Enough porkies, it's time for a few home truths

A unusually upbeat article about the miracle of modern Australia from an otherwise hardened political commentator.

Enough porkies, it's time for a few home truths

I love the line:

It turns out that John Howard and Peter Costello delivered the closest thing to a socialist paradise that Australia has seen. Who knew?

A tribute to Borgnis Street!

There is a Street
(c) 2009 Wesley, Belinda, Thomas, Bethany & Simon Dart
(Written for our annual Connect Group Christmas BBQ and family concert. Sung to the tune of 'There is a Day' by Nathan Fellingham)

There is a street, that all of Davidson's longing for
A street of lumination, and visitation free for all
And on that street, you might meet with Santa Claus
And when you see him, in an instant you'll be amazed

Young and old, far and wide they come to Borgnis Street
In car or bus, on foot or stroller they arrive
The Manly Daily, declares the wonders of the lights
We know it's Christmas, and Bear Cottage will survive

You can see the lights from space
They'll be shining in your face!
And you'll be glad you don't live in this place, oh yeah!
There is so much to be seen
Mr Whippy sells ice-cream
Not sure if it's real clean, oh yeah! oh yeah!

The nights are late, the children start to irritate
And we can hardly, wait for the_date to arrive
December 31st is when_it all will come to end
And we'll farewell it, for another year again

Papua New Guinea

I saw many strange things when I was in PNG last week, but this newspaper advertisement especially caught my eye!

Simpson Desert 'Link of the Day'

An interesting article -- it looks like the Algebuckina Bridge might be worth stopping to look at.

http://www.outdoorssa.com.au/images/Simpson%20Desert/Web%20Photos/Aglebuckina%20Bridge.jpg

http://www.overlander.com.au/destinations/index/full/168/Outback-Oddyssey

Wes

Bacteria may limit space travel

This is a fascinating study.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Study_Bacteria_may_limit_space_travel_999.html

Most of the sci-fi movies portray imagined alien microbes as villians.  Who would have imagined our own bugs would be such a problem for long term space travel.

Camping Long Weekend Weather Forecast

Looks like the weather forecast is improving slightly!

My first Overseas Holiday by Tom Dart

It was the day after school finished at the end of term 4 in year 8, and my family and I were at the airport ready to fly to New Zealand for a 3 week holiday. Once we had made it through getting our tickets, and through customs, we headed for the departure lounges. But on the way, my dad decided to get some stupid tax refund on a camera we had bought the previous week, which almost caused us to miss the plane, and in turn made my mum become all stressed and upset. Once on the plane, we had to buy the food because it was jet star and they like to rip you off. So I grabbed a steak pie and sat back and enjoyed the flight.

A couple of hours later, I realised that we were now flying over mountains and open fields, as opposed to the blue Tasman that I had watched for ages. The colours were magnificent. Anyway, we flew for a bit longer and then landed in Christchurch. Once we had rented out a motor home to drive through the whole of the South Island, we found a nice little caravan park to stay in for 3 days. During this time, we had a look through Christchurch and got to see the main sights.

After Christchurch, we started our journey down the cold and wet West Coast of the South Island, usually stopping and sleeping on the side of the road as the motor home allowed us to dot his quite well. After visiting several different towns, we arrived in Queenstown, which for me was probably the highlight of the whole trip. We stayed in a nice caravan park, right next to the mountain that had a great restaurant at the top. But on our first full day, in the morning we had to be ready outside of the caravan park to be picked up by the company that was taking us jet boating down the river that is in Queenstown. They drove us in a four-wheel-drive truck into a hard to reach place known as Skipper's Canyon, where the boats were waiting there.

As well as being an exhilarating experience, we were able to see some places where Lord of the Rings was filmed along different parts of the canyon.

After getting back to the caravan park soon after lunch, we took what's called a 'gondola' up to the top of the mountain with the restaurant. What we found up there as well as the restaurant was a luge track, one of the few in the world. A luge is similar to a billy cart, but you control how fast you go down the track with the handlebars, by moving them towards or further away from yourself. It was so much fun, I think I had three or four goes throughout the afternoon.

