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THAT WAS QUICK
Some five years after it was coined, Blair’s Law reaches a tipping point.
Brezhnev, Chernenko, Kosygin, Andropov…all spinning in their graves.
Gorbachev and Putin looking at each other…eyes wide open….
NOW! NOW, that bearded bastard Osama (sorta, except the Islam stuff) tells us he loves us. Jimmy, you cancelled the games for naught…LOL.
OH wait, Jimmy, you’re one of them, now…sorry…LOL.
Oh, by the way: do we Americans get to vote in the Australian election? I don’t see why not; your dogs are registering to vote in ours.
Paco, I’m sure any Australian breed of dog would make far more intelligent choices in the polling booth than most registered Washington Democrats.
Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2007 09 07 at 07:33 PM • permalink2.5% for muslims; add the Jizyah for non-muslims.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2007 09 07 at 07:48 PM • permalink“Australian Shepherd” is a bit of a misnomer. Apparently they were from Portugal or Spain, but the ship that took them to America stopped in Oz on the way.
“Nice dogs they’re unloading! Where did that ship come from?”
“Australia”
Thus is born the “Australian Shepherd”.
We do actually now have them in Oz now.Posted by AlburyShifton on 2007 09 07 at 08:09 PM • permalinkThanks Alb,
I was too lazy to Google it, but I did!
What an ugly mofo! I have not seen one of these in Australia, ever, in my life. I’ve been married to a Veterinarian for almost 20 years, and as a result I have been exposed to almost every breed of doggie in this country.
2.5% tax? Finally, a fiscal conservative!
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 09 07 at 08:55 PM • permalink#8
Kaboom, Australian Shepherd is an American breed, looks like stumpy-tailed cattledog and shepherd cross, but I read that they are something else crosses. They are beautiful dogs.#9: Paco, I’m sure any Australian breed of dog would make far more intelligent choices in the polling booth than most registered Washington Democrats.
Oh, absolutely, old top; I’m not complaining, mind you. In fact, your cats can vote over here too, if they want. I doubt they’d be interested, though; cats are all monarchists.
#21: How does that differ from being a Greenie or a Marxist?
Simple, Monaro. You see, the Greens . . . er . . . well, your basic Marxist . . . hmmm . . . give me a minute.
#12: Gracias, hombre!
#17
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I had a dog which looked like an Australian Shepherd, but she had a tail. She had the best nature. I can’t find a good photo.Yeah, but K’boom (where’s the kaboom? there should be an earth-shattering kaboom! - Marvin, my hero!), I reckon my mutts could vote better (and smell better, except for the deceased ones… Katie is gone now).
Hey, if we could have people registered to vote who lived on the sea-side of a street which was only occupied on the land side of the street, ie. the street ran along the beach one side had houses, the other ocean…) I reckon you can have Australian Shepherds voting!!
Kaboom, I think that’s a cute dog.
And since I am the Administrator, that settles that. Right???? ::PSYCHO GLARE::
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 09 07 at 10:06 PM • permalink#30: Other commenters edge away from Kaboom, leaving same isolated in the middle of the Death Beast saloon, glancing furtively - and futiley - in the direction of his holstered Colt, hanging on a peg behind the bar, and facing Belle Harris down the short muzzle of her derringer, pulled with lighting quickness from her garter belt. “Deal me out, boys”, said the Paco Kid. “This looks kinda interesting.”.
#22 kae
Kaboom, Australian Shepherd is an American breed, looks like stumpy-tailed cattledog and shepherd cross, but I read that they are something else crosses. They are beautiful dogs.
I was told cattledog (or Queensland Heeler, as they’re called here) and Border Collie. It could be true, but I have no idea. The breed was developed in Spain, as AlburyShifton noted. His story about how they got their name is as good as any I’ve heard, btw.
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 09 07 at 10:28 PM • permalinkBlack Beard’s rewriting of Vietnamese history is something:
In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that is was a necessary and crucial war, and during it Rumsfeld and his aids murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated fro the general line of policy draw up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation.
This fuels the popular misperception amongst the under 40s, not just leftards, that Kennedy ran on an anti-war ticket rather than that he was the man who deployed the first American forces and pledged to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations…
Frankly, I’d still rather be a serf in the Kingdom of Exxon, than a slave of the Caliph.
