Bored, much?

Words.

2012-02-08T00:06:00.001+10:30

Simple words

Carry heavy burdens.

Casual phrases

Tossed in the air

With all the care

Of a toddler’s penwork

Often hit harder

Than a smith’s hammer

Tearing across the heart

Like the cold fingers

Of a tsunami.

Tabs are bad.

2011-10-03T19:19:00.002+10:30

I am writing today about the dangers of tabs.

Tab: n. an open order of items to be paid for in total later, such as drinks ordered from a bar.

Most people know the tab as an elusive beast, found most commonly in popular culture, or occasionally at a friend's birthday party (when the parents are feeling particularly generous). Tabs symbolise the wistful dreams of every student and other alcoholic in denial. The idea that beverages can be freely taken from the bar with no future financial or other consequences.

With this utopian ideal in mind, I opened a tab on Saturday night. Not once, but twice. It was glorious. At first.

Something about that first purchase, after exchanging a credit/debit card for a numbered piece of plastic, warms the soul. It's a feeling of freedom, that the night is limitless and that you are "the man". I am henceforth referring to this feeling as the "Tab complex".

Some downsides of the Tab complex include overconfidence, mild amnesia (particularly of any financial situations) and overwhelming generosity. As I returned to my table with the third round of shots, bought predominantly for people I didn't know or had only just met, the fact that within the short space of 30 minutes my tab had reached a healthy $120 was far from my mind. Money continued to be spent at this rate for some time. This possibly important piece of information was not discovered until the following morning, when I realised my bank balance was nonexistent.

The Tab complex is not all cons though. You are immediately welcome amongst all groups (probably due to the "good bloke" illusion) and, if you remain sober enough (which I was nowhere near) there is a chance to really make a connection with your new-found friends. There's also the bonus of being able to get absolutely sh*t-faced without ever having to hand over any real money - until it comes to the close of the night.

As a result of my experiences, I can set out some basic ground rules regarding the use of a tab, so that you avoid my unfortunate discovery the following morning:

Rule 1: Do NOT, under any circumstances, open a tab if you are already drunk.

Rule 2: Try and operate a tab with one designated friend in your group, so that they can police your spending when you do reach drunkenness.

Rule 3: Rounds of shots can seem like an excellent idea every time, but try and limit yourself. They are a very easy way to burn through money.

Rule 4: NEVER use a credit card. It's one thing to spend your money, it's entirely another to spend money that isn't.

Rule 5: If possible, give the bar staff a limit on how much can be spent on the tab. This is more to protect you from yourself.

These rules are by no means concrete, but if you stick to them, you will hopefully avoid the horror of realising you don't have enough money to get a cab home, let alone eat for the next week.

Yours in folly,

~Coops

Medicare is the pits.

2011-07-25T23:47:00.002+09:30

Do I really need to expand beyond the title?

I suppose I should give it some context.

In the past few months I have started a new job, been promoted, and subsequently discovered the bane of all things enjoyable: Medicare. In two days I spent over 10 hours on the phone to Medicare. Admittedly I was being paid for those 10 hours, but still, that is ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is Medicare's over the top stance on privacy. Yes, I understand if you can't give me someone's home address, but when I'm trying to track down missing payments it gets a teensy bit frustrating. Especially when the dialogue consists mainly of:

Random Medicare Demon 1: Well, that cheque has been presented.

Me: Ok, when?

RMD 1: I can't tell you that.

Me: ...can you tell me what bank account?

RMD 1: No.

Me: So despite the fact that my practice has every legal entitlement to that cheque, you can't tell me anything apart from it's been banked?

RMD 1: Yes.

Me: What can I do?

RMD 1: Pray?

...10 minutes later...

Me: Hi, I called up just before trying to track a cheque, when I called the relevant client and they never received it. *gives client details*

RMD 2: Oh, that was never issued.

Me: Excuse me?

RMD 2: We have no record of any claim being lodged for that date.

Me: ...

...following up a different cheque...

RMD 3: Oh, that cheque has gone stale.

Me: Excuse me?

RMD 3: Well if a cheque isn't presented after 15 months, it just goes "stale" and the whole claim is cancelled.

Me: I thought if cheques weren't presented after a few months they payment was EFT'd to the applicable bank account?

RMD 3: Oh, that's only for GPs. I don't know why they don't do it for specialists.

Me: So how do we get the payment?

RMD 3: Oh, you need to resubmit the claim. Then we'll send out another cheque.

Me: After 15 months, we didn't get the last one. What do you think our chances are this time?

RMD 3: Oh.

I guess I wouldn't have such an issue if things weren't so... confusing? I mean, if a system is in place where cheques that don't reach their intended GPs within 3 months are automatically banked, why can't the same be done for specialists? More importantly, why can't Medicare tell a provider (or representative of) where the money they are entitled to has gone? One RMD told me the only way to track a cheque was to go back to the date of the appointment and start looking through bank statements.

Recently I called up because of an issue with a client's Mental Health Care Plan. long story short, if you have a MHCP, you get a sizeable rebate from Medicare (so they're understandably quite desirable). The RMD I spoke to said there was an issue with the referring GPs provider number, but couldn't say what. I called the GP clinic and confirmed the provider number. The receptionist there then called Medicare, called me back and said everything should be ok. I called Medicare again, but no, there was an issue. After an hour of playing phone tag, it was finally worked out that the GP had billed a 2712 instead of a 2702. The difference? A 2712 is the MHCP billed by GPs who have had up-to-date vocational training in mental health. A 2702 is for those who haven't. The GP had up-to-date training, Medicare just didn't have a record of it.

I made a small poem:

M is for morons, manning the lines.

E is for exasperating, all of the time.

D is for death, what I wish would come.

I is for ingrates (that word's just fun).

C is for c*nts, all RMDs are.

A is for anger, this blogpost's star.

R is for raqequit, an option I wish was there.

E is for everlasting, any call to Medicare.

Nyargh.

/rant.

~Coops

Anyone have Satan's hotline? Need to trade soul.

2011-04-20T19:38:00.002+09:30

I have to say, I'm loving the new spate of historical/fantasy dramas that are pouring out onto the TV.

Admittedly it started off several years ago with the likes of Rome and The Tudors, but now we are seeing such things as Spartacus: Blood and Sand, as well as its prequel, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Camelot, The Game of Thrones, and The Borgias - just to name a few that have caught my eye over the past few years.

Personally, I drool at the thought of seeing the streets and plains of Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe and other fantastical areas being brought to life on the not-quite-big screen. And for the moment, considering the quality of productions being turned out, it's far from overkill.

Now that I've vented that (and procrastinated from a Psychology assignment), hopefully I can go back to concentrating on selling my soul to the devil in exchange for a decent FoPaC grade.

Now in the ICU: Campus Culture

2011-03-01T21:02:00.001+10:30

Ladies and gentleman, I have a heart-breaking announcement to make.

Our dear friend and loved one, campus culture, has fallen terribly ill. For those of you who did not really get a chance to meet CC (as I have of this moment affectionately named it), it was a fun-loving, generous creature that brought joy and merriment to all who encountered it, always up for something different and exciting, the type of thing that always made new memories - however hazy they may be. For those who already knew CC, you can only be as distraught as I am at its decline. There may be some who are shocked at an apparently rapid plummet in health, however I can only say it has been coming for some time. The exact cause is unknown - whether it be the move to Voluntary Student Unions, or just general lack of interest - and the doctors are stumped.

Some of the earlier symptoms included:
- Low involvement in on-campus activities, such as O'Week
- Decreasing patron numbers at UniBar
- Decreasing interest in off-campus activities, such as O'Camp
- Increasing numbers of "study-only" students

In my opinion, too much time has been spent pointing the finger at potential causes of what could have caused these issues, and not enough in actually resolving them.

I guess the first thing to do is ask, why? Why is campus culture so important?

It's quite simple. What makes the University of Adelaide different from Flinders University and UniSA?

Enough said.

But for those of you who didn't quite understand that, let me explain. The UofA is the only university in South Australia that people go to for a 'student experience'. UniSA has a bazillion campuses (well, six), and yet none of them have anything close to what UofA offers at its North Terrace base. Flinders, admittedly, tries quite hard, but it's falling prey more and more to the "study-only" students (yes, that phenomenon I mentioned before); that is, students who walk onto campus, attend their classes, borrow a book or two from the library if needed, and promptly leave. And they'll spend the entirety of their 3 - 5 year degree repeating this.
UofA, on the other hand, has the whole package. It's a 5-minute walk from every form of public transport (because no-one likes being forced to drive to and park in a car-park so far away it's labelled 'Siberia'). It has multiple cafés on-campus, as well as being adjacent to not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR food courts. It is also the only word with a true-to-its-name UniBar, one so appealing in fact, that Flinders students would rather take a 30 minute bus ride to drink there, than visit their own, questionable establishment. Add to this around 20 different sporting clubs, an almost ridiculous number of clubs supporting other interests and hobbies (ranging from political parties to The Society for Creative Anachronism) and you have a university that offers not just an education, but an experience, if not a lifestyle. It's probably one of the reasons so many students are content to stay studying at Adelaide for a decade or so. But even for those who want to do their degree as quickly as possible and get out, it's an opportunity to try something you always wanted to, excel at something other than studies, or just meet some people that you normally wouldn't.

The second (and more important) question that needs to be asked is how? How can we treat the decline in interest?

