Police Chief - More Insanity From The U.K.

2007-03-12T19:11:00.000+10:00

Going by the number of stories coming out of the U.K., about how their Justice System treats people, you have to Question the Sanity of those within that system. Things like charging a Home Owner with certain behaviors after They subdue a person who breaks into their home and threatens them with a weapon, and hold that person until the police arrive - and then the home owners are found Guilty and sent to jail!

Well this one involved a Retired Police Chief who was given a Swiss Army Knife as a Retirement Gift by his staff. He then decided to go to Spain on a Hiking Holiday - where he would do a lot of hiking while in Spain. And so he took his gift - the Swiss Army Knife - with him to help him open cans of food while he was out and about in the wilds of Spain. His dramas began when his Suitcase was too heavy at airport checkin. So at the checkin he took his Washbag out of the suitcase and put it into his Carry On Luggage - forgetting that the knife was in the washbag. This was Picked Up at the airport screening when he went to board the plane and so he left the knife behind and went on his vacation as planned.

Upon his return he went to get his knife back and was then questioned about it and Charged! The prosecutors believed they had a case where they could get a Conviction. And 9 months later after several court appearances, meetings with the judge and so on, the judge Finally showed some Common Sense, accepted that the 63 year old might actually need such a tool to open food while hiking and dismissed the charges. At which point the Police Chief was allowed to have his retirement gift, his knife, back from the evidence room.

It's interesting. Sure it's totally nuts - and the British sure do some nutty things when it comes to stuff like this. But I find the Thoughts of the prosecutors unsettling... "the Crown Prosecution Service believed there were grounds to prosecute with a realistic prospect of conviction."

The "Grounds"? That he was carrying a pocket knife onto an aircraft and that is illegal. As such, they would think it was open and shut, right? And so go ahead with it.

Never mind Who it was that was doing the carrying (one of their own). Or Why they were carrying the object (going on a walking/hiking vacation). Or Where they got the object from (given to them by other police officers). Or How it came about the object was in their carry on luggage. None of that mattered. That it was a series of Accidental Events - overweight suitcase, washbag moved to carry on, forgot the knife was in it - and that there was No Malicious Intent seems to escape the prosecutors - or the more scary version - was deliberately ignored by them.

Why would they do such a thing? So they could tally up the numbers. Numbers of people caught. Numbers of people charged. Numbers of people convicted. And thus Justify to the public and all and sundry, that their idiotic rules and laws are Working and Helping Prevent a Terrorist Attack. Not that anyone would truly believe a retired police chief going on a hiking holiday to Spain with a 3 inch pocket knife is really going to hijack an aircraft.

I feel sorry for the people that live in England. Their politicians have made the country a Haven For Criminals while simultaneously making it against the law to protect yourself without you going to jail. A true Nanny State. A classic example of the inmates running the asylum.

People Know How To Be Slim And Healthy, But Choose Fat And Ill

2007-03-08T19:02:00.000+10:00

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." - H. L. Mencken

So it is with the following...

=> War on Terror
=> War on Drugs
=> Global Warming (and before that, Global Cooling)
=> Ozone Layer Hole
=> SARS (a supposed nasty bug that killed fewer people than pneumonia does each year)
=> AIDS (constantly referred to as HIV/AIDS even though not all people with AIDS have HIV anti-bodies, and No Link can actually be found between HIV and AIDS)

The Latest in this line of Imaginary Hobgoblins is Obesity. Now being called an Epidemic, as if it is a Disease which can be Caught instead of the Lifestyle and Dietary Choice Issue it really is. With the usual cries of Something Should Be Done About It, Stop All Junk Food Ads, and other things which remove our freedoms.

But you know what, people already Know what makes them fat and ill. They know it is Eating the wrong food, and too much of it. Because, in the last year in the four jobs I've held, at Each job there were Multiple People who commented on my Healthy Eating and how I was Lean and Sinewy and likely never sick. Why just last week someone made a comment about me Staying Home Sick. After I said that was Unlikely as I had Not been sick since 1992 they said, "I know by the way you eat".

In other words, based on what I eat they know I am healthy. Which means they know Good Food from Bad Food. They know what Junk Food is and that eating too much is Not good. Yet, they do it anyway - then people complain about something needs to be done about it - as if it's not their fault. And you end up with a situation like in England...

Where certain foods are now Banned from being advertised if they have too much fat or sugar per 100 grams - even if that food is not eaten 100 grams at a time. So things like Cheese and Tomato Ketchup are out, but certain High Calorie bread treats are in. Even though it is the High Calorie Grain Foods which are at the root of the problem - as well as the usual suspects like candy, chocolate and so on.

Think about it... if you want to Fatten livestock you feed them grains. It works the same for humans. Why is this so hard to grasp? Remove grains and grain products from the diet and your health and weight will improve. Remove Sugar and Salt as well, and you're bound to get healthier and thinner.

I received an Information Pack in the mail the other day. It was from the Govt and had Advice on eating well. It suggested over one third of the diet should come from grains. I am telling you, if you follow this diet you WILL become overweight. Remove such from your diet as I suggest and you WILL get thinner and healthier. It ain't rocket science.

The Global Bogeyman - More Truth (Undeniable Facts) About Global Warming - Global Warming Part IV

2007-03-04T09:10:00.001+10:00

The first three parts in the series can be read as follows...

=> Part I
=> Part II
=> Part III

In this entry I talk about the Global Warming Mongers' biggest Ally - their claim that CO2 in the atmosphere has a Major impact on our temperatures and that Man is the biggest source of the CO2 in the atmosphere - and how they have it all wrong and are reading their data incorrectly. And once this is proven wrong, then their entire argument falls flat on its face in a crumpled heap.

The Largest Source of CO2 on the planet is The Ocean. And, thanks to what is known as the Carbon Cycle or Carbon Solubility Pump, CO2 is Released from the ocean Into the atmosphere when the water is Warmer and goes back from the Atmosphere into the ocean when the water is Cooler. An event which happens on a daily basis around the globe as CO2 goes from ocean to air in the tropics and air to ocean at the poles.

If the water is warmer in a greater area then More CO2 enters the air than when the warmer area is of decreased size. If the water is overall cooler, than CO2 goes back into the water. In a system which is impossible for humans to effect by driving SUVs on land.

Interestingly, if there is Too Much CO2 in the water, it become Solidified and is taken out of Circulation, so to speak, so fish will not suddenly die from too much CO2. Conversely, if there is too little, the Solidified CO2 goes back into solution and then can be liberated into the air once more. In a never-ending cycle.