It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system…
Czar Nicholas thought Britain’s parliamentary system made it impotent and was shocked when the British delivered on their threats to wage war against him. Likewise, Kaiser Bill thought democracy made Britain impotent and would stop the British honouring their promise to defend Belgium’s neutrality – he was shocked to find himself at war with them. Ditto Mr Hitler who, far from expecting it, was shocked when Britain declared war on him.
Does anyone see a pattern here?
So, who’s up for conversion?
#34 missred
and i LOVE australian shepherds.. a better dog no one could have
Yep, they’re sweet-natured and very loyal. Their “herding” instinct is also very strong: I once saw one try to herd cats (kittens, actually). It was as hilarious as it sounds.
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 09 07 at 10:35 PM • permalink#44 monaro
Does anyone see a pattern here?
Don’t forget Mr Tojo and the Imperial Japanese Army who thought the US was decadent, weak-willed and soft… and would sue for peace once the first blood was shed.
(By all accounts, the many, if not most, in Japanese Navy knew better - having trained with the US Navy before political relations soured - but they were not in charge…)
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 09 07 at 10:43 PM • permalink#35: The silence enveloping the Death Beast Saloon was deafening. Paco Kid leads the rush to the emergency exits, and Kaboom stands forlornly in the middle of the crunchy peanut shells.
Belle Harris raises her Derringer meaningfully.
Kaboom whimpers: “I was only trying to correct an obvious error by a Seppo!”
Belle Harris points with her Derringer towards the dungeons, without saying a word.
Kaboom shrugs his shoulders, and says “Such is life!”.
Remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. Verrry cold. (Returns to checking dials on refrigeration tank.)
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 09 07 at 10:54 PM • permalinkNo to spilling red blood for black oil…
Yes, but if the red blood spilled for black oil is from brown people, isn’t that okay?
(ps. I do like the 2.5 percent tax rate thingy though. Shows the guy’s not completely off the rail. Or, at least, he wouldn’t be if he were actually still alive.)
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 09 08 at 12:00 AM • permalinkDamn. You can’t trust anybody these days. Now I learn that Australian Shepherds aren’t really Australian. (Actually I’d take Border Collies over any dog living for smarts).
#44 Frankly, I’d still rather be a serf in the Kingdom of Exxon, than a slave of the Caliph.
You’re on to something there, monaro, because at least we serfs of the Kingdom of Exxon get to drive SUVs instead of camels.
#9 Mr Bingley, I would be honoured to nominate my dog as an intelligent choice for the voters. He’s a 2 year old black lab X. What the other half is I’m not sure but I vouch it’s not a greenie - as he loves to chase cyclists and dig up plants.
Other sterling qualities are the ability to open doors by himself, always look happy, and shake paws.
What else does a pollie need to do?
That’s charitable giving only (zakat),Kyda, and depends on having beaucoup dhimmis (i.e. you and I) around paying the jizya, a very high poll tax. As the dhimmis convert to Islam over time it becomes necessary to start levying taxes on the Muslims.
OBL is sort of like the income tax people in this respect. “Income tax? Don’t worry about it. It only applies to rich people, and working stiffs will never have to pay it.” Income tax in the US started as a light tax on John D. Rockefeller and has ended up as a heavy tax on John Q. Public.
Posted by Michael Lonie on 2007 09 08 at 12:27 AM • permalinkA Nobel Prize (I don’t care which one) for Tim Blair for his discovery of Blair’s Law, surely one of the more valuable and important discoveries of the last ten years.
Posted by Michael Lonie on 2007 09 08 at 12:29 AM • permalinkBugger all these namby-pamby pretty-boy pooches, get yourself a Staffy- they’re like Poms used to be before being beaten into submission by soft-left nannying and bullying.
A head like a diseased paw-paw, an inclination to fight anything that looks even slightly sideways at them and otherwise happy to sprawl on the couch in front of the TV; just as well dogs can’t operate a Stanley knife.
We’ve been recognised:
ABS recognises that people have a wide range of belief systems
If your belief system is “Jedi” then answer as such on the census form. But if you would normally answer Anglican or Jewish or Buddhist or something else to the question “what is your religion?” and for the census you answer “Jedi” then this may impact on social services provision if enough people do the same.
60 RebeccaH
I too love border collies - been around ‘em all my life - and Australian Shepherds are VERY similar: Breed standards for size are nearly the same, and both are sharp as tacks (And, they’ll both herd instinctively: Only Blue Heelers are better, which is why ranchers out here use them - they will herd cattle, and they are TINY! (And, really and truly from AUSTRALIA), but very high-strung).