Unfortunately this is something I can only hypothesise about. There is no quick-fix solution, and there is nothing that can be done by one person. To be honest, the UofA needs to take a hard look at itself, and ask what does it want from its students? Is the money of international students enough, or does it want to retain the title of the only university in SA offering more than study? I would hope so. It needs to offer more support to activities that promote this culture. O'Camp for one. This year, O'Camp was canceled, due to lack of interest. Personally, I disagree with this. I say it wasn't allowed to happen, because so many limitations are placed on its advertising that there is no possible way it can generate any interest. Excuses such as, "we can't promote an event where alcohol is served to schools" is, to be blunt, absolute bollocks. Yes, you don't want to be describing O'Camp as a drunken orgy (no matter how close to the truth it may or may not be), but it has to be recognised that this is a responsible event, where alcohol is handled as it would be in any bar, club or bottle-shop. No ID, no service.

That being said, there is only so much the UofA high-up can do. And that's when the students need to take a good long look in the mirror. You may not think there are enough events on campus - well, I have a shocking revelation for you: events cost time and money. And money doesn't grow on trees. There is a reason that becoming a member of the AUU has a price (a terribly high one of $25, ohmygawsh - not) and that is so they can try and provide events, services, etc. to the students. If every student at UofA became a member, hell, if half of the students became members, you'd be looking at $200k minimum that could be spent on events, discounts, services, perks, you name it.

Even if (for some reason) you're horribly against unions of any kind, spending money at university facilities, funnily enough, benefits the university. That is, if you go up to the UniBar and buy a $10 jug, some of that $10 is going back towards other things that help you, as opposed to going to the Austral/Exeter/Elephant/Botanic, where no matter how much money you spend, you're probably not going to get anything beyond dehydration and a substantial gap in your memory of the evening's events - not that that doesn't happen at UniBar. But you get my point.
That being said, I wouldn't force you to eat at Mayo, because let's face it, that food is more often than not, terrible. But instead of grabbing your FUIC from the K-Foods, maybe poke your head in Mayo, or Briefs, or the Backstage Café.

Campus Culture is dying. We, the students, need to step up and revive it, and push for the UofA to do the same.

Modern Reality TV - All About Sex?

2011-02-14T20:05:00.005+10:30

The 21st century has seen a huge increase in reality-style TV shows. Building from the competition-based Big Brother, American Idol and Popstars clones, more and more shows are beginning to move away from the competitive nature, and focus more on real-life situations, where drama does not need to be manufactured and forced through a group of people living in restricted space (because let's face it, drama is arguably the key audience winner for most of these shows). The main network to push out these new shows is without a doubt MTV, and for some time had a near-monopoly on the concept. Shows such as My Super Sweet 16 and Exiled are front-runners in setting the benchmark, however it was soon realised that a diverse range of shows was needed in order to fully capture the reality feel. The creation of the infamous Jackass franchise (and other related shows such as Viva la Bam and The Dudesons) is one example of this, as well as Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd, and the often laughable Pimp My Ride. What really seemed to provide everything an audience wanted, however, was Jersey Shore.

Jersey Shore copped a lot of flak for various reasons on its debut. Multiple Italian-American organisations felt that the show was bordering on racist, and the Governor of New Jersey expressed annoyance at the negativity thrown on New Jersey by the show, despite the fact that none of the cast members were from New Jersey. Needless to say, the show's popularity is undeniable, with multiple American spin-offs being produced, as well as Canadian and British versions. Whilst the first season only averaged 2.7 million viewers (keep in mind that 4.8 million watched the season finale), the second season averaged a stunning 5.252 million, and the third season premiere hit just under 8.5 million viewers - making it MTV's most viewed telecast of all time. That is until the second and fourth episodes were aired, garnering 8.57 and 8.87 million viewers respectively.

But what is it about Jersey Shore that makes it so appealing? Yes, it is rife with the drama that brings out the schadenfreude in all of us, but surely that can't be the only factor. It's openness towards sex, nightlife and general party aspects are undoubtedly as enticing as the constant disagreements, arguments and outright conflict.

And it's those last factors that really need to be looked at closely. In particular, sex. Today's society is far more open about sex and sexuality than it has been in decades. It's interesting to note that this openness is almost cyclic; by all accounts the ancient world was more open than today's, as well as the Renaissance world; however today the subject is far more acceptable than it was a hundred years ago. And TV programs are following this. Programs in the '70s - the age of 'free love' - were heavily censored, and it was not really until the late '00s that nudity and blatant sexual activity became acceptable to air - prime examples of this would be Rome, The Tudors, and Spartacus, just to name a few. While these are examples of fictional shows, the same has begun to happen in the reality world. My Super Sweet 16 has now become 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. Sex is even spilling into competitive shows, with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette being replaced by shows such as A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. Whilst drama is again a key factor of these shows, I'm unwilling to suggest they'd be as successful without the blatant sexual overtones - and in some cases, sex acts.

A more recent show that has just finished airing is the product of the UK's Channel 4. Titled The Joy of Teen Sex, it is a semi-documentary, filmed in similar a format to 16 and Pregnant. The show aims to answer various questions that British teens may have regarding sex and their bodies, particularly focusing on questions that are likely to cause embarrassment. Through the use of real-life stories, a team of actors demonstrating sex acts, and investigative journalism (there is a teenage journalist with her own section), the show aims to provide as much information as possible. In some cases, quite graphic information.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude. But there is a huge difference between suggestive silhouettes and full frontal nudity. And I'm still fine with full frontal. When it gets to the point of watching a bloke receive a Prince Albert piercing, or an in-depth examination of a girl's STI-ridden genitals (or picture thereof), I do have a little bit of a problem coping.

I suppose the question I'm asking is, how much information is too much information? Are we so desensitized that we need fully confrontational material in order to get the message home? Or do we just enjoy being confronted, or shocked?

More than anything, will we ever have a chance of breaking free of the grip of schadenfreude, or are we doomed to forever find the greatest joy in the distress of others?

Treason, Espionage, and Other Fun Words

2010-12-18T10:30:00.002+10:30

One of the major international news stories at the moment is the ongoing prosecution of WikiLeaks' mastermind and founder, Julian Assange. There is a considerable amount of flak flying from both sides, with governments worldwide condemning the man, and a huge public following showing support.

What's interesting, is that in a lot of countries out for his blood, he may actually not have committed any crime.

The Australian Federal Police concluded an investigation into Assange's actions by advising the Government that there had been no breaches of Australian law. This of course comes after PM Julia Gillard's scathing comments about Assange, including an assertion that his actions were entirely illegal. This faux pas seems to have cost Labor a significant amount of public support - although that is neither here nor there in terms of the issue at hand. WikiLeaks has been publishing classified documents that it argues will allow the global public to better educate themselves in terms of government policy. The question that needs to be asked is whether the documents released are actually effective in doing this. In some cases, definitely, such as the proposed Australian web blacklist. However, Bill McGowan raises a very good point when he proposes that, "Naming names of diplomats who have issued candid assessments of sensitive foreign affairs and foreign leaders, under the expectation of confidentiality, will destroy or diminish the trust and credibility of our [United States] envoys, and work against candid communication and sound policymaking." McGowan goes on to suggest that continued releases of this nature by WikiLeaks would in fact produce less transparency - completely subverting its purpose.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for freedom of speech and national transparency in every country, and respect that WikiLeaks has published many important documents that have contributed to this. One just needs to think about whether the opposite has also been achieved in some cases.

SA U20s in the Gold Coast

2010-09-29T16:49:00.001+09:30

I thought I'd give a bit of a quick summary of the past weekend's activities.

We flew out of Adelaide at 6.15am, with only about 12 hours until our first match against the Currumbin Alleygators. After arriving in the Gold Coast we had a brief training session before eating lunch at Northcliffe Surf Club (our 'clubrooms' for the tour) and checking in to our hotel. We then departed for Currumbin, and our first showing of what the Gold Coast had to offer, and what the Junior Falcons could achieve on the paddock.

For the first game, Connor Smith was in the starting XV on the wing, whilst John Carver Jr and myself were on the bench. The game was a bit messy, something which can only be expected from a team that has never played together, but the structure which had been drilled into us in training came through, and as a result we were able to build some very aggressive rugby, in both attack and defence. As I recall, Currumbin managed to score first, but failed to convert. Instead of hanging their heads, the team struck back hard and despite a missed penalty attempt by Ashley Rio (Woodville) that fell short by less than a meter, maintained pressure for the rest of the half (which was only 30 minutes). The halftime score was 5 - 0 against us, however in the second half SA put the throttle to the floor right from the whistle, regaining their kicked ball, and quickly getting into the strike zone. Within minutes, prop Java Posala (Old Collegians) burst over the line in the right corner to level the score. The try was unconverted. Late in the second half, Carver Jr and myself were substituted on, and Smith off due to a shoulder injury. We maintained the aggression that had been prominent throughout the game, and quickly found ourselves back at the scoring end of the field, thanks mainly to a lack of discipline from the opposition, which later resulted in their captain being sent from the field for the rest of the game. After some sustained phase play, an excellent line from Matt Benger (Burnside) allowed him to cross the line between the sticks, and this was easily converted to bring the score to 12 - 5, the final score of the game.