As it is the Water Temperature which governs the CO2 release and uptake, it makes No Sense to then say our climate change is Caused By the amount of CO2 in the air. Because to accept that "CO2 presence increases air temperature" is to accept that a gas which only makes up around 0.03% of the atmosphere has Greater Capacity to change our weather than the temperature of water which makes up 70% of the planet, and other gases such as Oxygen (20% of atmosphere) or Nitrogen (78% of atmosphere) or even Argon (0.9% of atmosphere). And thus instantly negates all science that shows weather changes due to the El Nino effect which is caused by a large mass of warm water being somewhere where it normally is not.

So how does CO2 enter and leave the water? The same way Oxygen can enter and leave the water. By water turbulence, wave action and other actions which break the surface of the water.

As you can see, again global warming science is looking at things all wrong. They see a change in CO2 and a change in weather and blame the most visible source of CO2 (humans) for the weather change. While ignoring the thing which is scientifically proven to have the greatest effect on our weather (the temperature of the sea). They are seeing a Result and calling it a Cause.

If they know there are doing this, is shows their wretchedness. If they don't know they are doing this they are incompetent to be scientists. Either way, they should be dismissed from their positions.

In upcoming entries I'll address How the sea temperature can change. But for now, I suggest you read a more indepth work on the CO2 element. This was recently sent to me by a Friend. You can read it here: Global Warming is due to Oceans Heating not Greenhouse Gases.

The Weapon That Isn't

2007-03-02T04:51:00.000+10:00

You've seen the Olympic sport of Greco Roman Wrestling. And I'll use that as an example Ok?

Now imagine for a second, that You are one of the wrestlers. But, you are allowed to arm yourself with a weapon. In this example, a pin will suffice as your weapon. Now imagine you are in a hold and cannot get out and so you grab your pin and Jab the other wrestler with it. Jab him constantly and repeatedly and deeply. Do you think he will let go of you to deal with the Pin Prick (Invisible Hornet Sting) he is feeling? Answer is Yes.

No, I am not suggesting you carry a small pin with you as a weapon. It's is too limiting and too flimsy to penetrate clothing consistently. But I Am suggesting a more Sturdy version. A Nail with a handle, so to speak.

You can actually buy such things designed for self-defense. But they are overpriced ($60). Better and cheaper to buy one designed for something else. And it just so happens there is such a thing. Here is a photo of it. It's a Concrete Nail. Each Nail can be twisted off from the bunch. These are used in Construction and are made by Hilti.

Similar to the Concrete Nail is a Hatpin. Has a handle and is also sharp. And then there are the Bodkins - needle like devices used in sewing, making flies for fishing, sail mending, and so on.

These are so small they can be stored out of sight in the car. But used effectively to Sting someone who might try to drag you out of your car. Or to String someone who grabs you. You could even sleep with one under your pillow. Thread one through your hair and use it as a hairpin when out and about. Even place one in the Fold of your wallet - which can be removed if you are forced to hand over your wallet and are unable to run away instead.

Other Spikes can be found in Toothpicks with a floss attachment - hold the floss end and jab the spike end. Cheap darts bought at any discount store or sport store - remove the Feathers and you have a spike. Food skewers - such as would be used to make kebabs. Leather or Shoe sewing needles. Up market metal olive spikes used to hold the olive in an alcoholic beverage.

Girl Threatens Man With Knife

2007-02-28T18:40:00.000+10:00

Last week, a dark-skinned man (Mediterranean dark) knocked on a door of a house, asked the girl that answered for some directions. Then, a very short while later the girl could Smell the man in the house. He tied her up (somehow) and raped her.

Questions I have about this are: How did the man get in without the girl's knowledge? How did he tie up the girl? What, didn't she struggle, scream and carry on? What was she tied up with?

Fast forward to today. Another man (maybe the same one) knocks on a door and asks if the home is for sale and if he can come in and have a look around. The girl says "No" but grabs the man's business card? She goes back to the sofa, sits down and puts her Headphones on. Suddenly, the man is in the house behind her, grabs her by the hair and drags her to a bedroom. She manages to knee him in the groin. She runs to the kitchen, the man close behind. She grabs a carving knife. The man sees the girl is now armed and flees the house.

First, Kudos to the girl for her Actions. As I say, hit and run. Though in this case, it was hit and run to get a weapon. Which then saw the attacker run for fear of being seriously injured by a Now Very Angry Girl With A Weapon, and thus caught due to those injuries. Good thing she didn't "do nothing and call the cops" as the police have advised when faced with intruders in your house. Otherwise she'd be a victim of rape instead of a person who defended her life and the invasion of her property.

But I ask: How did this man get in to the house? Why, being home alone, did she answer the door in the first place, and even open it to accept a business card? Heck, *I* lock the doors and I am a Secret Rossy who you definitely wouldn't want to mess with. *I* don't even answer the door when it is knocked upon unless I am expecting someone. Woe be the person that enters my lair uninvited.

The media in this city has been reporting on Sex Attacks on bikeways/walking-paths and in people's homes for the last couple of months. Despite this, women are Still being Slack with their own safety - leaving doors unlocked and whatnot. I still see women walking alone with headphones or MP3 Ear Plugs in - I even nearly hit one on my bicycle as they could not hear me coming and weren't looking when they crossed the road without looking right into my path.

As for the attacks in the home. Listen up... intruders covet what they See. They do Not do Random Door Knocking hoping to find a girl home alone. They already know the girl is alone and have seen her before hand (scary thought, eh?). So learn the lesson to Walk On Alert. Look around you while you walk. Take Note of those who walk in the same direction (even peek at them from your window after you get home to see if they take a prolonged look at your home when they walk by). Look behind you when you walk. If such action is good enough for Secret Rossy to do - and Secret Rossy is more than capable of taking care of Secret Rossy - then it should be more than good enough to do for those who are not as skilled in defense as Secret Rossy is. And learn the lesson to Arm Thyself, just as the attacked girl did, even though it was a little late it still saved her.

Another Criminal Bites The Dust

2007-02-26T18:17:00.000+10:00

I just love FeelGood stories. Like this one...

A tour bus of US senior citizens defended themselves against a group of alleged muggers, sending two of them fleeing and killing a third... One of the tourists - a retired member of the US military - put assailant Warner Segura in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus... The two other men fled when the 12 Senior Citizens started defending themselves

They Defended themselves and were victorious. IF they'd done as the muggers had wanted there is a chance some - maybe all - would be dead (because, if someone is willing to threaten you with a weapon in public they are willing to use it in private, and if threatened in private then they are a hair's breadth away from using it). And the muggers would have learned an easy way to make a few bucks. BUT, now that they defended themselves there is one less mugger-come-killer on the loose and two others who may think twice next time. (Interestingly, the lefty US-hating news agency Reuters ran this as "Angry Tourists Kill Man" and did NOT mention they were senior citizens who had been attacked.)

Compare this to advice given by our local police to a woman who Claims someone came into her house while she slept on the sofa, stole over $1,000 from her purse, then left and locked the front door on the way out... "If you disturb an intruder, do not be a hero, call police immediately."