You couldn’t go wrong with either, but Australian Shepherds are fascinatingly beautiful. Most have blue eyes that seem to penetrate your very soul, and I saw one with both a brown and a blue eye. It was a funny dog… in that it had a sense of humor, I mean.
Greeeeeat gig tonight! Debuted two new pieces, and one actually didn’t suck. LOL!
I need another beer…
BTW, the hosts are off to a capiulatory commencement of their World Cup campaign- perhaps they were under the impression that Argentina is an Islamic state.
#67
Habib, he looks like the staffy who used to live next door, Jake, a hunting dog. Mrs Immaculate-Conception of the seven-kids-and-no-bloke who lives behind me had two insane rottweilers which she bred from for fun and profit. These dogs were either tied up or in a tiny aviary sized yard for all their lives. They were quite, quite mad.
One day they got out (again) and pulled Jake thru the fence.The council destroyed them.
One got out another time and attacked one of my dogs and injured him. He has never been the same since.
What the hell would you use a Staffy to hunt for*?
It’d probably take 2 Rottweilers to kill one of the little nuggets (both my brother have Rotties BTW); I really hate bastards who run puppy mills, they’re the sort of criminal arseholes that dingbats like PETA should be targetting. We now only take rescue dogs home, using market pressure to remove some of the demand (and thus profitability) for unscrupulous breeders. Pity we can’t do the same for human incubators, like the welfare hoover you referred to.
*Meat pies, slow cats and possums or pats perhaps?
#77 I thought those were the Irish red setters. Talk about dumb mutts!
I love dalmations, too, but they aren’t the brightest of the lot.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 09 08 at 02:05 AM • permalink#83
Oh yes, please, Skeets. For the purposes of the exercise I think I will cede from the commonwealth… and borrow your shotty! (It is a shotty isn’t it?) It’s only tiny, about the diameter of my little finger, it’s head is the same size. It’s about 20 inches long.I tried the spade, but I’m a lousy shot - threw it like a girl!!
I’ll try and despatch him tomorrow, he’s too close for comfort, to the house and the dogs. Friend said probably a juvenile brown. I saw him in autumn (fall) too.#82
Habib, I think he went roo and pig hunting. He had Jake and another dog, she’s a big boofheaded thing, really gentle. Don’t know what type she is, though.Kae, the only way you can properly identify young snakes is as follows:-
“Scales are most useful in identification. The number of rows of scales around the middle of the body (the midbody scales) should be counted, starting and finishing at (but not including), the large row of belly scales. (Because of their arrangement, scales should be counted along a diagonal or in a zigzag.) The scale in front of the cloaca (the anal scale) will be either single or divided, as are the large scales from the cloaca to the tip of the tail (the subcaudals). (Occasionally, both single and paired subcaudals are present.)”
See, simple, really. If you want helpful diagrams of scale-counting, go to this site.
Seriously, just ignore the fuckers. At any time in Queensland, if you are outside of concrete suburbia, you are within 20 metres of a snake that can kill you. Just live with it…. nothing we can do about it!
Your pet looks harmless, BTW, so don’t kill it unless absolutely necessary. A broad head on a young snake is best evidence of potential danger.
82 Habib
Re: Hunting Dogs
Hunting dogs usually can’t be “pets” but there are exceptions to that rule. I had one. He was an English Setter named, ironically, “Lucky.” Lucky was perhaps the least fortunate K-9 I’ve ever known, but he was a kick-ass bird dog. A couple of cases in point.
He once attacked a German Shepherd twice his size… and basically got fucked in the ass for his bravado. The look on his face when I finally caught up with them was priceless: Imagine about a 125 pound Shepherd humping a slim, athletic 75 pound bird dog, and you have the right mental picture. His face said it all: “Please help me.” I’m losing it with laughter right now, just remembering it. It took several minutes and more than a few swift kicks in the ribs to get the Shepherd to back off. Lucky had his tail between his legs for days afterwards. It was fucking hilarious. His ego was totally shot.
I also had a cat - big-ass macho tom that probably weighed twelve pounds - named Midnight (Black, of course), who used to taunt Lucky by walking across the top 2x4 on our privacy fence. Lucky could jump just short of the height required to bag the cat. The cat loved this game. Lucky? Not so much. He practically cried.