After a day of recovery and light training in the Gold Coast heat, we arrived at Coomera to play the Coomera Crushers. We had been warned that there were plenty of islanders in the side, and the heat (the game kicked off at 12.30) was sure to play a factor. Carver Jr, Smith and myself were all starting, at 8, 14 and 6 respectively. I don't remember much of this game, probably because of the heat, however the standout moments were Connor's involvement in all three of our tries scored (setting up two and scoring one) as well as John's many line breaking runs up the field. The first try was scored off broken play, in a masterful action by Smith, where a kicked ball from SA was allowed to bounce. Smith, chasing, managed to get to the ball and kick it on the bounce into the opposing 22, where he regained it, and offloaded to center, Chris Bartlett (Old Collegians) who crossed the line near the sticks. Jack Macklin (Old Collegians) easily added the extras, and SA received the restart. At some point Jack added a penalty goal, before a bit of lax defence allowed Coomera to cross the line. The try was unconverted, and the score stood at 10 - 5. SA rallied, however, and hit back, phase play taking us to into striking distance with the forwards on the left of the field, at which point the ball was sent wide to Smith, whose trademark speed took him over the line in the right corner, however laziness by the Crushers allowed him to ground the ball only a few meters right of the posts. Macklin again added the extras and SA looked in top form with the score at 17 - 5. Coomera was not giving up easily, and in the last play of the first half launched an 8 pickup from SA's 5 meter line, and crossed the line. The conversion again failed, and the score at half time was 17 - 10. In the second half, the heat was really beginning to take its toll, as SA defence was beginning to lag, and no longer shutting down the space. Coomera managed to notch up another try, and things were looking a little bit grim at 17 - 15, however in the last ten minutes or so, Connor gave a pass to Macklin which allowed him to break the line and outrun the opposing 15 for a 50-meter try. He then added the points, and the score rested at 24 - 15.

All in all it was a very productive weekend in terms of getting the team a run together, with two solid wins. There were some difficulties that took some adjusting to, such as the heat, as well as "Gold Coast Rules", which allows the 8 to pick and go from uncontested scrums. Nonetheless, the overall performance was fantastic, and bodes well for the upcoming Southern States tournament, which i hope as many AURUFC players and supporters will make it to, to see a very skilled U20s side take on the best of what Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania have to offer.

A Flawed Democracy

2010-09-02T10:20:00.002+09:30

Right now it’s coming to the end of student elections at the University of Adelaide. And as always, it has been… interesting to say the least. Heavyweights Activate and IndyGo were challenged by a newcomer to the scene, Synergy. The international students put forwards a few strong candidates as always, and it has had all the hallmarks of a contestable student election.

That is, if enough students can be bothered going out to vote.

It saddens me a little to see that the vast majority of Adelaide’s thousands of students will spend more time working out how to avoid the polling booth than familiarizing themselves with policies, and voting. Particularly when you think about how all of them are required to vote in state and federal elections. If we have such a lack of interest in politics that directly affect us students, and only us, what are the chances we’ll show interest in far more broad-minded policies. I was a little annoyed (although, unsurprised) to see that the most recent issue of On Dit (Student Magazine) had an article devoted entirely to avoiding harassment from student politicians. Here’s my simple, one-step guide:

1. Make an informed vote.

It’s really that simple. Merely by voting, you can avoid harassment. Moreover, if you encourage your friends to vote, and keep up this voting trend throughout your time as a student, I can guarantee, ‘harassment’ will dwindle. All it takes is 5 – 10 minutes to actually see what the respective tickets have to offer, which doesn’t actually have to involve talking to the candidates, as almost every ticket has a Facebook page outlining their policies.

So, although there are only really 2 days left to vote, if you haven’t done so already, think about what I’ve said, and please act on it.

And if you really don’t want to vote, a simple smile with a “No thank you” should be enough to halt any politicians. There’s no need for all the other bollocks; it is, in a word, just plain rude.

Love, etc

~Coops

I Could Be Your Pornstar...

2010-08-16T22:55:00.004+09:30

I'm not sure what it is about Amy Meredith, but whenever I listen to them (or indeed, Anberlin or In Fiction), I end up feeling really creative. As a result I decided to share with you the latest offspring of my creative blurb. See if you can guess its inspiration...

Inception

It first sneaks,
Sliding
Along dimly lit corridors.
Hiding from those
Who know it does not belong -
The stalwart guards
Of the mind.

But it is resilient,
And will seek root where it can.
Waiting
Growing
Evolving
Often beyond its creator's
Wildest imaginations.

Nothing
Is more dangerous
Or harder to kill
Than the only truly incurable virus
That is an idea.

Hopefully I'll be posting something a little more fulfilling soon (if my uni work allows it).

Adios.

The Classes of One-Night Stands

2010-07-07T14:59:00.004+09:30

I thought I'd do something a bit rare and post a follow-up blog, continuing on the theme of one-night stands. Surprisingly enough, I have a collection of acquaintances who actively engage in one-night stands. Not being a veteran, I was a little curious as to some of the practices/rules/codes that govern how one acts before, during and after the event. After asking a few questions, I managed to put together a few categories, so you can classify yourself/your friend(s)/that person you woke up next to on Sunday morning.

The Empath: A confident individual who aims to make the other person feel comfortable and safe. Looks to make a connection. Relies on talking over good looks (although this doesn't mean they haven't got the goods).
- Usually one who will attempt conversation as part of their 'routine'
- Rarely off-their-face drunk when looking for a hookup, drugs unlikely
- Will buy you a drink
- Pays for the taxi (if needed) whether it's your place or theirs
- No/little expectations
- Up for pillow-talk after the event.
- Is still there in the morning (if it's your place)/Doesn't kick you out ASAP (if it's theirs)
- Offers breakfast/a shower/a ride home
- Might ask for your number (they will usually have sussed out the night before whether a) you're looking for something regular, and b) whether you're someone they would be interested in doing something regular with)
*NB: The Empath is one who, despite being the perfect gentleman/lady, is more often than any of the others to develop attachment, so be wary. Whilst you'll be looked after for the night, it might be hard to get rid of them down the track.

The Cruiser: This person is easily identifiable by their easy-going nature. They don't really care (at least, they don't show that they do) whether you leave with them or not, they're just happy to have a good night out.
- Mellow personality
- Can be at any level of drunkenness (but usually has a few under their belt), drugs are a possibility
- Might buy you a drink
- Will at least go halves on the cab, if it's to their place will probably pay the whole thing
- Expectations are there, although they are probably not too fussed if you don't live up to them
- Might go into some pillow-talk, but don't expect anything too deep. Unless it's philosophical.
- Will probably be there in the morning, although it could just be because they're coming down from something.
- Will talk to you until it becomes apparent you're no longer welcome
- Probably won't get your number
*NB: The Cruiser is the modern-day stoner, someone who isn't looking for any roots (pardon the pun), and is quite happy just floating with no commitment.

The Post-Empath: This individual is very similar to the Empath, with a few slight differences; the most important one being distinct emotional unavailability, although this is usually hidden.
- Usually one who will attempt conversation as part of their 'routine'
- Alcohol is part of their night out. How much depends on the night
- Might buy you a drink
- Might chip in for the taxi (if needed) whether it's your place or theirs
- No/little expectations
- Possibly up for pillow-talk after the event.
- Is still there in the morning (if it's your place)/Doesn't kick you out ASAP (if it's theirs)
- No morning awkwardness
- Might ask for your number
*NB: The Post-Empath is one who, despite being the perfect gentleman/lady, is decidedly uninterested in anything more than a release, not from being a player, just not being in the mindset for anything more. Don't expect anything deeper, but at the same time don't anticipate a cold shoulder either.

The D@$#&! : The naming for this individual does not so much describe the person's personality, but more the words you might use when describing them to your friends. This category does cover a large variety of people.
- Might attempt conversation, might go straight for the kill
- Will probably bit drunk, perhaps pinging too
- Not interested in getting you a drink unless they think it's worth it
- Expectations
- Expect them to either leave or fall asleep
- Don't expect them to be their in the morning. Or expect an awkward morning.
- Maybe they'll ask for your number
*NB: The D@$#&! is your stereotypical 'player', someone looking for a quick night of fun and not a lot else (although maybe a follow-up booty call... If you're worth it)

So there you have it, a few categories of one-night standers. But remember: no matter who you're going with, have fun, practice safe sex, and look on the bright side: none of the above is a blanket rule.

The One-Night Stand (And Other Stories of Convenience)

2010-06-24T11:58:00.005+09:30

I hope no-one will hold it against me me if I blatantly state that today's society is one of convenience: fast food, fast transport, 'time-saving' devices, phones that let you access your e-mail, the newspaper, read books, or even just order a pizza. We are becoming gluttons of convenience (at least in the Western world), unwillingly to wait more than five minutes in a line or for public transport (unless you're in Adelaide, in which case, hope the bus shows up). However, it seems that even in our most intimate of places - the bedroom - convenience is rearing its deceptively stylish head, in the form of One-Night Stands.

The quote that is currently echoing through my head is from Fight Club:
Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends.

What is most important is the 'single-serving friends'. How many people do you know like this? People you start a friendship with, for a day, a week, an hour? I've sat on a plane and talked to someone, and will almost definitely never see them again. Of course, with the growing masses of Facebook, Twitter and (lesser it seems) MySpace, it has become a lot easier to maintain that 'connection' - again, another device of convenience. What is growing more and more prolific, however, is the One-Night Stand. It seems that despite all these time-saving and convenient devices, people are as short of time as ever, so short, in fact, that relationships are unappealing, and instead and physical comfort needed should be garnered from a one-off fling with a total stranger. Now I'm all for sexual exploration, but for something like this to become commonplace just heralds the death of emotional relationships. Maybe it is just the way things are, and with divorce rates worldwide steadily increasing, perhaps it is better not to even put oneself in that situation? The adage, 'It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all' comes to mind here.

