This is an interesting piece... seems as though George W Bush rejected offers of aid from around the world during the Katrina disaster.
Shameful, but you should read some of the comments from the Right Wing Nut Jobs who said that Katrina Victims should get off their collective arses and fix it for themselves as opposed to living off the state...
Pathetic! But really, what else do you expect from the Neo-Conservative Right Wing nutters that lead the US at the moment?
The Reaction -- by Michael J.W. Stickings: Fucking the victims of Katrina
Monday, April 30, 2007
Ooh Aaah - a Weekend of Farce
I personally had a very good weekend... very relaxing and gave Niki the day to herself while she went out scrap-booking and I had the kids to myself. We went out for a big brekkie at a local cafe and then after all the bacon, eggs and sausages had settled down we went down to the roller skating rink at Penrith where for 3 hours the girls skated and skated and skated. They had a great time and for $8 for 3hrs (plus skate hire if you need it) and realistic food prices (drinks $2 and chips $1.80) you can spend an afternoon doing sweet FA whilst the kids had a great time. I personally didnt skate, but maybe next time...
But what I really want to write about today is the bloody Cricket World Cup Final! How ridiculous was it! Imagine playing the end of the game in the dark? I was watching it live on Sunday morning and I couldnt believe that the umpires wanted to play it out? I thought the Duckworth Lewis scoring system was supposed to stop all this shenanigans? (If you have no idea what I am talking about, read this)
But anyway, at least the best team did win and Glenn McGrath went out on the best note possible. Even though he didnt take more wickets than Shane Warne or Murali, I still tend to rate him the better bowler overall. To open the bowling for Australia for so long and really keep opposing teams under the hammer over such a long career, McGrath showed time and time again that he is (was) the best of all time. From day 1 through to yesterday, he had a metronomic action that churned out line and length balls that batsman repeatedly couldnt hit... in my mind, he is the greatest bowler of all time.
Ooh Aah Glenn McGrath!
But what I really want to write about today is the bloody Cricket World Cup Final! How ridiculous was it! Imagine playing the end of the game in the dark? I was watching it live on Sunday morning and I couldnt believe that the umpires wanted to play it out? I thought the Duckworth Lewis scoring system was supposed to stop all this shenanigans? (If you have no idea what I am talking about, read this)
But anyway, at least the best team did win and Glenn McGrath went out on the best note possible. Even though he didnt take more wickets than Shane Warne or Murali, I still tend to rate him the better bowler overall. To open the bowling for Australia for so long and really keep opposing teams under the hammer over such a long career, McGrath showed time and time again that he is (was) the best of all time. From day 1 through to yesterday, he had a metronomic action that churned out line and length balls that batsman repeatedly couldnt hit... in my mind, he is the greatest bowler of all time.
Ooh Aah Glenn McGrath!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Train Pains
A small rant this morning... this concerns me travelling on trains in the evenings.
A word of advice for my fellow commuters... the train, particularly country trains given that the windows do not open and we are all enclosed together in the silver tube that is the carriage, is NOT the place for you to open up a series of the plastic Asian take-away food containers and have your dinner.
To the lady who decided to have spring rolls, a mongolian lamb style concoction with another container of rice, spread over the seat beside you in which you proceeded to gorge yourself on the smelly banquet in such a confined space, you're an idiot.
Why do people have such little regard for their fellow travellers? People who play music way too loud (and I mean you lady who this morning had what I think was Kasey Chambers squeeling at just a level of volume in her headphones that I could still hear it three rows away) and people who eat stinky food (as above) and the lovely teenage boys who decided to shoot spit balls through the air over the passengers you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
The train trip on its own is at times wearisome and boring... I dont need these type of idiots colouring it up for me.
/rant off.
A word of advice for my fellow commuters... the train, particularly country trains given that the windows do not open and we are all enclosed together in the silver tube that is the carriage, is NOT the place for you to open up a series of the plastic Asian take-away food containers and have your dinner.
To the lady who decided to have spring rolls, a mongolian lamb style concoction with another container of rice, spread over the seat beside you in which you proceeded to gorge yourself on the smelly banquet in such a confined space, you're an idiot.
Why do people have such little regard for their fellow travellers? People who play music way too loud (and I mean you lady who this morning had what I think was Kasey Chambers squeeling at just a level of volume in her headphones that I could still hear it three rows away) and people who eat stinky food (as above) and the lovely teenage boys who decided to shoot spit balls through the air over the passengers you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
The train trip on its own is at times wearisome and boring... I dont need these type of idiots colouring it up for me.