Then, one fine day, *scarequote* Lucky */scarequote* went after Midnight and hit the fence hard enough that the cat lost his balance and fell - literally - right into his gaping maw of a mouth. Probably the worst thing that ever happened to that dog. Midnight evicerated him: His front paws tore through his ears like eight surgeon’s scalpals, and his hind legs raked down Lucky’s throat about a half-dozen times. I was mowing the lawn at the time, and so I witnessed the whole fiasco.
By the time Lucky let go of Midnight - who seemed to vaporize back over the fence - he was a bloody mess. I swear, the dog looked over at me with an expression that distinctly said, “What the fuck just happened?”
I miss him. Stupid old fuck.
#73 kae: Looks very much like a dugite (pron dewgite). They are venomous and well-known here in WA for killing domestic animals, even in suburban Perth. My next-door neighbour lost his beloved little foxie to one of those buggers.
When I lived in the Midwest (WA) I picked up a cushion that had blown off an outdoor chair, only to find myself facing one. Ooops!
Does anyone see a pattern here?
A few more, post WW II the USSR saw the effete decadent west, riven with political disputes and uncertain of its future, not like the great New Soviet Man who would “bury” the west, remind us how that worked out?
Oh and in 1982 a deeply unpopular Margaret Thatcher governed a hopelessly divided and strife ridden United Kingdom, there were riots and strikes and rising unemeployment. How could such a moth eaten nation oppose the military might of proud Argentina? Hadn’t the Argentinian military junta shown the world how strong government could restore true order in a country compared to the stupid methods of liberal democracy.
So the Argentines invaded the Falkland Islands and the Generals were phenomenally popular in Buenos Aires.
For a month or two.
Posted by Harry Flashman on 2007 09 08 at 02:53 AM • permalink#92 Kae.
Oh. If you are living on the Sunshine Coast or Sunshine Coast Hinterland, (say West to Kennilworth and North to Hervey Bay), it is most likely a young Rough-Scale Snake.
Potentially fatal snakebite.
Please disregard what I last said, and count the scales on your pet snake as follows:
Scale Counts: midbody scale rows 23; ventrals 160-185; anal single; subcaudals single 50-60.
If the scale count matches, then it most certainly is the deadly Rough-Scale snake.
Otherwise, it is harmless.
Kaboom, check out the yellow faced whip snake. I think that might be it!
Kae, I just assume that any snake I see that isn’t a python is venomous.
This is Australia, FFS! Don’t we have 9 out of the top 10 world’s most venomous snakes?
And the trick with the shovel is not to chuck it. The idea is to decapitate the reptile.
Good luck and happy shovelling.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 09 08 at 03:21 AM • permalinkKae, if it is the Yellow-Faced Whip Snake, all you have to do is count the scales as follows:-
“Scale Counts:
midbody scale rows 15; ventrals 198-228, anal divided, subcaudals divided 78-107.
Simple, really. It needs to have a dark comma shaped mark under each eye, back to the trailing edge of its jaw.
Don’t be afraid when scale-counting - it is not really deadly if it bites you. If you are reasonably fit, a few months’ hospitalisation will see you through!
Best of luck, Kaboom.
#99… This is Agent Smart….
No, wait.
Kaboom, my friend agrees with me, she’s got better eyes than me and says she can see the comma thingy.
A few months hospitalisation… gee, thanks kaBOOM!
Are you in Qld? How about you come and tickle it’s belly and count it’s scales?
G’orn, you can do it, Boomah!
Oh, and are you a herpetologist, or do you just dabble?
Google is a wonderful tool, Kae.
One of the fuckers reared out of a garden bed recently in Caloundra, when I was stubbing out a ciggie, and I honestly don’t know who got the greater shock.
Like the Hitch-Hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy would say, the Whip Snake is generally harmless.
My view is live and let live, and avoid any unpleasant cross-species interaction.
Alternative 2: Kill the fuckers!100. kae
Collect and relocate?!
We probably find a dozen diamondback rattlesnakes on my property every year. They are actually benificial to have around, because they eat so many rats and mice, but we have little children here. Otherwise, I’d leave ‘em be.
That said, my 20 gauge shotgun relocates them to the only place required to insure no more troubles. Like any other dangerous wild critter, if they aren’t deathly afraid of humans, they ought to be dispensed with, not relocated. Relocation only insures that they will return as someone else’s problem.
I’d rather not kill anything, but if it’s a decision between the safety of my dogs and me, well, the scaly one gets it!
