This will hurt me...

God, the footy has started already. It seems to start earlier every year. Not much changed with Richmond being thumped again. I see the G-Train is back. And didn’t they delist Milne? I hate that guy. I’ll have to have a think about my predictions this season and see if I can repeat my extraordinary tip for the Catters last year. I also have high hopes that I can triumph in the footy tipping this year. People are waiting!

Here is a video taken yesterday morning of the young bloke coming to grips with the harmonica. As of today, he now has considerable skills on the drum, keyboard, maracas, castanets, xylophone, tambourine, whistle and blues harp. He'll be starting his own band soon - he's already got the hair for it!

Don't worry, I'll put a stupid ad up soon, but I was interested to see this post from Andrew Norton on the HECS/HELP program. I guess in some way this is related to my previous post. On the whole, I am supportive of the notion of user contributions to higher education, provided policymakers get the balance right, which I am not sure has been the case over the past decade. As a result, I am interested in the broader impacts of that balance/imbalance. My own anecdotal experience (dangerous, I know) of teaching at UTas over the past seven years tends to support Norton's assumption, if anything it seems like more diverse backgrounds are being represented through the School of Government than was the case in my undergrad days (1996-99). Obviously the reasons for this are complex and wide-ranging, but it has provoked my interest whenever I read another attack on HECS/HELP. I'd like to see the figures drilled into a bit, and wonder if it is reflective across the states, and ...

Nothing bothers me more than the continual repetition of poor public policy choices. Whether it concerns the economy, education, public housing, drug laws, higher education, whatever , I like to think of myself as constantly open to diverse ways to engage with, and respond to, well, anything really. Thus, new ideas to enduring problems are always interesting to me. Australian economist Andrew Leigh (whose blog I have enjoyed for some time now) is someone who is always out there with interesting new ideas. In his blog today, he proposes five novel suggestions for PM Kevin Rudd's [that still sounds odd to me] proposed 'war cabinet' on issues related to Indigenous disadvantage. I can't say that I'm overly keen on all of them , but I like that people are prepared to think from left field. By crikey, if any public policy area is in need of fresh ideas, this is one!

My eye has been drawn to a new experiment going on at the BBC News website. They're inviting readers/listeners/viewers to put forward topics to talk about each day . I often find that the BBC message boards have a more diverse range of commentators (geographically, gender-wise, ideologically etc) than other such places, and they seem more closely moderated. This generally keeps the tone far more inclusive and civil than elsewhere. Yes, I'm looking at you CiF ! The idea of a proper, civil, global conversation is a good one, and I hope it takes off.

The bus trip to work is now far less pleasant now that schools are back. High school children are horrible: they smell funny, they're noisy, they say stupid things, and they lack manners. And before anyone throws the 'you're getting old' tag at me, I've pretty much thought this way when I was in high school myself. Bloody bags on seats and in the aisle, yelling, squealing and carrying on. Hrumpfff!

St. John's, Canada   St. John's is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America.   The area around Sr. John's should be of interest to any history buff. It's obviously a nice area, because it seems to have caused some consternation over the place across the years. First populated by the native Mi'kmaq and Beothuk people, the Vikings arrive. The oldest known European settlement anywhere in the Americas was located in Newfoundland sometime around 1000 A.D. by Leif Ericson's Vikings. Remnants and artefacts of this settlement can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows , which itself would be well worth a visit. At some point, the Viking settlements cease to exist, and other Europeans take their place.   Various parties of English, Portuguese, Basque, Spanish and French fishermen habitually turn up from the fifteenth century to exploit the abundant fishing stocks in the area. In 1583, the area was cl...

Seriously, why on Earth did Nokia change their logo from the original? I for one would back a return to my favourite mobile phone company. Click the link for a very interesting look at the evolution of tech company logos . Well, at least I know that Jen will be interested! As an aside, Neatorama has plenty of fascinating stuff on it, well worth the stroll over.

Here is a billboard snapped somewhere in the Caribbean. I think that it may be Trinidad, but I offer my unreserved apologies to any Trinidadians who may be reading if it isn't! I heartily endorse the message, but it does sadden me somewhat that it needs to be made so bluntly. Perhaps the fellows from some of these other ads that have been featured need to look and learn.

I stumbled a memorable site upon the other day that I would thought I'd share. It collects photo albums of German soldiers found (or seized) by Soviet forces during World War II. I find looking through these pictures an odd experience, especially as we have no knowledge at all of whom these men are, what they did, how they ended up. For whatever reason, I find it a little disturbing. Well worth a visit though.

Father Noun Singular = father Plural = fathers 1. A male parent. My father was a cold, hard man . 2. A term of address for an elderly man. Come, father; please sit beside me. 3. A term of address for a Christian priest. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. 4. A person who plays the role of a father in some way. The child is father to the man. 5. The founder of a discipline or science. Many claim that Albert Einstein is the father of modern physics.