It was getting late in the afternoon and our parents surprised us by taking us to the nice restaurant with a view over the whole of Queenstown.

After finishing at Queenstown, we continued on in our motorhome and visited places such as Milford Sound, and Dunedin, where the Cadbury chocolate factory is.

Then, we drove to Picton, caught the Interislander ferry, which takes you across the Cook Strait to the North Island, and continued our journey up through the rest of New Zealand, and finally to Auckland where we eventually caught the plane back to Australia.

Simpson Desert French Line @ ExplorOz

Some good info about the Simpson crossing via the French Line.

Simpson Desert French Line @ ExplorOz

Sydney dust storm from my office window at North Ryde

These pictures were taken by a colleague from our office window showing the how the Dust storm obscured the view at different times till it cleared.  We overlook the Lane Cover River.

Immortality predicted in 20 years

I thought the line "...reprogramme our bodies' stone-age software..." was a bit rich.

Putting aside the fact that the 'stone-age' is a fictitious era invented by evolutionists to try and neatly categorise human development from primitive ape to our current state of 'evolved' sophistication; our 'stone-age software' is actually infinitely complex and wonderful.

We have barely managed to decode human DNA, let alone understand the implications of how it all fits together with other functioning systems in the body, even if we did fully understand it, the eugenics implications for the 'brave new world' that might emerge are of serious concern as illustrated in science fiction films like Gattaca.

Whatever the outcome, the next few decades will be interesting indeed.

Step Into Life 2 Year Anniversary at Tharens restaurant

An unusual but not altogether unflattering picture from some recent celebrations. The lady on the right is much more attractive!

Yes that is me on the chair in the top right of the second photo!

TV Industry Code of Practice Amendment

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Wesley Dart
Date: 2009/9/21
Subject: TV Industry Code of Practice Amendment
To: code@freetv.com.au


To Whom It May Concern

I am a parent with three children aged 10, 12 and 15. My wife and I are becoming increasingly concerned with the level of sexual themes and content, plus violence and inappropriate language being used on free to air TV.

I believe that:

1. The TV classification guidelines need to be strengthened, not diluted in any way. Guidelines should be drafted in such a way as to be as free from any ambiguity as possible so that TV networks cannot evade their implications with 'clever' manoeuvring.
2. The current G-rated programming periods on TV should continue to apply to free-to-air digital multi-channels, not just the traditional 'major' channels.
   
3. There should be greater – not fewer – restrictions on the promotion of M, MA and AV programs at times when children may be watching TV. MA and AV programs should only be promoted after 8.30 pm and M-rated programs only after 7.30 pm (or during M-rated time slots). There have been many awkward moments when watching an otherwise innocent TV program when we and our children have had to sit through inappropriate content during commercial breaks.
   
4. I am opposed to proposed changes to the guidelines for MA programs which would mean sex scenes no longer have to be "discreet" and they "may contain detail". This is just titillation and porn attempting to get in 'under the radar'; so many studies have shown the destructive nature of this material on individuals and society as a whole.
   
5. We should get rid of the word "highly" in the revised Code that says reality TV participants can't be presented in a "highly demeaning or highly exploitative manner". I believe that participants shouldn't be demeaned or exploited at all! Recall the latest controversy on the radio front with radio 'shock jock' Kyle Sandilands exploiting a young girl (who had apparently been raped) live on air with the co-operation of her misguided mother. I believe that the community is fed up with material that exploits and demeans the dignity of any individual, even if contestants are willing participants through their own ignorance or foolishness.
   
6. Complaints shouldn't be stifled. I reject any changes which would do this, for example the grouping of similar complaints so that they can be counted as one.
7. It should be possible to lodge complaints via email, instead of only fax or post. In fact, I would go even further and suggest that sending an SMS/TEXT via mobile phone would provide a real-time gauge of the level of objection to specific content. This form of real-time voting is often used by TV networks to decide the outcome of shows like Australian Idol. Surely this technology could be adapted for a new and more worthwhile purpose.
   
8. TV stations should be more accountable, not less. Section 1.5 of the Code should be changed so that there aren't so many grounds for a breach of the Code to be excused.