See, smoking can be hazardous to your health!
he he
How did I find it? Well, all the assistance I got from the people here gave me clues, and SandiM’s hint led me to a site where there was a picture of a yellow faced whip snake. Thanks so much everyone.
Yeah, Huc.
Works for me.
If it just took off when I came around it’d be OK, but it just looks at me looking at it.It sat there for ages when I took it’s photo! It was overcast and about to rain, the sun was gone. And I had to use the flash. Seeing the photo in the debris on the ground I can see why it is the colour it is, and why I couldn’t see it a few times and almost stepped quite near it!!
106 kae
Exactly! When I see a snake that recoils in horror at my presence, I let ‘em go. They aren’t a danger to anybody, even if they are poisonous. But, if they just sit there looking at me like, “What?” they’re toast.
We have Brown Recluse spiders out here. They have one of the most potent neuro-toxins known to man. They can weigh less than a gram, but can kill an adult double-indemnity dead if they bite mid-body. They are actually quite common.
But, you know what? That almost never happens. Why? Because they are RECLUSIVE and absolutely hate light and large moving bodies. There are probably a half-dozen of them living under my sub-floor right now, but I don’t worry about them at all, because they worry much more about me.
Any venomous snake that feels at home and unthreatened on your property needs to be dispatched. They are where they are for the easy food (Careful garbage disposal can reduce this danger, as all of us desert dwellers have learned), and if they aren’t deathly scared of you, they are a danger.
And yes; Lucky was the most Un-FUCKING-Lucky dog I’ve ever known. ;^)
He was cool as hell as a hunting dog and bud, though. Just dumb as a post otherwise.
*finishes going through the thread’s current tangent*
“Snakes… why did it have to be snakes?!”
:-o
Carry on. I’ll be sure to bring a flamethrower if I ever travel to Australia. ;-)
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2007 09 08 at 04:22 AM • permalink#92 kae: Right, kae. Taking a second look at the pics, it could well be a whip snake.
The dugites we see are exactly as you described, but a creamy/coffee colour.
We were lucky to have the only fully licenced snake-collector-keeper-milker-thingy in WA at that time, living right there in town - the go-to guy when this sort of thing happened. At first he used to remove them gratis, but he was spending so much time at it that, eventually, he had to charge a relatively small fee for his services. No price too high, I reckon - if you don’t have a shottie, this is.
#50 missred
i am told by my mother, who was a young yet shrewd army bride stationed in japan in 1947, i have the royal kimono of Princess Shigeko
If that’s true, you could have something worth a lot of money. A good quality kimono that a well off family might buy their daughter can be $10,000 or more. (Although note that secondhand kimono lose much of their value - there’s a lot of them about.) Something good enough for a princess would have cost a great deal more, and its historical value might maintain its value. (If you have her wedding kimono, which I very seriously doubt, then you might want to consider a new house.)
Posted by flying pigs over mecca on 2007 09 08 at 05:36 AM • permalinkI only want Swans to beat maggots tonight. More than anything else in the world.
Everything else in ephemeral.
Footy is forever.
Posted by Jack from Montreal on 2007 09 08 at 05:58 AM • permalink#106 kae
It sat there for ages when I took it’s photo! It was overcast and about to rain, the sun was gone. And I had to use the flash. Seeing the photo in the debris on the ground I can see why it is the colour it is, and why I couldn’t see it a few times and almost stepped quite near it!!
Depending on the temp it might have been too sluggish to do much more than sit there. Although whip snakes are s’posed to be pretty fast.
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 06:31 AM • permalinkTattoedInt. It was sunning itself when I first saw it, and over a few hours it was in and out from under the pergola slab, sunning itself and having a look around. It was quite warm, we had rain thisarvo and you could smell the ozone. It’s supposed to be 25-27C on Monday. With the chance of a storm. I think, that’s what they said late last week, but hey, with climate change, who knows any more.
tee hee
I went back into the Sydney CBD and took some more photos of the anti-APEC rally. I even managed to get some photos of some “Loose change” loonies and a 9/11 truther handing out pamphlets and so on from a stall.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 08 at 06:56 AM • permalink#94: A few more, post WW II the USSR saw the effete decadent west, riven with political disputes and uncertain of its future, not like the great New Soviet Man who would “bury” the west, remind us how that worked out?
Uncle Joe asked, “How many divisions has the Pope?”
Who’s General Secretary of the Communist Party these days?