Now don't get me wrong; I'm not against ONS, I think in most cases (and indeed, for some people) they can be very healthy, but I do not think they should become a lifestyle. It could be the prude in me (of which there is very little, so when it does speak up I usually take notice), but I fail to see the reward in constantly going to a random house for a more often than not drunken hookup, then slinking off in the morning, sometimes with a phone number, sometimes with nothing more than a name. Note the use of the word 'constantly'.

But as I said, it could just be me. I do, after all, enjoy cuddles a lot.

Big Time Boy Seeking Small Time Bands

2009-11-18T17:46:00.006+10:30

I make it no secret that I love music in almost all shapes and forms. Skimming through my iTunes you will find genres from Classical to Death Metal to Indie to Rap and all the things in between. You will also find that a lot of the music I listen to is not hugely mainstream (although of course I enjoy some of it as much as any other teenybopper), and that I am a big fan of the so-called 'local' bands who hang around for a few years, pop out a gem and disappear when they realise that despite making excellent music, there is simply not spot in the music industry for them to carve out a living. Too many bands are forced to accept this reality - and let's face it, sooner or later a hobby involving travelling across the country, or as some small bands are lucky enough to do, across the world, on a regular basis just doesn't fit in to the job/family life that is required to actually make a living.

So this time I will be focusing on a few small-time bands that have unfortunately capitulated due to a variety of reasons, whether it be real life calling, internal problems, or just the realisation that it's "that time".

Spitalfield (Chicago, US) 1998 - 2007

Most people outside the US probably wouldn't have heard of this band unless they by chance saw them at an Australian gig (they did do a couple of tours, including Boys of Summer 2007), however I chose to start with a US band to make an important distinction between the 'local music' scene in Australia and in the US. Most small-time bands in Australia would not continue to play for 8 years without breaking into at least the Australian mainstream charts, whereas the music industry in the US is that much bigger (and indeed, their population creates an immensely diverse audience) that local bands can be around for a decade without ever striking gold, so to speak.

Spitalfield's distinct rock sound is really what set them apart from what most other bands had to offer. Despite being quite similar to the usual medium/light rock, they maintained a melodic sound throughout their time playing, and were able to comfortably switch between easier listening and hard sounds not only within albums, but songs as well. Mark Rose's ability as a lyricist is to be regarded highly, especially when combined with the fact that he can actually hit the notes needed to make the song work (he is now performing as a solo act - proof of both his vocal and guitar abilities). Despite moving through several guitarists in their 8 years, including a few who only played with the band for a single tour, they consistently produced melodic rock riffs that formed a stable background for Rose's lyrics. Spitalfield will continue to be sorely missed by its fan-base in both the US, and worldwide.

Her Latest Flame (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA) 2005 - 2008

Her Latest Flame is a band that fits the typical notion of local band more than Spitalfield - they formed for a few years, played a few gigs and then due to internal troubles fell apart (the original vocalist left). However, in their time they did enjoy playing several relatively high-profile gigs, including the 2006 Taste of Chaos, opening on the 'V' stage at Big Day Out 2007, and being a support act for the 2007 Saosin/A Static Lullaby Australian Tour. They released two EPs in their time, and enjoyed an Australia-wide fan base.

HLF enjoyed a more alternative sound, probably best described as a punk/rock band, although their original vocalist did incorporate screaming into the majority of their songs in some shape or form. Josh Dunning is in fact one of the few small-time vocalists who could easily transfer from screaming to singing on-stage, often several times in a single song. How his voice survived is anyone's guess! Needless to say, Josh was ably supported by both a gifted guitarist (Matt) and a talented off-beat drummer (Brodie) that resulted in slightly melodic songs that still retained the teeth needed to support the screaming vox. Unfortunately, Josh's exodus from the band produced a downward spiral, and they hung up their instruments last year.

In Fiction (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA) 2004 - 2009

In Fiction holds a much more personal note for me as I have been a long-time fan of the band since their formation in early 2004. They definitely made a big impact on the Australian music scene, with their first EP, The Four Letter Failure, reaching No. 72 in the ARIA charts, where it remained for 5 weeks. Their second EP, Ghost, debuted at No. 14 in the ARIA charts. The recognition garnered from their records was obvious, with the band performing in both the 2006 and 2007 Boomtown Showdown Tours, as well as the 2007 Vans Boys of Summer Tour, and the 2008 Adelaide Soundwave Festival. When I interviewed front man Brad Gilbertson shortly before the band's final show earlier this year, the one thing he said that stuck in my head was when I asked him what his best memory was:
'Probably how everything was when we first started, it was the type of thing that doesn't really pay much but is so fun to do, like Steve [ex-drummer] and I grew up listening to Bodyjar, then all of a sudden we were playing on tour with them...'

IF were not just confined to Australia, either. Ghost caught the attention of Japanese label Pyropit Records, and prompted them to release an album combining the two EPs and including two extra songs.

IF were, if anything, most recognised for their diverse style and ability to combine complex melodies with a hard rock sound, although they moved more into a melodic style as the band matured. Gilbertson's flawless vocals were only enhanced by guitarists Paul Heitmann and Josh Burgan, who were able to smoothly switch between lead and rhythm roles depending on the song. However, Tom Crosby and his predecessor Steve Luscombe were respective maestros on the drum kit, despite having fairly different styles (I will go ahead here and push Steve over Tom, merely because of Steve's amazing left-footed ability, and the fact he could switch smoothly from an upbeat song such as Here in a Way to slow, off-beat song, Calendar Notes. Unfortunately, after 5 years of music-making, the band members decided to set off in different directions, with one of them getting married, another aiming to (finally) finish his degree and the rest just planning on "growing up" a little bit and seeing where life takes them.

Well, that's all for now, and I would encourage all of you to go out and enjoy some local music. You never know what gem you may find.

Age-Old Adages

2009-11-17T08:51:00.003+10:30

Ever noticed how many ye olde sayings are still around today? Maybe it's a bit of an overestimation of their age, but haven't you ever had a moment where some older relative pops out a little nugget of their years, you polish it up expectantly in your head... And then discover as opposed to being a gold nugget, it's more likely to be comprised of that strange ear wax only 60+ year olds get. So I thought that this week/month/year? (There's no real regularity to these posts) we'd tear asunder some of the sayings that should have been left in a retirement home many, many years ago.

1. "I don't try to explain to people why I ride a Motorcycle."
I thought I'd start off with something simple. Firstly... what the hell? I mean, if you started but they didn't understand, then it would make sense not to try and explain further... But not trying at all? If kids of today went out to do something, and when asked by their parents what/where/why/when, and replied with "I don't try to explain why I do x", we'd either have a lot of dead kids or a lot of grounded ones. Hey, in fact - go for it! Either way, let's keep them off the streets.

2. "Come home early, nothing good ever happens after midnight."
Don't they know that most clubs don't even get started until after midnight? What about midnight snacks? Midnight sex? Sex at 3am? Sex in general, pretty much. This is what you get when your ancestors lived in a sexually repressed society; although the current situation where it has completely back flipped (i.e. the full-on sexually open) could be a little bit too far. At the rate we're going, my kids (if they ever come into being) will be learning about contraception around the same time they're learning to walk.

3. "When you say "I can't", you actually mean "I don't want to"."
Try saying that to the double amputee you want to run the 100m sprint.

4. "Never own ANYTHING you aren't willing to drill a hole in."
Now, now, remember, men and women are equals now, men don't own their wives...anymore. I'm sorry, that was just too easy. But still, if anyone, including me brings a drill near the Aston-Martin DB9 I 'own' for the sake of the conversation, I'll get them where they stand.

5. "Your enemies can hurt you, but only your fear defeats you! Only those who risk going too far will ever know how far they can go."
And remember kids, those who risk going too far are 100% more likely to die screaming as their parachute fails to open/bungee cord snaps (or as it was found recently, comes undone)/F1 car spontaneously explodes... Although in their slightly shorter lifespans, they probably have more fun, earn more, get some plastic trophy wife (not sure whether that's a plus or a minus), sleep with adoring teen fans (ditto to this one - some of those girls are probably about as safe to plug as a chemical toilet)... So it could balance out.

6. "Anyone who hasn't got a little bit of a temper is not worth killing."
That's just discrimination against people with anger problems.

7. "A young man is embarrassed to question an older one."
The older man has obviously never met me. My parents decided I was the most argumentative child in existence. They still hold this view, I believe (although my brother is catching up and will most likely overtake me).

8. "Live life to the fullest."
This saying differs in that whilst I agree with what it's trying to say (try and make your life mean something) it's missing a key part (try and make your life mean something to someone). Who's to say that a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who started off as a bottle-cap collector, has lived a fuller life than a garbage collector with 3 kids and a mortgaged house? Admittedly, the CEO probably has several houses, various vehicles and many more opportunities, but taking a different approach, the garbage collector who never wanted to move on because he was looking after his kids, or simply because he loved his job - and before you wrinkle your nose in disgust, there probably are people out there doing the shitty jobs no-one else wants to do, and they enjoy them. Not because they love handling tonnes of garbage, or scrubbing hundreds of toilets, but because the job gives them something that is important to them, whether it be more time with their family, a host of colleagues who become good mates... Etc, etc.