Can you believe that advice? How are you to put that into action? "Oh hang on Mr. Intruder, I'll just call the police. Don't do anything rash while I do it okay? So don't come at me or anything, alright?"

Screw that! You've GOT to defend your property (and your life is your property) with anything and everything you have. Be like the woman that some guy tried to rape. She went Berserk, grabbed a Vacuum Cleaner Section (the metal part that extends the handle) and started swinging at him and hitting him with it and screaming at the top of her lungs. He fled after calling her a psycho. Should she have just "done nothing and called the police"?

How about the 15 year old boy who disturbed an intruder. The intruder then grabbed a knife out of their kitchen and attacked him, managing to inflict an injury, which was just short of being lethal, before fleeing. Like that kid could have just called the police. He was FORCED to defend his property, his life, before doing anything else.

As I said in my shiv entry. If the police cannot protect you, then who will? The answer is YOU!

Almost anything can be a weapon If you know how to use it - and knowing it is a weapon and how it is a weapon is part of that. For instance... I found some Plumbers Flexible Water Pipe - looks like electrical conduit but it is more flexible and won't break. I sawed it into three lengths of about two foot long each to be used as weapons - for home, car and bicycle. While traveling in an elevator a guy got in I know and we were Joking about this and that and the conversation got to something like...

"So you think you could, but you have no weapons"
"And you do?"
"Yep" I replied and showed him my pieces of pipe.
"That's just plastic pipe."
"It's a weapon if you know how to use it."
"And you know how?"
"Oh yes. I most certainly do."

And he dropped the conversation.

Think about it. Imagine a two-foot long piece of garden hose in your hand. You can swing it hard and fast and it will damn well Hurt if you hit someone with it. Yet it is light-weight and Most people would Not think it is a weapon of any kind. Hence, you have an advantage.

And if you want to learn how to use such weapons, besides teaching yourself on a tree trunk, large box or punching bag, then consider learning Eskrima. But remember, the first part of Self-Defense is not being there in the first place, the second is hightailing it out of there if it Looks like something is going to happen, the next is using your voice to prevent something escalating (and verbal threats don't prevent, they encourage), with the last option being physical. Of course, sometimes all preliminary options are removed from you by the attacker which takes it straight to the physical stage. And it's at that stage - when your life is in danger, such as from an intruder or being out-and-out attacked while out and about or even in your home - that your Skills come into play.

Think of what an animal does...

When an animal is threatened its First Act is to run. If attacked while fleeing and it needs to be physical it will Lash Out and Then Keep Running. If cornered it will Posture (growl, hiss, ruffle feathers, etc. and do what it can to Warn against attacking it) before getting physical - and then running after the physical confrontation.

THAT is self defense - to survive is to win. Standing toe-to-toe for minutes on end risking life-threatening injury is not self defense, it is fighting. Sometimes, rarely, you might be forced into such a position. But usually, if it gets physical, your Weapons at hand will allow You to flee, or will cause an intruder to flee.

Global Warming Legislation Has Begun

2007-02-23T20:38:00.000+10:00

It didn't take long. My local city council Wants to make Rainwater Tanks Mandatory - and to limit the number of airconditioners to One per home, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions they say. And, they also want to phase out the normal filament light and replace them with Energy Saving Bulbs - never mind the many light fittings which cannot take such bulbs, all the light manufacturers who will not be able to sell their stock designed for normal lightbulbs and which won't fit an energy saving bulb. And the businesses which also sell those light fittings.

If you have a large home, tough luck trying to keep it cool in this hot humid city. You can only have one airconditioner in the home. So make your choice wisely... the lounge room, main bedroom, baby's room, somewhere else. With All installations being Licensed to keep track of it (that this will create a Black Market is ignored. And then neighbors will put each other in for having more than one airconditioner).

If they make this Law (and it's just a proposal at the moment), what's to stop them limiting the number of TVs or Computers to one per home. After all, the fewer such items the less electricity used, right?

This is sheer insanity!

Water Water Everywhere - More Truth (Undeniable Facts) About Global Warming - Global Warming Part III

2007-02-20T18:20:00.001+10:00

Before we continue the series on Global Warming Debunking, I suggest you read the previous entries...

=> Entry 1 - Doomed - It's Just A Matter of Time. Oh Well. (Global Warming Part I)

=> Entry 2 - The Truth (Undeniable Facts) About Global Warming - Why The Global Warming ScareMongers Should Be Ignored - Global Warming Part II

Next on the list of Items Which Have An Effect On Global Climate is Airborne Water Vapor...

Airborne Water Vapor is, perhaps, the Biggest Greenhouse Gas we have. It's the most abundant and has the Greatest Impact on our temperature than anything else. But, like other elements on the list, it too has a cause. But this is a circular element. Meaning, its effects compound and cause more water vapor and the same happens in reverse.

First, the reverse: Without water vapor in the air we tend not to get rain. The air cools. What water vapor there is becomes encased in ice. And we end up in an ice age. Which also means a Drought - as all the available water is ice-bound. The less water vapor there is, the cooler the planet gets and the less water vapor there is as it condenses into ice. Catch 22. This is BAD mojo, for us.

On the other hand, the more water vapor there is, the warmer we can be. The warmer it is the more water vapor there is. A positive Catch 22 which sees it rain and our food supply can grow. This is known as the Hydrological Cycle - the SUN HEATS THE WATER, which evaporates and later condenses and Rains on the ground. Eventually going back to the ocean for more SUN HEATING. (Note, the image shows Water Storage in snow and ice - as I mentioned above.)

Normally, the amount of water thought to be in each Segment of the Cycle is deemed (by some scientists) to be constant (obviously this is flawed thinking as ice-ages have proven the amount of water in the various Segments can and do change). But regardless, it is agreed that warmer temperatures mean increased water vapor and increased water vapor means increased temperatures.

So the question now needed to be asked is... which came first, the increased water vapor which results in increased temperatures - or - increased temperatures which results in increased water vapor?

As this is a cycle which has played its part repeatedly for millennia, humans are NOT an element to be brought into the question. Because to blame modern humans Now, leaves no reason for previous occurrences. And the Global Warming Mongers want to ignore past reasons because it would negate the blame they want to level at humans.

Barring offworld events, the Heat increases first, which then leads to more water vapor. And this is possible due to Sun Cycles, Earth Axis Changes and Earth Orbit Changes - which I'll explain in more detail in other entries in the series.

An interesting result of increased water vapor is, increased glacial melt - in SOME glaciers. Ice melts faster in a high humid environment than a low humid environment. So glacial melt ONLY indicates high humidity, NOT higher temperatures. This Point MUST be understood, least we get caught up measuring Results and deeming them to be Causes or Forecasters of doom and gloom.