Rebecca & Huckbald
Re Border Collies_
I have one and unless you have plenty of time to play think carefully. They are so curious and when they they get fixated on something very hard to distract.
My BC has shortened my life span!!!- if he hears a snake or smells one he will not leave them alone. He has killed 5 and been bitten 3 times, the first 2 he was very ill for 24 hours and then recovered but I spent all night watching him in shifts with my husband. The last time was very bad and occurred whilst tied up in his kennel, which I have to do or he hunts for them,he had to have antivenom and a week in the vets on IV fluids.
It has aged him and he has not recovered his old self, until stimulated - he will not learn by experience. It was a tiger snake each time nasty buggers. I dont’ care about them being protected- they get a face full of shot on this property.Since then he has aged a lot.
He will grab them near the head and try shake them to death,it is hard to know what to do. Screaming at him might make him lose concentration and get bitten. In the hot weather or rather from October to MARCH have to be super vigilant.
Good luckWith apologies to Philip K Dick:
Do Australian Shepherds Dream Of Fishnetted Sheep?
Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2007 09 08 at 07:01 AM • permalink#115 Killaette
Osama Bin Laden speaks… sporting a new mid-life-crisis, Rodeo Drive cut and color beard.
Down under, the very snakes come out of their holes to bask in the warm glow.
Hmm. I vunder how long he has been having zeez delusions?
Zis is quite simply ze manifest sublimation of Osama’s childhood fear of castration represented by ze decapitated mother figure, Medusa.
</Zigmund Zplice>
#73- Kae, I think it may be a Grey Snake, but the colouration is hard to determine- the scaly bastard may also be a common brown snake which are as common as their name, and deadlier than the most toe-tappin’ Aboriginal musician ever; I tend to regulate by shovel- while well clear, swat the sod with the flat side- if he’s still cranky he’s obviously poisonous and use the blade to lop off his noggin El Q style, then use same tool to dispose of the evidence.
Those smarter than myself have decided that a short-tempered, murderous and invasive critter is due protection, kinda like adherents of Whabbi Islam.
#4: At least with Islam, you get to dress like Sinbad the Sailor, riot with impunity (in non-Islamic states), and dispense with soap, shaving cream and logic; PLUS, there’s all that wild and crazy livestock love.
How does that differ from being a Greenie or a Marxist?
Don’t Mussies have to shave their pubes and armpits? Including the blokes? If so they have a weird idea of what constitutes good personal grooming.
Posted by walterplinge on 2007 09 08 at 07:38 AM • permalinkAblutions they’re called, old son, must shave dingleberries, pits but not the mush, also rinse the feet five times a day- those curly-toed shoes can get quite whiffy.
O/T, we take revenge for Changi and the Burma Railroad at 2300 AEST, 1300 Zulu for all you military hepcats out there.
BTW for US readers, the RWC is sort of a Superbowl for we private school/masonic wallahs who actually run the planet.
129- Kae, I’m about a year from getting close to flightpath assignments, but I’ll take your order now. First cab off the rank is the whingy sod up the road who objects to my drunken band practising at 3AM- hasn’t the selfish git heard of earplugs? A full afterburner TFR pass will show the old fart that we’re quiet by comparison.
#118
Yeah, didn’t think the explanation would hold but was the only one I had for it just chillin’ there :)
Can someone please tell me if Sydney is normally this dang rainy? And what I need to do to appease the rain gods. Pretty much the only time it rained yesterday (before evening) was my walk home from the grocery store and then it pissed down like there was no tomorrow.
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 08:06 AM • permalinkDrought my ass! Since I got here in June all it’s done is frickin’ rain (excluding the like one week of nice weather). It’s rained more here than it did in WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND! How the hell does that happen?
BTW, you can shorten it to TI if that makes it easier. Didn’t really think about “ease of use” when I settled on the handle :)
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 08:15 AM • permalinkWhere are you from TI?
It rains more in Sydney than in Melbourne (I think that’s right), rainfall per annum is higher in Sydney, however, in Sydney it dumps it down and there are less rainy days than in Melbourne, it tends to drizzle for weeks in Melbourne. Sorry, I can’t find any links for the info.
Originally from Bellevue Nebraska USA (just south of Omaha and NW of Lincoln). Spent 6 months in Wellington and I’m over here until Nov, working on a Masters degree.
Last figures I checked, Sydney gets 1217 mm of rain/year. Wellington gets 1270 mm/year. But I haven’t been able to find how much rain Sydney’s gotten since I got here.