9. "Oh isn't so-and-so sweet on you! [Or] You're rather sweet on so-and-so, aren't you?"
Oh yeah, every time we hug I just want to lick her off me. Or scrape it off and put it in my coffee. Seriously, where did this even originate? Was it traditional for lovers to cover themselves in honey and rub over each other? Because that could be kinda hot, if a little sticky.

And finally, my personal favourite:

10. " Such-and-such is the best thing since sliced bread."
Just putting it out there: sliced bread isn't that great. I mean, yeah, you save an extra 30 seconds making a sandwich, and you don't need to have the requisite knife skills. Excellent. Personally I'm a fan of cutting the slices myself, you can go thin for thin sandwiches, thick for packed sandwiches or thick-cut toast, or my personal favourite (and specialty) the wedge, which is both thick and thin, and results in every subsequent slice also being a wedge as the next person tries to correct my mistake. Still, there's something so down-to-earth about doing it yourself, one man, his knife and a loaf of bread waiting to be cut...
...sounds like the type of movie that would be released fairly soon.

Adieu!

Little help?

2009-09-25T02:29:00.001+09:30

Sooooo...

I have decided to build a new computer. I am in need of either funds or cheap/free parts!

These are the specs:

Intel Core i7 920
ASUS P6T Motherboard
g.skill DDR3 8GB Kit
~~Hitachi 1TB HDD~~
GeForce GTX 275
Antec 900-2 Case
Seasonic PSR 650+ PSU
SATA LG DVD Burner

So if there are any generous people out there who want to help me out, let me know?

Also I have ceased my studies of Law - after 2 years of deliberation I have decided I am not corporate bastardy enough. As such, next year hopefully I'll be studying Psychology.

Ciao!

Exclusive!

2009-04-30T10:53:00.004+09:30

It’s not very often that one can interview a band so recently after breaking up, especially a band so close to home. In Fiction was a band that dominated both the Adelaide and Australian music scene soon after their formation in 2005, being rated as one of Triple J’s up and coming artists. Their Ghost EP debuted at No. 14 in the Aria charts, earning the band spots on the 2007 Boomtown Showdown Tour, as Well as the 2008 Adelaide Soundwave Festival and the 2008 Push Over Festival. I caught up with vocalist and front man Brad Gilbertson to discuss the highs and lows of inspiration, band-life and venues in Newcastle.

TC: Okay, a big interest of mine because I’ve followed you for a fair while, where did the name come from?
Brad: Before we were called In Fiction, three of us were playing in a band called Short Term Gain, and it was going alright, but one night Darren Thompson, our manager at the time pulled us aside and said ‘Look, there’s no easy way to say this, but [your] name sucks, you need to change it.’ The next day we wrote down a list of words and fiction was on it, so we thought, how about chucking an 'in' on the front and just be In Fiction… It works well, as a lot of our songs are written almost as short stories. It was a necessity to change the name because it was terrible, so we just picked it out of random words.

TC: You wrote all of the lyrics didn’t you? Where does the inspiration come from?
Brad: Some of them were from personal experience, not necessarily the scenarios, but feelings you have about different things, you know what I mean? And as I said before, I’m always trying to tell a story through the song, so The Illusion [The Forecast (Album)] kind of talks about life as a band… 1945 [The Forecast (Album)] is a song that’s very important to me personally, as it’s actually talking about my Granddad, who served in the Second World War, so it’s almost a love letter, talking about how he’s gotten married then gone straight to war, and then come home again to try and start anew.

TC: What’s the best venue you’ve played at, and why?
Brad: That is a tough one. There are so many good venues… Particularly the larger, 1500 person stages, the atmosphere is intense. Fowler’s Live though, has the best backstage I have ever seen. I could list off the bad ones though.

TC: Alright, tell me about the bad ones.
Brad: Well, I don’t exactly remember names… But anywhere around Newcastle is bad. They’ve got places like, I don’t know, The Three Legged Dog. Actually that might actually be a place. But the music scene there needs a serious revamp… Once when we were playing a show in Newcastle, a guy was murdered on the stairs of the venue, the night before we were playing.

TC: Tell me about some of the crazy things you guys have done.
Brad: On our first tour, the Boomtown tour, we had played about 3 shows, then had a few days off, and we just went to the casino every night… Then all of a sudden our days off were gone and we had 8 shows left to play, I had completely lost my voice and we had to pull out of most of the next shows. We didn’t get offered any tours for a while.

Another time, we were doing a show in Melbourne and went out afterward… No joke at 3am we showed up at a place called the Honkey Tonk – surprisingly enough it wasn’t a gay bar – and there was this guy barbecuing shrimp. It was the only time I have ever seen an Aussie live up to that stereotype.

TC: The art you guys use - particularly the album art - is pretty fantastic, where did the inspiration come for that?
Brad: The Forecast was an interesting album, mainly because it was entirely written on tour. It was fairly unrealistic to produce an album in the time we did, but somehow we managed it. And the name was interesting, "to forecast" is to predict something with a certain degree of certainty. I spoke to our manager and suggested 'The Forecast' and he thought it was crap, but when I talked to the guys they all liked it. Originally we contacted a Brazilian art company, and they sent back these pictures of chicks in bikinis… Not really what we were after, so we got in touch with a Melbourne company called Robot Academy, what you see is what they gave us.

TC: What does the album art signify? Obviously it’s related to the assign of time, as everything is exploding out of a clock.
Brad: If you look at the whole picture, the closer to the clock is the more recent time, so at the other end, the start, there’s all the earthy type things, water, mountains and forests, then it becomes more industrialized, before moving to a gun and missiles, then eventually skulls. It’s designed as a circle, so the earthy nature things at the start eventually come around and kill off the development, and ready everything for a new beginning. It’s not intended to be religious at all.

TC: You’re now onto your 2nd bassist and 3rd drummer, was it difficult rotating through band members?
Brad: The hardest thing in Alistair’s [Bassist] case was that he had moved from Melbourne pretty much just to play in the band, so he had the whole relocation thing, and it was a huge leap of faith on his part. But, he’s liked it in Adelaide and actually met his lovely wife Courtney here, so that’s good. Drums were a little difficult because we actually switched drummers on tour; we ended up having Brodie [Her Latest Flame] play a lot of shows, which made the transition a lot easier for Tom [Drummer], although originally Tom signed on just for the album, but after recording that, he asked to stay on and we were stoked!

TC: So apart from replacing band members, what was the biggest challenge?
Brad: We were 5 individual people with 5 individual lives. It’s really, really hard to keep all that running smoothly. Everyone has their own ways of doing things, some people like this food, some people don’t, some people want to play at certain venues and not at others, some people have a big night out and rock up feeling crap, whilst others take an early one to be ready for the show. And the thing is, none of this can be shown on stage. There were times where Paul [Guitarist] and I wouldn’t have spoken for days, we’d go out on stage and play and be ‘normal’, then we’d go backstage and there would be this angry stand-off. I think we did a pretty good job of hiding that.

TC: What is the best memory you have from the band?
Brad: Probably how everything was when we first started, it’s was the type of thing that doesn’t really pay much but is so fun to do, like Steve [ex-drummer] and I grew up listening to Bodyjar, then all of a sudden we were playing on tour with them. Just the excitement of everything starting to come together. And then other things, like, touring all over the country and hearing the crowd sing along to Calendar Notes.

TC: Would you say Calendar Notes is your defining song?
Brad: As a band, I think so. It’s amazing, it was on our first EP [The Four Letter Failure], got no air-time at all, locally or nationally, and yet in every show we play, everyone somehow knows the words… We actually almost didn’t put it on the EP. It was written a couple of years before we recorded [The Four Letter Failure], and is a much more raw song than any of the other ones. Although, When The Camera’s Off [Ghost EP] is probably my favorite song to play, it’s just so much fun, there’s a real kick step to it and you can really get into it.

TC: Any last words?
Brad: The support we got was amazing, we are all so grateful for the support that everyone showed us throughout the time with In Fiction. On the breakup… It’s hard to explain that type of thing, because for us In Fiction had run its course, it wasn’t like the start anymore, but it’s really difficult because very few people see what’s going on internally. And we’re all still involved in music projects, so it’s not like we’re giving that up, it’s just more of a side project.

In Fiction are still maintaining their MySpace account, www.myspace.com/infictionband. Their music is also available for purchase via the iTunes Store.

Money, KRudd's Government, Uni Books & More!

2009-02-10T01:10:00.002+10:30

I have decided I need more money.

I think in the current economic climate, if everyone was like me, there wouldn't be a problem. I have a wishlist that I have been working on since just after Christmas, full of lovely little things that I would love to spoil myself with. The current tally is:
- More ram for PC = $79ish
- New Graphics Card for PC
(1GB GTX280/ASUS) = $599ish
- Wii = $400 approx.
- Crumpler laptop case = $75
- Dawn of War 2 = $110
- Starcraft 2 = ????
= $1,263ish (+ SC2)

My current job brings in about $325/week after tax, however take out of this general expenses, such as food at work (I really should start taking a packed dinner), petrol (fortnightly), metrotickets (every few weeks or so), treats, current debts ($500), random acts of kindness... It all adds up.
PLUS I am trying to start saving for a trip... somewhere. I'm not sure exactly, but it will be fantastic.
Don't forget the drinking either.

Now, in my current position, you can see that a 'gift' of $950 from the government would be very welcome, to say the least. However this time I am reading the fine print that comes with it. Mr Downer wrote a formidable piece in today's Advertiser (I know it's a crock of shit, but he has a decent opinion, despite his occasional faux pas), which I will not repeat, mainly because I don't have a copy.