I would be happy to provide additional feedback if requested.

Yours faithfully,

Wesley Dart

Pub2Pub Glory

I think this photo was taken at about the 13 km mark. We are just rounding the corner to begin the final sprint down Beaconsfield Street to the Newport Arms.

I was feeling pretty tired after the long stretch up the hill from Mona Vale, but with gravity on my side this time I began to sprint toward the finish line; beating my previous years time by 5 minutes.

What is your favourite family holiday memory?

This is what I wrote as an answer to that question in a BIG4 competition to win tickets to the "Charlie & Boots" premiere:

Desert camping along with the camels at Coward Springs on the Oodnadatta Track in South Australia.  The stillness of the desert combined with the beauty of the natural springs was amazing. To top it off we enjoyed bathing in a spa constructed with used Ghan railway sleepers that were over 100 years old.

In reality it is incredibly hard to single out any individual holiday memory as 'favourite' -- there have been so many wonderful experiences.

Fun Run Times

I was very pleased to improve my times in both the City2Surf and the Pub2Pub runs.  I managed to shave just over 5 minutes from my previous years time in the Pub2Pub; this year even beating my personal trainer by about 1.5 minutes.  I have recovered much quicker than the City2Surf with only minor muscle aches and no knee or hip pain.  I really enjoy running, although I found it a bit of a battle to keep pushing myself on Sunday.

Online Results for The 2009 Sun-Herald City2Surf

Hi Wesley Dart,

Your friend, WESLEY DART, sent you this link to race results from: The 2009 Sun-Herald City2Surf.

Click the link below to check it out!
http://results.au.eventdirector.net/View.asp?EventID=3580&Bib=10584

Fun Run Race Times

I just finished the 2009 City2Surf and improved my time and position a little from last year. I thought it might be good to create a bit of table with comparative statistics for each race. I will update it properly after completing the Pub2Pub race.

Simpson Desert 'Link of the Day'

Hello All

http://www.simpsondesert.fl.net.au/

Prompted by comments from the Leas on Saturday night, I thought I should not miss a day without something about our upcoming Simpson Desert adventure.

Here is an interesting web site that looks like it has been created by an older gentleman.  He notes the following:

This is a public service project published by the editor Kevin Murphy for the purpose of recounting the experiences of the French Line construction team.

He has included a lot of old photos.

The Leyland Brothers even get a mention, although the construction of the web site is a little cumbersome, so you might need to use the google search option on the site to find them.

See you soon.

Wes

Tom the drumming legend!

A picture of Tom at a recent school evening of music. I am very proud of all Tom has achieved on the drums!

Happy Birthday from Bethany

Hi Daddy,

I don't know if you will get this on your birthday but anyways I hope you have a great day! and remember we all love you soooooooooo much and you are so cool!

BETH

Katrina

This is the text version of Belinda’s speech on the occasion of Katrina’s 40th Birthday in 2008

It’s my turn to do a speech.

Kind, loving, generous, funny, never ending energy and enthusiasm – these are only some of the words that describe Katrina.

Where do I start when doing a speech about Katrina? That was the question I wrestled with earlier in the week. It’s so easy to have lots of ideas running around in your head, but getting them out is another matter.

One thought that kept coming over and over is Katrina’s selflessness and her care and love for others.

In Matthew 22 from the Bible there some verses that say:

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'

I really believe that these verses so beautifully describe Katrina – she is a woman who so much seeks to love God with all her heart and soul and mind.

The second part of the verse says -- 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'

Let me ask – how many of you are here tonight as dear friends of Katrina (& Scott) because of the love and friendship she has shown to you?

How many of you have children that she has minded, had a meal cooked for you, enjoyed cake that Katrina has made, have been made welcome in their home, been blessed by a haircut, a cup of tea or a listening understanding ear?

Katrina is often to first to help in times of need. I know of many ways that Katrina has been involved in your lives.

She is a wonderful wife and mother, a valuable part of her work and treasured friend of so many.

I count it pure joy and a privilege to be amongst her friends.

Her love for others and selfless giving is what has endeared her to us all, and we all honour you tonight Katrina.