Quick Side Word On Glaciers: There are MANY glaciers around the globe. They cannot all be measured for growth or shrinkage, nor have they been. But the interesting aspect of them is, they can have melt or shrinkage rapidly - and a change between the two states just as rapidly. A glacier could have a Lot of melt one year followed by a Lot of growth the following year. Or a few yeas of shrinkage followed by many years of growth. Also, while some are shrinking others are growing. Meaning, their use as any kind of indicator of temperature fluctuations is useless. The Only thing their shrinkage or growth tells us is the state of humidity in that glacier's vicinity for that year, and nothing more.

Anyway. Back to water vapor. So other than the Sun and Earth changes which result in Heat first, the only way to have Water Vapor first is with a Cataclysmic Event - a Volcanic eruption in an ice-bound area or and offworld event such as the Tunguska Event.

The Tunguska Event is the event in 1908 when a Meteorite or Icy Comet entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded above the wet Siberian lands with the massive force of 10 to 20 Megatons (in comparison, the Little Boy bomb that fell on Hiroshima was equal to only 13 to 16 Kilotons). As if not enough that space debris is Known to contain ice and dust, a Lot of water in the 830 square miles of decimated trees would have been Liberated into the atmosphere. This increased water vapor Would have had a Greenhouse Effect. A self-propagating effect into the Hydrological Cycle. And while a Theory, it is one, like all other natural and proven climate change Cause/Effect Cycles, the Global Warming Mongers absolutely Refuse to even consider. In other words, the Global Warming Mongers have made up their minds and have closed them off to alternate reasons back up with scientific evidence. (For more on this Tunguska theory I suggest you check out this article. I'll also be discussing other elements mentioned in that article in future entries. But do yourself a favor and check out that article.)

In the next part of the series I'll look at the CO2 Bogeyman. And you'll see that, once again, the Global Warming Mongers are looking at things all wrong. And you'll begin to understand Why I am so vehemently Against their cries of global doom and gloom which only the government can fix - with more tax dollars, of course.

The Truth (Undeniable Facts) About Global Warming - Why The Global Warming ScareMongers Should Be Ignored - Global Warming Part II

2007-02-16T20:55:00.001+10:00

Alright. This second entry in the series (the first entry can be seen here) is an entry in which you get to see Why the Global Warming Scaremongers should be ignored by all and sundry. And what you'll see in this entry is Logical information, backed up with Sound Reasoning. As opposed to Assumptions and Forecasts based on computer modeling with nothing else to back it up.

First, a little Global Warming 101...

Global Warming is a term given to the idea that temperatures around the Earth are Increasing - and - that this increase is based solely on man's presence and pollution. A more accurate term would be to call it Man Made Global Warming. But then, each and every Claim of it would need to be backed up. By shortening it to Global Warming, Any climate change can be attributed to the same term and the two non-linked items (man made climate change and natural climate change) become linked and the lines between them blur.

This Global Warming is said to result from too many Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere. The idea being that a Greenhouse Gas is any Gas which, when in the air, would have the same effect of trapping heat as a Greenhouse would trap heat. As such, almost any Gas could be considered a Greenhouse Gas.

The Global Warming Scaremongers blame the Increase in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for the Increase in Average Global Temperature. And blame the increase of CO2 on Humans. Therefore, Human presence causes Global Warming. Sounds simple, right?

Now. Many so-called scientists around the world agree with this simple Theory - a scientific consensus. And I call it a Theory because there is a severe Lack Of Proof to back it up. All they have are a bunch of Computer Models, and their mass, unobjectioning and unreasoning agreement. But I'd like to remind you that many years ago the scientists of the age also agreed that the world was the center of the universe and Galileo was persecuted for suggesting otherwise (ordered imprisoned and his works banned from publication). And that That is the nature of being a scientist - not to rock the boat for fear of being ridiculed and thrown out of the Club; as well as not getting any Grant Money to think otherwise.

I will state here and now that, there seems to be a Slight Increase in Average temperatures of about 0.5 degrees. And if true - and for sake of this entry I'll not debate this number - then the question is not one of whether there has been a temperature increase - BUT - whether that increase is solely attributed to man's presence in the modern world. And That is what this entry will reveal more about.

Fact: The Earth's temperature is effected by More than the amount of CO2 in the air. Other influences include... ocean currents (surface and deep), amount of Water Vapor in the air, the Earth's Degree of axis tilt, the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the Intensity of the Sun, major geological events, wind - and - Offworld events. But for this entry, we will look at Ocean Currents...

Ocean Currents: The waters of the world are constantly flowing around the planet, around the land masses. If a land mass moves - and they are moving - then the water needs to adjust its flow accordingly, to either squeeze through a gap which is becoming more narrow and thus flow faster, to go through a widening gap and thus flow slower, or to go around or divert in some way.

In regards to the above it is important to consider Australia and New Guinea. Australia and New Guinea are traveling North at roughly 3cm - 5cm per year. Not rapid as far as Our time line is concerned, but fast on a universal time scale. And as it does move North water is displaced. As Australia and New Guinea are in the southern hemisphere, it means they are traveling towards the Equator into warmer waters. Can you imagine how much water there is in a strip of water 3cm tall by say 3cm deep by approximate 20,000 kilometers long? I'll tell you, it's 18,000,000,000 cubic centimeters of water. That's a LOT of water. And that's just the Northern tip of Australia and doesn't include the coastline of New Guinea.

As that water is near the Equator it is warm water. And it either needs to speed up to travel through the gap above Australia and below New Guinea - or it needs to divert to go Beneath Australia - a trip towards the South pole which will warm up the cooler southern waters. And the water above New Guinea - which flows towards New Guinea from the east, will also need to go above it into the Equatorial Flow, or below it into the Australian flow.

If it goes below, into the Australian flow, then it needs to divert as normal or go further South down the Australian Coast as it normally does as well. But as it is Warmer water then the effect, while only mild per drop of water, is multiplied thanks to the Amount of water. And remember, this amount of water is Additional and Cumulative to the same volume which diverted the year before - 18,000,000,000cm³ this year, 36,000,000,000cm³ next year, 54,000,000,000cm³ the year after and 72,000,000,000cm³ the year after that, and so on.

If it goes Above New Guinea it could cause a Bump/Ripple into the Equatorial Counter Current - a flow of water that runs along the equator from West to East, while the water to the South and North of that flow (The South and North Equatorial Current) both run East To West.

The Pacific Ocean is an Extremely Large body of water. And so much Warm Water needing to change direction, Will have an effect on Air Temperature in the areas the water flows into. And while it may travel into a cooler section of ocean and thus cool down itself, it is likewise slightly warming that section of oceantraveledlled into. As it comes from the Equator it is coming from an Endless Supply Of Warm. Over time, the cooler waters would raise in temperature as a matter of course. This effect and oceanic water flow is NOT man made. It is the result of wind, geography and topography of the land masses, the Earth's rotation and the Moon's effect on the Earth. The ONLY way to stop the surface and deep flows (despite what is falsely depicted in movies like "The Day After Tomorrow") is for the Earth to stop spinning.