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 08:26 AM • permalinkHabib, I saw a lone F/A-18 flying low, heading north across Avoca Beach (just north of Sydney) late this afternoon.
I’m guessing Two was home plate go, whilst Lead was tumbleweed… still lushing it up at an APEC luncheon somewhere, presumably ;-)
Just kidding… and of course as an officer, you wouldn’t do something like that would ya?
BTW, I’m all growed up now, but the roar of an RAAF fast jet still gets me running out onto the front porch, pulse racing, to catch a glimpse.
We OPSO types never get near the naughty fly-y things unfortunately, except to direct them to drop all manner of unpleasantness on saucy rascals and ner-do-wells. We do get to fart about in noisy, draughty C130s and C17s, and to play D&D in real time on the new 737 AWACS, performing the previous mentioned task. I’m too fucking old, slow, blind and pissed for aircrew, unless there’s another full on show like ‘39-‘45 of course, still got a rating for Pawnees, Fletchers and the Cherokee 6 don’t you know.
I think you’ve been really unlucky TI. I haven’t lived in Sydney since 1986, but I don’t think it was that wet!! Not raining from June to September!
Hmm.
It’s been very dry in Brisbane and lately we’ve had some unusual weather, two low pressure systems dumping a month’s rain in a few days. And only a little north of Brisbane they’ve had about a normal year’s worth of rain or more in only two days.I think it’s all unusual. You are very, very unlucky.
You’ll just have to come back for a proper visit when the weather is better.
After Flannery, AlGore and LeoDeCrappa save the planet.
#139
Yeah. I’m broke (living on student loans) but there are a bunch of things I’d like to see so I think I’ll probably make it a goal to come out here at least once more. And I shouldn’t be whining b/c home had higher than average rainfall as well. Except we get nice big thunderstorms which are nice, except for the tornado part—not so nice.Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 08:51 AM • permalinkHmm, there were a lot of excepts there.
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 08:52 AM • permalinkActually I’m surprised by the hoops I’ve had to jump through to be a staff officer- I’ve had blood and cholesterol tests, eye test which left me partially blind for two days, been sent to a thorasic and orthopedic specialist and now have to front a cardiologist on Wednesday, because my risk of a vopour-lock is 6% rather than 5%, because I admitted to enjoying the odd gasper.
Surprisingly it’s the first real checkup I’ve ever had, and despite at least thirty years of dissipation, wastrel excess and exuding more spent carbon than a Romanian power station I have cholesterol of 4.2, blood pressure of 118/80 and a ticker rate of 65.
I suggested to my wife that I may well have karked it during a stint on Thursday Island and hwas since re-animated as a zombie, it’s the only way I can account for it.
The fascists still want me to shed another 5kg though- where do you find low-fat brains?
#140
Hmm. I hope you get to see lots more before you go, and I hope the weather gets better for you!
We have thunderstorms etc, but usually in summer, summer begins from December 1, but it’s usually the hottest in January and February. (I think.) Luckily we don’t get tornados, they are unusual in Australia. We do get cyclones, but usually north of Brisbane.Tornadoes are unusual everywhere except the US, has to do w/ jetstream, land formations, weather patterns etc. They did have a tornado recently in Great Britain and it took them forever to figure out WTH it was.
My main goal is to do as much stuff in Sydney as I can, including the Bridge tour.
Alright, I’m off to bed. Night.
Posted by TattooedIntellectual on 2007 09 08 at 09:02 AM • permalinkwhere do you find low-fat brains
In fascists?
Habib, I envy your bloodpressure - my cholesterol is 4.7 non fasting, I think that’s good, but something’s gotta make up for the high bloodpressure, SVT and the asthma!
#143
There were a lot of usuals in that.Getting old sucks! And I’ll be celebrating next weekend.
Now, I’m getting on and I have to go to bed!
Kae, i’m 47 and have been on the piss for over thirty years- I discussed this with a medico mate of mine last weekend, and while he wouldn’t put his name to it the Dr Habib Beer and Curry Diet book and program is on its way- an excess of one is compensated by the other, creating a ying/yang* situation, with the aid of ENO fruit salts before going to work.
*I thought this was Holdens proving ground, but what do I know.
Habib
I chucked away the fags in 1990, and it’s been downhill since then. I’ll be 50 in a year and 8 days! (I can’t believe it*!)
Dr Habib Beer and Curry diet, sounds good. I guess the curry has a, er, cleansing effect?