/rant off.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Anzac Day
Had a good Anzac Day yesterday with a BBQ at our place. Despite the weather, we had about a dozen people over and we gorged on chips, dips, nibbles, BBQ, salads and then some desert with heaps of beer and wine thrown in.
Basically we sat at the table from 11-11:30 and nobody moved until 5:30pm... except for a quick foray into the lounge room to watch my Saints get bitch slapped by the Roosters (thats another rant I wont bore you with).
Alot of old stories told, new ones shared and people getting too pissed... happy days.
For the formal part of the day, we couldnt get to Dawn Service this year as Kate was a bit crook (she had Tuesday off school with vomiting) and we thought it was too much to wake her at 5:30 and drag her out into the cold. The girls did watch the march on tele and they do have a good understanding of what the day means. We havent done anything over the top to push this message so most of their knowledge must have come from school. They say that Anzac Day is increasingly for younger Australians and I liked the idea of the concert on the Gold Coast on the weekend as well... more of it I say!
Basically we sat at the table from 11-11:30 and nobody moved until 5:30pm... except for a quick foray into the lounge room to watch my Saints get bitch slapped by the Roosters (thats another rant I wont bore you with).
Alot of old stories told, new ones shared and people getting too pissed... happy days.
For the formal part of the day, we couldnt get to Dawn Service this year as Kate was a bit crook (she had Tuesday off school with vomiting) and we thought it was too much to wake her at 5:30 and drag her out into the cold. The girls did watch the march on tele and they do have a good understanding of what the day means. We havent done anything over the top to push this message so most of their knowledge must have come from school. They say that Anzac Day is increasingly for younger Australians and I liked the idea of the concert on the Gold Coast on the weekend as well... more of it I say!
Diplomacy - End Game Statements
Played my first game of Diplomacy by email with complete strangers and did pretty ordinary at the end (survived with just one unit left on the board).
The good thing about Diplomacy is that at the end, everyone writes an "end game statement" in which we truthfully reveal our reasons for playing and moving what we did.
You can see that my statement (as Russia) differs from Austria's... unfortunately Turkey didnt respond...
Diplomacy 2000 Adjudication
The good thing about Diplomacy is that at the end, everyone writes an "end game statement" in which we truthfully reveal our reasons for playing and moving what we did.
You can see that my statement (as Russia) differs from Austria's... unfortunately Turkey didnt respond...
Diplomacy 2000 Adjudication
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Deathroller Complete
Finished painting my Dwarven Deathroller today... all ready to go in July's Eucalyptus Bowl.
I know I'm not the best painter around, but I'm happy with this effort. I have gone for a matching burgundy scheme as to my Dwarf team (the Glenbrook Kings) and hence the hand painted crown logo on the side.
Also, I have gone for the mad, googly eyed look... most deathrollers I see painted cover the lens in black paint to look like sunglasses... I instead went for a big thick lenses :)
I know I'm not the best painter around, but I'm happy with this effort. I have gone for a matching burgundy scheme as to my Dwarf team (the Glenbrook Kings) and hence the hand painted crown logo on the side.
Also, I have gone for the mad, googly eyed look... most deathrollers I see painted cover the lens in black paint to look like sunglasses... I instead went for a big thick lenses :)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The End of Dragon Magazine
Sadly, one of the institutions of gaming, Dragon Magazine, is closing down and the owners of the magazine rights, Wizards of the Coast are not renewing the publishing contract.
To many people, this isn't a big deal, but for gamers Dragon Magazine and its sister magazine Dungeon were a great source of gaming info, particularly for Dungeons & Dragons. The press release states that the magazine can no longer keep up with web publishing and hence are offering a web subscription service instead.
The death of paper? Sad, but will it be the end of pen and paper role playing games like D&D?
Press Release From Paizo Publishing
To many people, this isn't a big deal, but for gamers Dragon Magazine and its sister magazine Dungeon were a great source of gaming info, particularly for Dungeons & Dragons. The press release states that the magazine can no longer keep up with web publishing and hence are offering a web subscription service instead.
The death of paper? Sad, but will it be the end of pen and paper role playing games like D&D?
Press Release From Paizo Publishing
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