I Don't Fund Other People's Stupidity

2007-02-14T18:52:00.000+10:00

So the other day this Idiot willingly and on purpose, jumps off a cliff into the sea. Why? Just for the thrill of it.

Of course, being an Idiot he didn't give Any Thought to how he was going to get back up the cliff. And so he ended up stuck down below. On a small ledge he'd managed to reach after getting out of the sea. And a Rescue had to be launched and made. Police boats, cars, rescue chopper. And they pulled him out to safety.

Since his rescue he has declared that he doesn't think he should have to pay for his rescue - which has come to about $10,000 all up. And that he'll continue to do other things like his cliff jump to Get A Thrill.

Interestingly, the day before this I received a Money Suck Call from RACQ Careflight. Telling me how they are a Free Service (this really means, someone else pays except the user) and they get 30% funding from Government and 70% from their own sources - like Sponsors and hitting people up for money like me. They reckon it costs around $6,000 per rescue.

I told the woman... I Don't Fund Other People's Rescues and hung up right away. (You Must hang up the phone and be Short to these people. Even say nothing and hang up is another option.)

Imagine if I was a Giver - I'd be giving the fruits of my labor (the money I'd earned, after tax was taken out) so some dickweed, idiotic, unemployed bum can get his jollies by jumping off a cliff into the sea, and then get rescued. Screw That!

Darwin Claims Another One. In similar news, some doink had decided to paddle in the open ocean from Tasmania - Australia's most southern state - to New Zealand. And to do so in a one-man sea kayak Without assistance!!! Of course, he has gone missing, a search has been unable to find him although it did find his upturned kayak. The search has been called off, he is assumed dead, and leaves a small child behind. So while it's good that the Darwin Awards has claimed another person not fit to be part of our gene-pool, it is a shame he leaves a child behind - and shows this guy's disregard for the offspring he brought into the world, to abandon it and put his own life at such great risk, now forcing that child to be a burden on other people who didn't ask for it. (Of course, as he is dead - or staging his own death for insurance money - there really is no-one to foot the rescue bill but us taxpayers.)

Global Warming Insanity Just Never Ends

2007-02-13T05:41:00.000+10:00

Richard Branson (I don't recognized Contrived titles like "Sir") has fallen off the Sanity Wagon. He is offering $25 million for any Scientist who can create a Device which can extract CO2 from the atmosphere.

Forget Trees, Plants and Plankton which do this Naturally (I wonder if I email him and let him know about trees, plants and plankton, if he'll award me the $25 mill), and which increase in number naturally as levels go out of balance, to bring them back into balance. Forget that... Branson - who has been joined by Global Warming Nut Job Al Gore - wants to Mess Around with nature directly!!!

I can just imagine it... he gets his device and starts sucking the CO2 out of the air. But how does he know How Much to remove? What if he removes too much? Plankton dies, and with it whales and the Many other sea creates that live off of it. Trees begin to Perish - and without trees we've got no Oxygen to breathe. And our destruction is assured. Because their ain't no Do Over Button on this. Once the damage is done and we are on a downward spiral, we cannot come back.

Plus, it seems mighty Hypocritical of Branson who makes millions and millions of dollars from his Virgin Airlines which put who knows how much crud into the atmosphere each flight. And his Space Flights project. Also, you would need to ask of such a device... how much CO2 is released into the air to run this device? Can it Extract more CO2 than the amount sent into the air to Power it? And why concentrate on just CO2 when that is not the most abundant Gas which is considered a Greenhouse Gas?

I admire his business moxy and his publicity generating skills (of which, this Could be another example)... but his Environmentalism makes him out to be just your typical Wackjob, but with more money.

If you want to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, cease Indiscriminate logging and destruction of vast areas of Rainforest - and - plant more trees. In fact, his $25 million would be better spent on tree planting. In fact, at $5 a tree he could plant 5,000,000 trees. And once planted, they wouldn't require additional energy to run and remove the CO2 from the atmosphere. But let's not talk about something that makes sense.

Crime Is Okay, If It's For A Good Cause

2007-02-11T07:20:00.000+10:00

There is a Remake of Pink Floyd's "Brick In The Wall" song. In which an upbeat drum sound has been added. Well. Apart from the factor of leaving such Classics alone to be enjoyed for the Skill of the musicians - who played real live instruments - the film clip Endorses Crime.

In the clip we see Students - who have obviously been indoctrinated by the environmental do-gooders - breaking into people homes to replace old fashioned lightbulbs with the energy saving kind, turning off TVs to save electricity (which have obviously been left on to deter would-be thieves into thinking someone was home), placing bricks into toilet cisterns to Save Water and other Environmental things.

This gives the Impression that the means - crime - justifies the end - reducing the amount of electricity and water used. And as it's a film clip aimed at the younger generation, it's also part of an indoctrination system - if it's ok in the clip it's okay in real life. And while these younger people might not actually break into someone's home, they get fed this Save The World At The Expense Of Our Own Choice rhetoric. They are tomorrow's leaders.

And while the media and broadcasters bans such footage as Terrorists crashing planes into buildings because it might upset people, it joyously shows students committing crimes. The difference, the crime is for the Common Good.

Doomed - It's Just A Matter of Time. Oh Well. (Global Warming Part I)

2007-02-10T06:19:00.000+10:00

I will still write on the Truth of Global Warming. But for now, realize this... no matter which way you think about it, whether you believe that humans cause global warming or whether you believe global warming is part of a natural cycle of weather on this planet, each government Will fall under the spell of the Global Warming Activists.

Why?

Because of what it means to a government to do so. Meaning...

Governments, while their mandate is Really only to protect its citizens from Outside Invasion and to uphold Property Rights internally, have taken it upon themselves to be our Masters. To Control Us, in ever more stringent measures. Removing our freedoms one small step at a time. With the final conclusion being a Socialist/Communist Dictatorship or a Fascist Dictatorship - the difference is minor.

But to do so, they need a Reason to pass their ever more restricting laws and decrees. The usual suspects are War, Safety and Environment.

We already have the War on An Action. I mean, the War on Terror - the biggest crock of shit since the war on drugs. But now we have Global Warming - a term I use meaning, climate changes caused by humans.

If the public can accept this - that climate change is caused by humans - then the government can pass all kinds of restrictive measures and controls onto the populace in the name of Saving The Environment. Such as...

No electricity after a certain time of night. To help reduce the Coal Powerstation Emissions, and thus reduce what They call Greenhouse Gases. And thus reduce the potential of Global Warming. With only those who Pay for a Permit allowed to use power after that time - besides off-peak hotwater, of course. (Oh yes, I failed to mention, all measures will require payments and money from the tax payers - as is always the govt way, no matter the problem the govt solution is always more taxes.)