Now, I’m off to bed.*Too late now to live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse.
46 Spiney,
“Yep, they’re sweet-natured and very loyal. Their “herding” instinct is also very strong: I once saw one try to herd cats (kittens, actually). It was as hilarious as it sounds.”
My farrier has one that everytime someone coughs she runs around and bites the horse’s ankles. I’m surprised that a horse hasn’t kicked her. She is a great dog, really cute.
I chucked away the fags in 1990, and it’s been downhill since then.
And abandoned Larry Craig to a lonely life in airport washrooms… I knew it was a conservative’s fault somehow…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 08 at 02:13 PM • permalinkhabib—Here is some wisdom that will serve you well in Officer’s School.
What’s the difference between a jet pilot and a jet engine?
A jet engine stops whining when you turn it off.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 08 at 02:15 PM • permalinkBorder collies are beautiful, but make useless pets unless worked, every day. It’s just a matter who goes schizoid first, them or their owners.
Stepped fair on the middle of a brown snake in FNQ whilst exiting my apartment at night. But I was moving too fast and it missed me. Thank Christ as I was 30 minutes from hospital. As someone commented earlier, leave the garbage laying around for the rats and the browns move in.
Habib, I’ve played on the FA-18 flight simulator at Williamstown, plus received a private tour of the base. A highlight of my life. Have you access to the F-111 simulator at Ammberley ?
#148 That reminds me, since I’ll probably forget next week.
Happy birthday for next week, and happy birthday to Old Tanker for last week.
As for me, the OMIGOURD! I’MNEARLY40MYLIFEHASENDED!! feelings have kicked in and I’m going into full on end of life crisis mode!
You’ll find me buried under the doonas surrounded by empty timtam packets, a half a d of vodka in a can and a half eaten cream bun.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 09 08 at 06:51 PM • permalink#158 Happy Birthday to you for next week! (In case you’re busy.)
Old Tanker, oops, happy birthday to you for last week!OMIGOURD! I’MNEARLY40MYLIFEHASENDED!! feelings have kicked in
No, no, no. It’s I’MNEARLY40THEENDOFMYLIFEISSTARTING!
Especially when you look back on it from almost 50 (or 60 or 70), however, it’s much better than the alternative!
kae wrote:
No, no, no. It’s I’MNEARLY40THEENDOFMYLIFEISSTARTING!
Well, hopefully. (Turned 37 last week. Feel oooooooooollllllllllld.)
As for the flamethrower, do you want the agricultural ones, or the ones the spit napalm-like fuel as well? Though now that I think of it, I’d probably be better off with some sort of shotgun for the snakes, assuming my phobia of the slithering things didn’t freeze me.
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2007 09 08 at 08:54 PM • permalinkSkeeter—you’d have to ask your crew chiefs…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 08 at 09:25 PM • permalink#155 Richard,
Here’s a little ditty I got from a friend who was an Air Force brat.You can tell a bomber pilot by the way he holds his beer,
You can tell a transport pilot by the spread around his rear,
You can tell a navigator by his compass, charts, and such,
You can tell a fighter pilot, but you can’t tell him much.On the matter of venomous reptiles, I did a course in Field Geology once in Eastern Oregon, where rattlesnakes live under every rock. Towards the end we found one hiding in a bush in camp. Since the bush was next to the path to the washrooms this caused more than the normal anxiety. One student, who intended to join the Salem, Oregon Police Department after graduation, offered to take his Glock and shoot the pesky thing. Everybody except me and a prof gathered near to witness this. I decided that between the pistol and the snake I would rest myself on the other side of the cinderblock building. I counted the shots, 7 of them. Then the proud victor brought the carcass of the snake round for us to see.
“Cedric,” I said, “I heard seven shots but you hit four times.”
“Salem Police Department rules of engagement,” he explained. “We have to fire three times over their heads as warning shots.”
Posted by Michael Lonie on 2007 09 08 at 11:24 PM • permalinkPhoto of Habib in his new uniform.
Very pucka.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 09 at 12:42 AM • permalinkMr. Creosote,
Shouldn’t he have jodhpurs in order to look pukka? Or at least a pith helmet instead of a peaked cap?Posted by Michael Lonie on 2007 09 09 at 08:30 PM • permalink
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Indeed, what all of these ideologies have in common is that they reject classical liberalism. They all, in one way or another, favor the totalitarian state, be it secular or religious.