The general gist of it is that Rudd's $42 billion hand-out is the worst idea since the League of Nations' appeasement policy prior to World War 2. Not only will it result in an astronomical amount of national debt, which we really don't need, but the idea itself is flawed. I was forwarded this e-mail, which I think adequately describes the situation:
"Important Information on the Stimulus Payment

"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:

"Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

"A. It is money that the federal government will send to Taxpayers.

"Q. Where will the government get this money?

"A. From taxpayers.

"Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

"A. Only a smidgen.

"Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

"A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

"Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?

"A. Shut up."
_____________________________________________

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the Economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

If you spend that money at K-Mart, all the money will go to China.

If you spend it on petrol it will go to the Arabs.

If you purchase a computer it will go to India.

If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to South East Asia or New Zealand (unless you buy organic).

If you buy a car it will go to Japan.

If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan.

And none of it will help the economy.

We need to keep that money here. You can keep the money here by spending it at garage sales, going to a football game, or spending it on prostitutes, beer or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still here."

Read the second part again.

There is very little that the Australian consumer can do to specifically stimulate the Australian economy. Buying Australian Owned & Made products is one - but in all honesty, who can be bothered? Following the advice of the above email is another, however on things like beer there is now a ridiculously high tax, so the government gets a lot of the money back anyway.

I know where mine will mainly be going - if indeed we get it: Uni Books! Not necessarily the store, however. With an estimated $450 needed for 1st Semester alone, I relish the opportunity to not have to fork out myself - although it is a little ironic, because it is our taxes that will be paying off the debt - at least 10 times over, it is estimated.

In other news, I have opened an e-Bay account to try and raise funds for my wishlist, so please, look at my wares! (Mainly PC games and crap music).

Until next time, amigos.

~Coops

We drank wine in the matinée...

2009-01-11T09:40:00.001+10:30

Yes, well. I am currently sitting in Sydney airport feeling quite drowsy. There is a lot of hustle and bustle considering it is 10.13 am on a Sunday. But still, FREE INTERNET.

Yes my friends, if you are in Sydney airport, and you have a MacBook of any description (I'm sure it would work on Windows machine) connect to 'The Lounge Sydney', and you will be provided with free internet, courtesy of Virgin Blue.

Gotta love it.

My flight here was really enjoyable, I sat next to a Mr McDonald (I do know his first name, I just don't want to fail at spelling it - Yewen? Something Scottish like that) and we had a great chat about his experiences with people, work and life in general. He works in the oil industry, primarily testing desposits, and has worked in Canada, the US, and more recently, Iran. He had a lot of great viewpoints, came from farming stock, and passe don some advice that I will remember for a long time.

Thank you, Mr McDonald, for making my flight so enjoyable. I wish you all the best in Canada, and hope that your business fulfills both its own potential and your dreams. And who knows, if I do become a lawyer, despite not being my preference at the moment, maybe we'll cross paths! (Not in a bad way.)

Unwanted Attention

2009-01-05T23:12:00.002+10:30

In today's world, sexuality is a constantly debated topic. Gays of both gender face a fair amount of difficulty in both professional and social aspects of their lives. A lot of this is unfair, and often unprovoked. However, there is a percentage of the population that does bring themselves down, and invites some of the flak that they receive.

Before I continue, let me put one thing straight: I don't have a problem with gay people. I know some fantastic gay people. My brother would be one of them; I have a few friends who are wonderful, and a few of his friends who are wonderful. However, there have been a few incidents which are complete hand-pulling-shirt-collar situations. I won't describe all of them, but let's just say if I for some reason wanted to start a vendetta against gay men, I would have ample reason to.

This particular incident is fairly recent. i have several friends who, despite being relatively sure about their heterosexuality, have at one time or another leaned into a Scrubs-like moment of contemplation and just wondered. As it turns out, one of those friends made a tiny faux pas when we were out for a few drinks. He had been pushing me to go out, I hadn't seen him in a while, it all sounded like a good idea. I had some other things to do, but the night started really well, so I decided to keep going. It was around the 3rd bar, and the 7th drink that we took a walk to hunt down a Savings & Loans hole in the wall.

It was on the walk back that things took a little spin. My friend decided - perhaps because his sensibilities had been lowered or even removed by alcohol - to tell me that whilst he wasn't bisexual, I was someone that he would make an exception for.

I'll just let that sink in.

At first, that could be slightly flattering. But then the reality of the situation sets in. I am a slightly younger friend, who is in a very happy relationship with his girlfriend of 18 months. He is a fairly close friend, with no current or recent relationships that I know of. This makes me just a teensy bit uncomfortable.

More to the point, as far as he concerned, same-sex occurrences did not equal cheating. This was even more worrying. I put the message out there that I wasn't interested, thank you, and can we just leave it at that.

This issue does tie in to my previous post. What is one supposed to do when 'no' is not enough? And when your morals and personal standpoints are utterly in conflict with someone else?

I think the main problem here is not so much the actual informing of the attraction, but the actions that followed it. I have had men before tell me that they were interested. One was very sweet, one of the nicest people you could possibly meet, who just told me that when I was 18 (I was underage at the time), if I ever decided to follow that path, he would be interested. Another, slightly unpleasant experience was when I was out for a run a few months later, and a 30-something year old man tried to convince me to go home with him, and that despite my feelings about men (or rather, lack of them) all that would change I "have [my] dick in his mouth".

My friend could have decided to leave it, but he pressed on. Hopefully now he will, and we can resume the friendship with boundaries as just friends. But it needs to be understood, not just by him, but by others; sometimes what you want is not what someone else does. Whether you're straight, gay, bi, experimenting or just confused, people have limits and boundaries and these need to be respected.

Otherwise all that could happen is something everyone regrets.

People are stupid.

2008-11-26T12:07:00.002+10:30

But seriously, there is a 75% chance that your child could be stupid, obtuse or otherwise 'unaware' of subtle hints in conversation, body language, or even silence.

It's interesting to see how many people don't pick up on tactful, often repeated hints in conversation, but are then upset when one is finally forced to be completely blunt in order to get the message across. The most common of these occurrences is when yours truly is subjected to unwanted attention (in the form of flirtatious remarks) from members of the female gender who are not his girlfriend. Despite subtle hinting that this attention is neither appropriate or enjoyable, it is very rare that the culprit will pick up on these. In one case it was not difficult to say outright that the actions were doing more harm to the friendship than good, and thankfully unnamed other reacted swiftly and amiably.

In another case however, despite oft-repeated hints that the flirting was not welcome, it took an outright insult to quell the flow of what is commonly known as 'hitting on'. Trust me, I don't mind being hit on, I just have one requirement: that you are my partner. It is a lot cuter and a lot less awkward for friendships if it is only the partner that makes those flirtatious remarks - because let's face it, the partner is the only person you should be wanting to hear those remarks from.

This is not an isolated case. I see kids everywhere unable to pick up on subtle conversation, failing to read between the lines and then blaming another person for their own inattentiveness. This is a global phenomenon, however perhaps it is more noticeable in Adelaide due to our 0.004 degrees of separation.

Rant out.

Freedom! (And its opposite...)

2008-11-14T20:41:00.003+10:30

Today I sat my one and only exam for the semester: Property Law. After two hours of grilling questions on such things as leases, easements, fixtures, chattels and the Torrens Title System (shudder), I am free and my first year of university has drawn to an end.

However, this entry isn't to celebrate the sunset of this academic year, although congratulations do go out to all the Year 12s who have sat/are sitting their final exams. Only a little bit left guys and gals! It also isn't a recap, as whilst there have been many moments this year that have been very, very enjoyable, I can't remember them all and they would probably get very boring after a while.

That's the freedom part of this post. Now to the other half.

The big 'thing' at the moment is Rudd's plan to implement filters Australia-wide to keep our little darlings from stumbling across things they shouldn't see until they're much, much older. Unfortunately, Labor changes it's story a little, and now it seems that they're not so much concerned about our little darlings as they are keeping people from accessing child pornography. (1)

This isn't a 'new' issue however, Labor has been throwing it around since they came into power, and it looks like they might finally be on the road to putting the scheme into operation, despite a surprisingly large amount of public outcry. IT Experts are of the opinion that filtering will in fact do a lot more harm than good. Three of Australia's leading ISPs were interviewed by ZDNet.com.au regarding the proposed filter - Telstra Media, iiNet and Internode. Simon Hackett, managing director of Internode, commented (amongst other things) that,
"If the stuff goes a bit wrong it will start blocking other content. The trouble is, the internet's not just web browsers. Other applications that are using the internet may get mistaken for things that are pulling that content and might get blocked or messed with in strange ways..."(2)
Hackett also questioned exactly whose morals were being enforced in this situation, saying quite reasonably,
"Is it [the filtered content] the Federal Government's definition of bad? Is this going to be a white Anglo-Saxon protestant filtering system? Is it going to be a Muslim filtering system? Is it going to be one that doesn't like Scientology? The problem is we live in a world with multiple sets of morality, all of them equally valid."(3)