Enforced car pooling on permitted days. Meaning, you can only drive your car on days allowed by your car's plate. Odds on one day and Evens on the other day. The only way to travel to and from work will be in car pools or via public transport. Again, exceptions can be made for those with a permit such as Disabled, Tradesmen who need their tools, courier and transport companies and so on.

Land reclamation or restriction. Reduce the availability of land to be used to build housing estates, and even reclaim some land and turn it into national parkland. This, of course, will require buy backs in some instances and more taxes to do it. Certain permits may again be Bought to allow exemption under certain conditions.

Flora planting. With the govt reclaiming land to plant trees. X number of trees for each person. To combat the CO2 emissions - as trees convert CO2 into Oxygen. This will, of course, be funded by us by way of increased taxes. No exemptions allowed unless it can be proven you've already paid the money for New Tree Growth to an independent environmental group. (Yes, such tree planting groups do currently exist.)

And this is just the start... or should I say... a taste of a Few things the govt Could do. All in the name of Saving The Globe. They could do worse!

Like start to play with ways to Cool the Globe or Reflect the Sun's heat/rays. They can't even accurately predict weather three days out but reckon they can predict Global Warming and know how to fix it. THAT is scary. THAT is why I say we are doomed. The pieces are in place. Unless something drastic happens - such as a Newspaper publishing a series of rebuttals against the Global Warming Scare Mongers, and thus negating the snow job being done on the public and thus allow politicians to opt out of the road to destruction they would otherwise take us on - the acceptance of Man Made Global Warming could result in the species taking a series of steps which would actually wipe us out instead of save us!

It's like a group of lemmings. Cheering as they dance off to their demise. Ignorant and Oblivious to the cries of those on the sidelines trying to prevent them. Trying to get them to Wake Up and Think. A hopelessness if you will. Where in the end the only choice will be for those who are not caught up in the frenzy, to look after their own hide and scamper to where they determine it will be safest to live while the rest of the world destroys itself, and the climate of the globe with it.

Look. This isn't something that will happen in the next 12 months. It's a long term thing. But it's where I see it all going unless Man Made Global Warming is revealed for the Fraud it is.

The War on Terror - a term I despise for its falseness but which the media accepted without questions and uses endlessly - has already seen our Freedom Of Movement have restrictions placed upon it. This is just another thing that will do likewise. Mark my words. And I shall remind you as each Progress Step is taken.

Step 1: Words and Labels. Call Man Made Global Warming, Global Warming. So the two are thus linked intricately, even though that are Not one and the same. Also, call those who disagree with Man Made Global Warming, call them Deniers - the word Deny implies a truth being denied. For instance, if I say, "My next door neighbor Tim is the second coming of Christ." Those who do not agree will be called Deniers - instead of me being called a fruit cake. Repeat both terms endlessly to Teach the public What to think.

Step 2: The leader of Australia, while just the other day Questioning the degree of link between man and global warming, has now gone back on that statement. Meaning, he now Accepts the link - regardless of degree. A backflip or flipflop which would only have come about after an Opinion Poll was taken, I estimate. Next will probably be the signing of the Kyoto Protocol - a despicable piece of "Legislation" put out by the United Nations (United Nincompoops) to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. An Accord which would make those who agree to it, subject to the whim of the UN - giving up partial control of their own countries (Kyoto is underwritten by governments and is governed by global legislation enacted under the UNÂs aegis).

Remember what I said about Drugs - Who is saying it and What do they gain? In this case, the UN says it and the UN gains - power over other countries - and - as the UN is really a big Socialist Hang Out with a Mob Rules mentality, agreeing to the Accord stifles capitalism and reduces a country's ability to Progress further.

Think about it... Progress could mean more people, infrastructure building and so on, all of which sees machinery in use on a Massive scale and that means exhaust - but - the accord wants a Reduction in such exhaust and the only way to do that is to stifle progress (ban private transport and force public transport, for an example of the extreme). Thus, the UN rules over countries which signed on. And considering the UN has toyed with the idea of a World Tax... it doesn't take a genius to see what the UN wants. - All for the Common Good, of course, whatever That means.

Opinion Polls - The Bane Of Intelligent People The Globe Over

2007-02-05T21:08:00.000+10:00

A Lot of the Insanity we have comes from the Elected Power-Mongers - EPMs, otherwise known as Politicians. And it's all due to Opinion Polls. They determine their course of action by the polls. By Ever Changing Public Opinion. Never mind that the Public doesn't have all the facts and their opinions are Knee-Jerk-Reactions to sensationalised and slanted news reporting and devoid of any Proof to back it up. And never mind reality. If the polls approve, then do it. If the polls do not approve, then do not do it. Which makes you wonder why bother having a politician in the first place? After all, they are dodging their responsibility by only doing what the Opinion Polls say is a good thing. (Tag line: Become a lefty, dodge responsibility - or - become a lefty, blame someone else. HA!)

I bet some EPMs even do phone polls to decide whether they should do an opinion poll on the subject they want to make a decision about.

Of course, another problem with such polls is, the question is broken down into a simplistic form. And the answer, which would have been "Depends on..." is reduced to a Yes or No vote. Such as one Classroom Poll which asked, "Do you believe in mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders? Yes or No".

Such a question can result in slanted answers Depending on what information was heard before the poll was taken. Such as hearing of Offenders being given Suspended sentences and then Offending again and again, maybe in some violent way. Such information would get more Yes votes. But if the information heard before was all about how minor offenses saw people getting brutally attacked in jail and ending up in hospital, then there would be more No votes.

But in such cases, the lefty, activist do-gooders will take such polls and use the results - if favorable to their cause - to get media air time and to Push their own Agenda.

All published poll results are totally and utterly useless and meaningless unless we know the following...

1: What was asked?
2: How was it asked? (Tone and Wording can make a difference - "you don't believe in such-and-such do you?" as compared to "do you believe in such-and-such". Questions that start with "Should..." have been Proven to be thought of by the brain as Commands rather than questions. And "Do you..." sees the brain ignore the word 'Do' and thus the statement is accepted as a command)
3: Who was asked? (Men, women, employed people, unemployed, certain religious leaning, certain political leaning, young, old, etc. - an employed white right-leaning female Christian will answer differently to an unemployed black left-leaning Atheist male)
4: What time of day was the question asked? (during rush-hour, lunch, etc.)
5: Was it a phone poll or a face-to-face poll? (the way a person dresses and their facial expressions can garner different responses)
6: What was the gender of the asker? (Males can get different results than females for the same question)
7: Was it a spoken or written poll? If written, what was the Order of the answer options? (it's been scientifically proven that people choose the first option in a list, regardless of what that option is)
8: What information did the person being asked know of before being asked? How was that information presented to them? How soon after that information became known was the poll taken?

