This will hurt me...

Look at these poor buggers waiting at the lights, ready to head in to work for another day of soul destroying, mind numbing, blood pressure raising work! And it doesn't even matter that these guys will be working in the waterfront precinct, with lovely views and the chance of seeing seals frolicking during their coffee break. It matters not one jot, because they are disenchanted through the crushing numbness that is paid employment in the year 2009. One that fine note, here's Tuesday Q and A! This is an easy one today: do you hate your job?

One of my very few shots that contain people (not spawned by me). Here we are on a chilly winter's afternoon waiting at the lights on Davey Street. Hats are indeed in order, and even dear little Ampelmännchen is starting to feel the chill! Alas, winter is departing! This morning, I awaited the bus amid glorious spring sunshine . Sure, there was snow on the mountain and it was four degrees when I arrived in town, but blue sky and a heartening sun can do a lot to cheer a man up.

You may have noticed that - children of mine aside - I rarely post photographs with people in them. I'm very shy about photographing the mug punters in the street, onlyI don't know why. So here you go, a standard street side view of Hobartians going about their business! I'd like to know what you think is going on here? A complex heroin importation scheme? An insurance scam? Ribald commentary on Beyonce's [ahem] ass ets? Footy tipping gamesmanship? Old school chums? Musings on the whereabouts of Haold Holt? C'mon people! Give a brother a hand...

There is nothing finer than a paddle in a kayak on a brisk Autumn's morning! Here is a pair that I regularly see on the Derwent that seem to travel up from Taroona all the way to Cornelian Bay and back. That's a fair trip, and will get the shoulders aching. I've written a poem on the bus the other morning, and it rhymes. This is a rare thing for me, so consider yourself blessed. Abourist If I were a tree a tree I'd be a finer tree you could never see if I were a tree I'd never flee you'd not see me run away from thee

I grew up in a town. As a little-un, I even thought that it was a decent-sized town. When Australia's Bicentennial year finally arrived, the bustling metropolis of Burnie - located in the stunning north-west coast of Tasmania - boasted an impressive TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND people, and a figure no less impressive than [deep breath] By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis; Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith [exhale] Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second officially pronounced Burnie a genuine, bona fide, one hundred percent dinky di CITY . It doesn't matter that the harsh realities of the post-industrial economy has driven a retraction the hugely impressive n...

There are a number of people that I had in mind to sit behind that desk, but chickened out and went with 'generic guy that kind of looks like Tom Cruise'. Similarly, I couldn't get the female character there that I had in mind (who herself nominated Rocky Dennis for the role), so went with Jeanne Garofolo instead. At three episodes, this comic strip gig is already two more than I had envisaged.

I'm not entirely sure what this building is used for, all that I know that it looks too haphazardly arranged for my liking. It’s all jutting edges and there are too many windows where the sun is completely blocked out. Looking at it closely, for some reason my mind slips into a gear that I like to call "New York Taxi Guy” it’s still me, but I feel the need to express myself through an imagined character "You wanna know what I think? Lemme tell ya what I think. I think that they should knock it down and build a great big waterslide. Yeah, a waterslide , that's right. A really curly wurly one that goes on and on and on. With a theme. Maybe convicts. Yeah, convicts, that’s the ticket. They wanna tap into that whole Van Diemen’s Land convict vibe. But it’ll never happen. Nuthin’ ever happens in this goddamn place. The problem with this town and these goddamn people is that they just don't dream big enough. No sense of the possibilities. And it’s a goddamn shame, th...

Back on the bad public policy bandwagon, I'll be interested to see where the Rudd government goes with regards to the baby bonus. Despite the fact that Jen and I are sitting on a nice little earner come August, I think that it is yet another good example of terrible public policy from the Howard government. There is no real social or economic rationale to the policy (in its present form), and really stands out as a crude inducement to win votes. These are generally where the most obvious public policy failures occur.   Thus, I was interested to read this piece by Professor Joshua Gans on his Core Economics website . In it, he argues that the bonus can be eliminated with little political cost. It is an interesting take on how government might phase out the bonus, and if there is one thing to be learned from the media's appalling presentation of the issue of carers' bonus payments, the purging of previous government's bad policies ('inducements') will have to be ...

You know, this kind of freaks me out a bit. Like some sick game by perverts, many of whom may well get off on it. It also reads as a slight overreaction, and will no doubt annoy these kids. For more the story behind this picture, visit the Daily Mail , those fine purveyors of nonsense.

By christ some people are stupid. Just had to get that off my chest.