These are both very important points, not to mention that the filters that are meant to be targeting 'bad' sites could quite possibly block 'good' ones also. Ars Technica recently published an article citing such sources as SAGE-AU (The System Administrators' Guild of Australia) and Labor testing schemes themselves, revealing:
'The System Administrators' Guild of Australia, SAGE-AU, issued a statement again stressing its opposition to Internet filtering on grounds that it simply wouldn't work.'(4)
And,
'The government's own testing has shown that the filters still have serious problems with false positives...'(5)
Moreover, the government seems to be changing its stance on how Australians should react to the suggestions, with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy saying in January of this year that,
'...Internet users would be able to access uncensored material by opting out of the service and that the government would work with industry to ensure the filters did not slow down the service.'(6)
However, more recently Conroy has been arguing for mandatory filter across all Australian households, with Computerworld releasing an article in mid-October including the comment that,
'...advisers to Minister Conroy have told ISPs that Internet content filtering will be mandatory for all users.'(7)

Many critics have likened this to the current system operating in China, where sites such as Google are considered 'illegal', and cyberdissendents are quickly arrested and jailed. This does not seem to be far from the truth, with Conroy doing little to dispel such superstition, especially when he attempted to 'bully' ISP staff, and force them to keep any criticisms of the scheme unheard. (8)

But I believe the major problem with all of this is where it gets personal. Of course I believe that a world without child pornography, most pornography in general, drug information and details on how to construct weapons and explosives of all varieties would be a better place. However, this isn't the 'big picture'. Filters don't work on blocking specific sites unless one is willing to invest a lot of time and money hunting down individual web addresses - and a porn site often has multiple addresses to access it from. Instead, they work on IP addresses. Think of an IP address for a site as the general address for a block of flats; sure, one of the occupants might be a criminal, but you can't barricade the entire block from the outside world because the other tenants are suddenly without access. They are, without a doubt, fucked.
Another way of filtering is to block out keywords; it seems the government would probably use words such as 'naked' 'babies' 'rape' 'molesting' etc.
Consider a psychology student using an online article archive such as JSTOR, writing a paper on the psychological effects of child rape. Anything that could possibly aid them in their learning will be filtered. It's not just this situation, as a law student I am constantly looking up cases for the principles contained within, and often there is a principle that is not entirely related to the case. Should I be looking for a principle - unrelated to sexual incidents - but contained within a sexual harassment or assault case, and there were 'filtered' keywords in the case notes, I couldn't use it. This can be applied across almost every single academic discipline.

And in all honesty, shouldn't it be the parents' responsibility to watch what their children are hunting down on the net? I know there are home filter programs - even free ones - my parents had one for a time. The government is not everyone's nanny, and in pursuing something like this it is eventually the futures of the children they are attempting to protect, that will suffer.

________

(1) The Age [2/1/2008]: http://news.theage.com.au/technology/australias-plans-to-filter-internet-under-fire-20080102-1jwl.html
(2) ZDNet.com.au [30/10/2008]: http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/communications/soa/ISP-level-content-filtering-won-t-work/0,139023754,339292158,00.htm
(3) See above.
(4) Ars Technica [28/10/2008]: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081028-australias-internet-filter-could-legal-content-be-banned-too.html
(5) See above.
(6) The Age [2/1/2008]: http://news.theage.com.au/technology/australias-plans-to-filter-internet-under-fire-20080102-1jwl.html
(7) Computerworld [13/10/2008]: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1399635276;fp;16;fpid;0
(8) Sydney Morning Herald [24/10/2008]: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/labors-net-gag-worse-than-iran/2008/10/23/1224351430987.html

Absence...

2008-11-11T22:57:00.004+10:30

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it?

In fact, 514 days if we're splitting hairs on it. A lot can happen in such a time. I should say, a lot has happened in that time. To give it a quick summary:

I progressed through Year 12 International Baccalaureate with some apprehension. In retrospect it was probably the best choice I could have made; the skills and qualities that I developed have aided me greatly in university (bit of a plot spoiler there) and most of all... Some of it was actually fun. I may sound a little crazy there, but I enjoyed a large amount of my time. That being said, there were days where I wanted to find the nearest hole and quickly dispatch myself in samurai fashion, but as always the good comes with the bad. In the end, I sat my 15 exams (an average of 2.14285714... per subject) and came out of them feeling fairly optimistic. This optimism was repaid with a sterling score of 37/45, the breakdown of which is as follows:
Biology HL: 5/7
Chemistry SL: 6/7
English HL: 6/7
French SL: 5/7
History HL: 6/7
Maths SL: 6/7
Extended Essay: A
ToK: B
[Combined A,B = 3/3]

What was surprising was that my two best subjects (Bio & French) became my two worst, and vice versa (Maths & Chemistry). Nonetheless, this all equated to a TER of 97.6, which managed to get me an offer to study a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of International Studies (Double Degree) at the University of Adelaide.

Uni life is... well, fantastic. I didn't really experience uni culture and society per se until my second semester - the first i spent reveling in the ability to piss off from lectures and tutorials and grab a coffee in town, a mere 4 subjects a semester, only 2 of which had exams, and a comfortable 12 contact hours a week.
I also started a new job, having been offered a Shift Manager position just after I finished my exams. I actually work more than I study, with an average 20.5 hours at work a week. Still, the money is nice.
Back to uni: in second semester I decided to be more of a 'uni student'. I was more likely to be found in the UniBar playing pool than my lecture halls (although I only missed tutorials if I had a major clash) and I enjoyed myself a lot more. There wasn't the same amount of stress, although time will tell when it comes to results time (my 1 exam is in a few days). Nevertheless, I met a lot more people, a greater variety of people, and had an absolute ball along the way.
After starting at uni, I eventually hunted down the Adelaide University Rugby Union Football Club (AURUFC) or "the Blacks" for short. I started well, scoring a try against their archrivals, Old Collegians in my first game. The season went well, and I finished up as Best First-Year Player in Reserve (2nd) Grade, as well as being offered a scholarship to Armidale, NSW for a rugby camp in January. This should be fun. Other co-curricular pursuits included running for a position on the Law Students' Society (which I missed due to some deft political maneuvering) and playing pool, drinking, etc.

But by far the biggest impact this past 514 days has been my relationship. Of course, I'm saving the best until last. About 3 posts backwards, my latest 'fling' had drawn to a long, painful close. Repeating cycles of break-up and reconciliation were completely fucking with my schoolwork, my life and my sanity, and so it was ended permanently. Coming out of this relationship there wasn't a whole lot of support, apart from one girl who by chance I had met through the relationship - don't be judgmental, the relationship with 'other' followed its predestined course and ended naturally.
This girl is quite possibly the sweetest thing I have ever known. When she hardly knew me, she listened to my woes, gave me advice, but most importantly, she gave me her friendship unconditionally. We ended up hanging out a bit, and on the 31st August started dating. What followed was, in a word, immense.
I had realised her patience and friendship before we started dating, but in my time with her I have never ever been so happy. Of course, it had its ups and downs, but that's life; the good always comes with the bad, otherwise the good is never noticeable, non? We both made several mistakes, and we both hurt each other a lot, but the most important thing was we loved each other and wanted more than anything to perfect ourselves for each other. Unfortunately yours truly made a mistake he couldn't handle, and without explaining it to the girl, ended the relationship in such a way it appeared her fault. This was just short of a year being together.
However, as someone very close to me said, "When two people are meant to be together the universe will alter their paths so as to become one." Or words to that effect, at least. As fate would have it, our paths did cross again, some two months later. Both of us had done things we regretted immensely, but on the same token, both of us had realised so much about ourselves and each other, that things felt... right.
And here is where the pages are blank, because I am currently with this fantastic girl, and we are writing our own future...

[I'm also writing a book, but that's another story for another time...]

Until I have time to kill.

~Coops

Year 12

2007-06-17T15:34:00.000+09:30

Ok, it's offical: Year 12 BLOWS. I mean, really, who would have thought that 9 months (not even a whole year) of hard study to be so much hard work? But then there's the assignments, the mock exams, exam revision, and that's just school!

Add to that Venturers, Queen's Scout Award, sport, trying to keep a semblence of a social life, part-time job... It all gets way too much.

So anyway, since i'm doing the IB (aka Hell), here's a few things to make you titter:

IB Final Exam

Instructions: Read each question carefully. Answer all questions. Time limit: 2 hours. Begin immediately. What you do counts for 5% of your grade; how you explain what you've done represents 95%. Don't forget to make connections to all the other subjects in every one of your exams and to cite every single book related to the answers or you will lose points for every source not cited. This test is out of 10,000,000 marks. 2 extra marks will be awarded to candidates who can explain why the hell they are called marks.

Public Speaking: 2500 riot-crazed Aborigines will storm the classroom in four minutes. When they arrive, calm them. You may use any ancient language except Latin or Greek.

Medicine: You have been provided with a razor blade and a bottle of scotch. Remove your appendix. You have fifteen minutes.

Creativity: Create a perfect replica of the statue of liberty with Chinese chopsticks and macaroni. No glue is allowed

Biology: Create life. Compare your artificial life to the natural one. "I don't have a life" will not be taken as an excuse.

Mathematics: By substituting 2 for 1, find the exact value for 1+1. Hence prove that 0 = 1 and derive an expression for an infinitely null existent non-existing value for theta. You have pi minutes to complete this exam, which is simultaneously an infinite and null value of time.

Alternatively, find the equation of a line that does not exist (hint: let a = 7) and prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a kangaroo court that said line trisects a certain point (which also doesn't exist).

Sociology: Convince sociologists from Brownsville that Global Warming exists.

Physics: Given that E! = MC^2 solve by proving with induction that ((x - E) / (-1+1)) > ((0.5Mv^2)/pi). Use the answer to this question to work out how long you have to do this exam then complete all pages except for 1, 4, 6, 0.5 and 87. You will lose all marks and your soul if any answers are not stated to 19.3 significant figures and the variable simply known as "panda" is not present in your answer.