Knowing the answer to these eight questions gives us additional information from which we can then make a More-Informed Decision as to the Validity of the answers.

With regards to number 8. In Australia the heads of each major party have made some comments recently. In essence, the leader of the country (conservative party) announced his plan to make it a Federal Responsibility to look after one of the country's Major rivers. While the Opposition Leader (leftist/socialist party) announced that IF Elected at the next election he would have Free University and other Free Education (of course, this ignores that Public Schools are the responsibility of the State government and Not Federal government).

The leftist media reported on the Leader's plan to Hit Taxpayers to Fund his plan. While did not say the same about the Opposition plan - even though it would also be funded by Hitting Taxpayers.

Let me use this example to show you how polls can be manipulated...

Scenario 1: The media reports, "Howard's river plan to buy back all the water leases will cost tax payers ten billion dollars."

You are then asked, "Is Howard's river plan a good idea? No or Yes"

Scenario 2: The media reports, "Some wealthy farmers are sucking millions and millions of gallons of water out of the river system for their own selfish greedy purposes while hardworking farmers further down river are being deprived of water to grow much needed crops."

You are then asked, "Should Howard put control measures into place so all farmers on the river get the water they need? Yes or No"

Both polls are asking, in essence, whether Howard should implement his river plan. But, due to the information received before the question, and the way the question was asked, the answers will be different.

Now let me show you with the Free University concept...

Scenario 1: The media informs you, "Many students are struggling to pay the high university fees and have to abandon their life-saving medical studies and their dreams of helping people overcome illness and take low paying menial jobs."

You are asked, "Do you support Free University? Yes or No"

Scenario 2: You are informed, "University courses are funded by tax payer dollars. Meaning, money is taken from you to pay for someone else's university studies. It isn't really free. It's free for the student who pays nothing, but hard working people like you are paying for that student's education with their taxes."

You are asked, "Do you want some of your hard-earned pay taken to pay for someone else's university education? No or Yes"

The essence is the same, you paying for someone else's university. But, depending on the information you receive before being asked, and how you are asked, your answer will be different.

This is why it is Paramount to know the answer to the 8 questions I listed above. Only by knowing the answer to those questions can you make an informed decision as to the validity of the poll results. Though, you will find in the vast majority of cases, the poll is not actually valid. And is used as a Manipulation Tool to push through certain agendas.

Now please feel free to leave your Opinion on this. HA!

First Australia, Now The US - More Global Warming Craziness From The Socialists

2007-02-02T19:17:00.000+10:00

Okay. You already know about Australian of the Year going to someone Concerned about Global Warming (and when I use the word Global Warming I am referring to the unsubstantiated and unproven claim that, the Earth is heating up And Humans and their Carbon Dioxide Emission are the Sole cause of this heating up - in future entries I will talk more candidly about Climate Truths). Well, it now seems a couple of Moonbats from the Socialist Left Party have decided to nominate ex-Vice President Al Gore for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize "for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming" - of course, they also nominated a Canadian Inuit Activist, which should explain their mental state without comment.

This Nomination clearly shows the Silliness of the Nobel Peace Prize. Anyone can nominate anyone else. That person can then get Coverage as Being Nominated for the prize - even if they have zero hope of winning - as is the case here.

Look at Gore. He has Done Nothing. But he is being nominated for what amounts to a "Global Warming Awareness Week" campaign. Just another Notch of Insanity on Gore's belt.

But imagine if he won! He'd be getting an award for letting people know about a non-existent problem. That'd be hilarious. And in a way, I hope he does win. Which will prove once and for all how utterly useless and pointless and Political those awards actually are. (Though I fear, if he does win, the media will push their Global Warming agenda more so.)

What's funny is, when Al Gore has held talks in New York on Global Warming, it's been Freezing Cold and snowing. Too funny. In fact, he'd be a laughing stock, if it wasn't for the sad fact Many people believe him and he is in a position of Elected Power. The inmates are running the asylum.

Strollers Cause Communication Difficulties

2007-02-01T18:11:00.000+10:00

The only thing to fear is not Fear Itself, but the Liberal Media and their Publishing of any wacked out Pseudo Science Theory as if it were established fact. In short, a complete and utter lack of thought process before reporting something as a Fact.

Take the latest from the dickwads in England. They reckon, "Forward-facing buggies have been identified by early years professionals as one of the factors believed to be contributing to the poor communication skills of children entering kindergarten and school." And as a result The British National Literacy Trust (whoever they are with this official-sounding name) has called on manufacturers and retailers to cut the cost of rear-facing prams and strollers.

Now I'd like to point out a few things about this English Madness as quoted...

"Forward-facing buggies have been identified by early years professionals [what is an Early Year Professional, and Who are these so-called professionals - the word professional makes it sound legit - who are doing this mysterious identifying, and How many of them are there?] as one of the factors [you mean, there are Other Factors? Well, what are they you so-called professional] believed to be [oh... it's just Believed to be. In other words, it's a Guess without Any evidence Whatsoever to back it up] contributing [oh, it just Contributes but doesn't actually cause] to the poor communication skills [how are these communication skills Measured to determine whether a child has good skills or poor skills - specially for a kid entering kindergarten] of children entering kindergarten and school."

Now let me give you an example of how tricky this wording can be... I'll use the same wording but change the subject matter...

"Too high dashboards in cars have been identified by car crash analysts as one of the factors believed to be contributing to the poor driving skills of adults entering roads and streets."

There you go. I made that up as I went. It reads the same. I have Nothing to back up anything in it. I am calling myself a Car Crash Analyst. And yet, people would read such jibble and buy it.

But let's assume the Communication Skills in such young children really are lacking. Would the direction a stroller faced be a factor?

NO WAY!

If not that, then what?

How 'bout this...

The children are not learning to communicate well because: mom and dad just plonk them down in front of the TV (or strap them to the tv as the graphic shows) and hope Nickelodeon and cartoons will raise their children. They never talk to them, play with them, or have anything to do with them. The TV and impersonal Day Care takes care of that. No wonder kids don't learn to communicate well. They have TV, a disinterested 19 year old day care worker trying to look after 30 other rug rats, and other unskilled-at-communicating kids as their source of skills.

But, of course, we cannot blame such liberal things as day care - which has allowed women to have a career and break free of their imaginary shackles and certainly of their Duty and Responsibility of raising a child (heck, those day care parents don't even ask Grandma and Granddad to mind the kids, which would be Far better and is what Used to happen when day care didn't exist). No. We must blame the big bad stroller manufacturing companies that make rear-facing strollers cost so much. If it wasn't for those greedy companies, kids would be able to communicate better. Of course, that this only seems to be a new thing - right in line with the above mentioned TV babysitter and day care - and didn't seem to effect all those of us in years gone past who grew up with forward facing strollers, is completely ignored. And it's best we don't delve too far into it for fear of discovering the truth, right?

And, if dat wernt bad enuff... oops, sorry, I was having a Forward Facing Stroller Relapse of Poor Communication.

Saddam Hussein Not Dead - Seen Ten Pin Bowling With Elvis - Film At 11

2007-01-31T18:36:00.000+10:00

It's true. At least, according to some moron over in Egypt. And what's more Interesting is, there are Bunches of people in the Middle East who agree - and believe it!?

You see. What they believe is this... Saddam Hussein was Not executed, it was his Double that was executed. AND, his two sons - Uday and Qusay - who were killed during the initial stages of the conflict, were Not actually killed either... it was Their doubles.

Which all goes to prove the people in the Middle East are just as big morons as those in the USA who believe Elvis is Alive. And what's scary is, these insane people - on both sides - can vote. I'm sorry, but if you lack the mental capacity to distinguish the real from the totally made up, then you shouldn't be voting - or driving, or living for that matter. Heck, they think it's a good idea to blow themselves up - sure that should tell you about their mental state - looney. As such, to solve the Middle East Problem and rid the globe of all those mental cases with a death wish I'd like to offer the Corporal Hicks Solution, "I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit... it's the only way to be sure." (Corporal Hicks to Lieutenant Ripley about dealing with the enemy they were fighting.)

Now excuse me while I go play a round of golf with Elvis' double...

Child Abuse - Hidden In The Open, Where No-One Sees (Numbskull Alert)

2007-01-30T18:43:00.000+10:00

A lot of the state of Queensland in Australia is suffering a Drought. Brisbane - the state's capital city - has only around 20% of their dam's capacity of water left. And there is much talk about recycling the Sewage water and pumping it back into the dam - in cases of emergency only.

The nearby city of the Gold Coast has also had a water crisis. Although recent rains topped up their dam, their dam isn't as big as Brisbane's 3 dams and empties fast. And doubly so because it is a Tourist Mecca with up to half a million tourists in the city at any one moment. In response, the Gold Coast Council is building a Desalination Plant - which makes sense seeing as the city is a Beachside City. But not everyone agrees with such Progress... As seen below...

Some woman, who named this 3 year old child Neroli (which gives a hint at what kind of woman the mother is - can you spell Hippie?), is against the plant. It's not enough she needs to be batty enough to want the authorities to make it Mandatory for all Houses to have rainwater tanks - although, her genius stops there as she has no idea how such tanks would help the 30+ storey highrise buildings and holiday resorts which dot the Coast - she drags her helpless daughter into it. As if a 3 year old child has Any idea about such a thing - or even Should have such an idea. (3 year old kids should be Worry Free and Enjoy life.)

And in so doing, she is trying to use Emotional Blackmail to make us all think of the Children. I hate this kind of Child Abuse - Using A Child to garner sympathy for your own agenda.

Does she have any other Solutions besides rainwater tanks - like what to do if it doesn't rain and thus fill your tank, which is what caused the problem in the first place? Well... No, of course not. And certainly nothing which will save the city before the dam runs dry. Such drongos don't have solutions. They just see problems. And want to Halt progress.

Like one of the Anti-Plant doinks says he's concerned for the fish near the plant (half a million people can die for lack of water as long as a few fish are fine? He needs to rethink his priorities). The increased brine output Might make it harder for those fish to live there, HE says, not that he actually knows for sure though. Of course, he also fails to see that if it is too salty - the salty sea being too salty? - the fish will Swim elsewhere (something they are quite able to do, without permission from the Authorities).

More evidence of their insanity... they are Protesting the plant which is Well underway and will be providing water by the start of next year. As if they somehow hope the local Authorities will suddenly cease all construction and leave a big concrete mess half built just because that's what they want.

If we followed the leads of these child abusing numbskulls, we'd all have bone-dry rainwater tanks but at least we could go fishing near one part of the coast.

Environmental Wacko Gets Australian Of The Year

2007-01-29T18:48:00.000+10:00

Oh. My. God. (OMG). Australia has gone loopy-loopy-loop and given Australian of The Year to some anti-social lab guy for his Environmental Concerns about the non-existent scaremongering, all-encompassing term the gullible media call "Global Warming". A Disaster which Must be averted at all costs by, they tell us... Cooling The Globe.

These doinks can't even prevent people from drinking and driving... or smoking pot in their homes... and they want to mess about with the climate of the word. And now, it seems, are getting awards for wanting to do it. Lunacy. Sheer lunacy.

Never mind the millennia of natural cyclical weather patterns - which are proven to vary greatly. All that Common Sense goes right out the window when the words Global Warming are spoken. But hey... check it out...

Do you know, that global warming is responsible for the warping of train tracks which, if not fixed in time, could lead to untold environmental disasters when chemical carrying train cars derail and spill their contents onto the ground, into our water system (directly and indirectly through the artesian water system) and into the air as it evaporates?

Are you aware that global warming has the unique distinction of both causing Increased Rain - and - Decreased Rain in a climatic twist known as Climatic Bi-Polar Disorder (CBD)? And that the lack of rain in certain cities is directly attributed to the Heat Swell caused by the condensed living and transport (all those people close together results in Combined Body Heat, which unites with the increased radiated heat from the stone buildings, bitumen roads and, of course, automobile engines) and that is why the clouds cannot cool down and deposit their rain?

Did you know that global warming has caused the North Pole to melt at such a rate that some people are beginning to plant summer fruit crops on the newly exposed land and are growing the most tasty fruits in the modern world because of the increased nutrient density of the previously unfarmed soil, coupled with the mineralised and pure water coming from the melting permafrost? But that with each passing season, the rising sea level forces those farmers to move their operation to higher and higher grounds to avoid being flooded out. And if it wasn't for the Water Height Remediation Initiative that governments around the world are instigating right now, in secret, all our coastal cities would by 12 feet under water?

Are you aware that not all the ridiculous points I just mentioned were made up by me and have actually been deemed as an Actual Effect of global warming? Can you guess which?

But hey. That's not the only Australian of the Year insanity. Nope. Junior Aussie goes to some lefty-do-gooder for Helping "Indigenous Australians" - Aborigines to you and me, or Abos (Abo plural) as us common folk say it. What do they need help with? Washing the venomous spiders out of their hair? Learning how to be unproductive, sit on their ass, live off of welfare, voluntarily drink booze all day and then complain about their hard lot in life?

I've got a secret. I am Personally Responsible for the hard life of All the Abos. Yep. I visit them each and every day and night. I give them loads of booze - sometimes even tying them down and forcing it down their throats. And I tell them... "don't you dare clean yourself up, buy a newspaper and look for a job. I'll be coming back later to make sure of it". If it wasn't for my oppression, every Abo in Australia would be well off, in good health, and with a good high paying job in a position of importance. Believe it or don't.