Physical Education: Throw a basketball. Write a paper on the trajectory. Next, using the areas of interaction, explain the deeper meaning of a football and how the history of the shin pad symbolizes the American dream.

English: Cite all of Shakespeare's plays word by word, but omitting the letter "e".

French: Outline all three French victories in military combat against Germany. "There were no French victories against the Germans" will not be taken as an answer, even though it's true.

German: Outline all 500 German victories against the French in military combat. Your test will be invalidated if you use any German word that is more than 7 letters in length.

Pathology: A volatile strain of smallpox will be released in New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles in half an hour. Contain the outbreak; no more than 500 smallpox related deaths will be acceptable.

Political Science: There is a red telephone on the desk beside you. Start World War III. Then discuss in a 50 page essay the effects, if any, of the war.

Epistemology: Take a position for or against truth. Prove the validity of your stand.

Philosophy: Something Happens. Why?

Art: Your have 5 minutes to look at and memorize a picture of the Sistine Chapel. Create a perfect replica on a 1:3 scale. Use the marble stones and other supplies you were required to bring to the exam.

Law: Create a new amendment and have it added to the United States Constitution. Extra points will be awarded for getting previous amendments repealed. Preferably number 8 (No cruel/unusual punishment).

Astronomy: Create a medium-sized black hole on your desk.

Theory Of Knowledge: What is the meaning of life? Be specific and concise. Please answer in meters per second.

Religion: Prove that God is real.

Spanish: Locate a poor child in Honduras and have him lead you to a buried chest of Aztec gold. "There were no Aztecs in Honduras" is not an accepted excuse, even though it's true.

Engineering: E-mail me your exam when complete. You may not use a computer.

Create a time-machine and hand this test in ten minutes ago.

Chemistry: Construct an illegal biological weapon of your choice. Using Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, or Nitrogen is forbidden.

Create Lysergic acid diethylamide using only your body excretions, once produced, then consume the LSD-25 and proceed to maintain your lucidity and write a 20 page lab report points will be deducted for any answers containing the words "gnomes, flying, Jesus, red elephant, or etc" also no points will be given for bad trips.

Geography: Find where Osama Bin Laden lives, giving the excuse of "We are bringing liberty to the people of "x" country". Meanwhile searching is absolutely prohibited

Jamaican: Dissect a Punani. Extra points for dissecting your own.

History: Write your entire history syllabus in 45 minutes. Dates for every event and crisis are essential. You will get no marks if etc. is found on your answer. A minimum of 7 and a half pages is required. You will not be able to finish the exam; if you manage to finish it in time, name Hitler's dog.

Write a 5000 word monograph using only consonants, and all historical figures should be referred to as Wilde. Any dates NOT before 6000 B.C. will result in failure. Your monograph will then be graded on historical accuracy.

Music: Play Bella Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra from memory on a penny whistle. While doing so, write out a copy of the full score of Beethoven's Eleventh Symphony. "Beethoven didn't write an eleventh symphony" is not an accepted excuse.

NOTE: Most schools will not have "hands on" exams composed of objects supplied by the school, but focus on more theory work. It teaches students to make more, with less.

~Coops

Fear the Bass

2007-06-09T11:53:00.000+09:30

Just a warning to you all - Big W, aka my beast of a '96 Hyundai Excel, now has new speakers. These speakers are, in the shortest statement awesome. Just to show you how awesome, here's a picture:

Pretty sexy, eh? That's the power of two 12" Pioneer bass speakers (aka Subwoofers), coupled with two 6" JVC in the front. And to cap it all off, I have a Sony Xplod head unit that not only has a gorgeous Aux input for my iRiver, but can play MP3 Discs. I am happy.

Have fun all ye people, a meaninful post will be up soonish.

~Coops

Defence Budget Boom

2007-06-03T13:25:00.000+09:30

One of the chief issues haunting the majority of the Western world's minds at the moment is, no doubt, defence. Despite almost 6 years having passed since the out break of America's "War on Terror", there seems to be little resolution, either in capturing the primary culprit, Mr. Osama Bin Laden, or in reducing terrorism cases worldwide. in fact, if anything, terrorism has increased, mainly due to the huge publicity which any act of terrorism is now awarded. Throughout all of this, defence now becomes an issue, and hits ever closer to the Australian home, with events such as the Bali bombing, continuous threats from various groups and the ongoing faux pas with David Hicks - although, that event might finally be resolving itself.

But still, this is only an introduction. The Australian government has announced a new $22 billion budget for the Defence Force this year, which is in fact the largest build-up in Australian military spending since Vietnam. So far the Defence Forces shopping list is as follows:

Increase Army size to 30,000 troops by 2016 - $10 billion
24 Super Hornet fighters for the RAAF - $6.6 billion
Military Aviation - $1+ billion

Troop lift helicopters - $430 million
C-17 heavy airlift transports - $240 million

Also on the books for production are three new air warfare destroyers, which are hoped to enter service in 2013.

Out of the $22 billion committed to this budget, $14 billion of has been taxpayers' money.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not against the federal budget in supporting the Defence Force. I am in fact very supportive - I just have to ask, is the Government spending this money for the right reasons? Indeed Australia has one of the smallest armed forces in the world, and the current skills shortage in the civilian job stream isn't making recruiting any easier. Unfortunately, throwing money at the ADF will not make more people jump at the chance to become a soldier, seaman or pilot. Nor will it cause more people to want to enter the ADF as an urgently needed tradesperson. Australia does need a Defence Force - and so far, it has almost been living up to its name. However, the argument that Australia is defending its own interests by involving itself in other countries' affairs is beginning to wear thin, especially with the unresolved Iraq war. Fair enough, when Saddam Hussein was in power he could have been perceived as a threat to the Western world, which does include Australia, but my question is what are we still doing there? The despot is dead and buried, with the full story about how he managed to procure these Weapons of Mass Destruction still being kept behind closed doors - in fact, where were the weapons anyway? Have they even found them yet?

I am not saying we should pull out of Iraq... yet. I just want to know why we are still involved. Why, despite the fact that Australia's security (from Iraq, at least) has been assured, we are still fighting what began as, and always will be, an American conflict? Is there some unknown reason? Some hidden glory? The argument has been put that the ADF needs to 'make a name for itself'. Well I think that point has been made - the Australian SAS is arguably one of the top three Special Forces in the world, and considering the other two are the British SAS and the Israeli Mossad, that is quite an achievement.

But returning to the budget - high-tech weaponry can only do so much. Sure, dropping one precision weapon that can level a palace is cool, but the fact is any army will always need soldiers on the ground. There is only so much that unmanned surveillance can tell the command group, and even now we can't guarantee that what it does tell the commanders is entirely accurate. Add to that the fact that a home-made explosive cost a few hundred dollars at most can be used to write-off a $4.3 million tank, and it becomes fairly clear that technology does not have all the answers. This is even seen within the ADF, as Special Forces, although supplied with the best weapons available, often use far more primitive tools to carry out their missions - and one squad of SAS troopers can often accomplish what an entire battalion of infantry could not.

So maybe the emphasis should be better training and facilities for our troops and the expansion of our elite soldiers, instead of buying lots of new shiny things that the ADF can play with and show off.

~Coops

Edit: for those of you who argue that the British SBS is in the Top 3, bite me. The British SBS is pretty much the SAS with emphasis on boating as opposed to airbourne training. For those of you who argue that a US "Special Forces" group is in the Top 3, grow up.

A New Beginning...

2007-05-31T23:12:00.000+09:30

Well greetings once again to those of you who follow the world of blogging! Whilst it has been a quite enjoyable sabbatical, I realised that despite all the other things going on in my life (Year 12, Rugby, Venturers...) I still have a desire to publish my thoughts in the hope that someone will listen.
Needless to say, this blog will be quite different from my last. Mainly I will not be updating as regularly as I used to - a few times a week at most. Also I plan to share with you some of the great wonders of the internet which have previously been unnoticed by many - just interesting little titbits that I pick up here and there. So to begin, a quick summary of life so far this year, ups and downs:

New relationship
Winning 1st VIII Head of the River 2007
Realisation that Year 12 is a bitch
Seymour Formal 2007
Ruin of aforementioned relationship

Also, I came across this, as a summary of the year that has (not so recently) gone by:

"At the end of 2006 I looked back on the year and thought a lot about what I’ve learnt. No doubt you will have made some of these discoveries yourself, but I thought I’d share them with you. I’ve learnt that you don’t need to earn big money to be happy with your job – during my time spent at Woodside I saw this over and over. I’ve learnt how good it feels when you give everything you have and come out winning – my time in the 2^nd VIII taught me you don’t have to be the best to feel good about what you do. I’ve learnt that losing isn’t so bad and can in fact make you stronger – both the Nationals and my rugby season showed me this. I’ve learnt that while first love is the sweetest, it’s also the most painful and can teach you the most. Perhaps most importantly, I’ve learnt to appreciate what I’ve got, take every chance I can and always pick myself up after a fall – and if I can’t, I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made who will."

Obviously I've missed a fair bit out, but these grey areas can be filled in later. More importantly, the present is what counts. Sure, our experiences in the past help us, nurture us, make us grow, but much of these experiences remain ours and ours only.

Finally, I'd like to leave you with a quote that isn't mine. It’s something that you will also notice on the side of my blog. A truly inspirational quote, from a truly inspirational man.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

~Coops