Schoolies Sacrifice

There are parents whose children are drunken, good for not much, useless bums.  These same parents are at a loss as to why this is the case, and in some cases, there is little indication in family life as to the cause of a child going so far into drunkenness and debauchery.  The you pick up today's Sunday Mail newspaper, and things become crystal clear.

Schoolies has arrived.  The time of year when all the graduating Year 12's head to their favorite beach for a week of "Schools over for ever, let's party."  Now, I am not opposed to our young people celebrating the end of an era in their lives- by all means, send off the years of school and study, and bring in the new life of responsibility and adulthood, but there must be a better way than schoolies.

I read today of Police pleading with parents to not visit their kids half way through the week to drop off a continued supply of booze to their underage kids.  Now, I don't drink alcohol (unless the odd dose of medicine counts), but even if I did, I would not give it to my children.  I especially would not drop them off at some hotel with a case of the stuff, and then return a few days later to make sure they had enough to get blind, rotten, drunk and obnoxious!

Come'on parents, wake up to yourselves.  We wonder why our kids are going "off the rails", and doing stupid things, but we haven't observed our own actions, and how they may be creating an avenue for them to not only "jump off the deep end", but to have a run up to the cliff.  We are providing the skates they need to reach the end- then we want to sue someone when our kid gets hurt or killed.  Wake up!

I say "go the Police", lock the whole darn town up if you have to!  Slap all the parents giving the booze out with supply to underage fines. Let's show these school leavers that they don't have to go all out on the drink to have a good time- and lets seem them get to the next stage in life safely.

Jim


Photo courtesy of Perth Now

Amazing Substance

I have always known that Apple Cider Vinegar is good for you.  Splash it on your face for acne, rub it on a sore joint for relief, drink it for anti-oxidant properties.  But I came across this article today which suggests drinking an Apple Cider Vinegar beverage will assist you to loose weight!

I don't know how accurate the science is, but hey, a bottle of vinegar is on a couple of dollars, why not give it a try!  Not much to loose there - except possibly some fat related weight!

Anyway, my eldest is singing in church tonight (assuming he doesn't get stage fright!), so a very exciting milestone for us.  I can't believe he has grown up so fast- it seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital.  How time flies.  I remember older people would always say that time seemed to be going faster and faster, but could never really understand how that could be.  I get it now, that is for sure!

As a duty of care to the author of that article, here is the url again: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/vinegar-clinically-proven-to-destroy-fat/.

Ciao,

Jim

Justified Delay?

While driving to Gladstone this morning, I was travelling at 100 kilometers per hour- precisely, according to my GPS (only 2km p/hr different to the actual speedometer).  I wasn't in a hurry, I had plenty of time to get to my first appointment, and I try to not speed anyway (especially after I recieved a fine some time ago)!

Travelling at the speed limit is not easy when you have a whole line of traffic behind you, just itching to get past.  There is the temptation to sneek up past the limit, just to prove you're not a complete pain in the rear!  But no.  Today I chose to stay right on the limit, and with no small justification, it seems.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/1254/qld-police-get-10-fpv-typhoons/

When the Police are our with their radar, they will usually pick on the front of the line.  That would have been me, however, as our convoy of about seven vehicles approached a straight stretch of road (with no passing lines, I might add), a group of three roared past.  A particular van stood out, as it was sign written with the business name and information of a local locksmith.  I simply shook my head in disgust, and thought, "you idiot's."

About three kilometers further down the road, I negotiated a bend, and beheld a wonderful sight!  A little red and blue light was flashing up in the distance, and even from my vantage point, maybe 500-700 meters away, I could see that it was that van that had been stopped.  If he was still doing the same speed as when he passed me, the likelyhood is that his vehicle would be impounded!  Serves him right, I say.

So, do I feel bad about holding up all that traffic?  Not on your life!  If they had just stayed behind me, doing the speed limit, the cost of their drive would not have increased by at least $200.

Spider Surprise

There are so many deadly things in Australia.  Snakes, spiders, cars, trains, trucks, people, diseases, and more.  Anyway, I was running (yes running) through the Mount Archer National Park a few weeks ago, and came face to face with the specimen shown in the attached photograph.

I was running downhill at the time I encountered this little beast, and with the kinetic energy, along with what I assume must be a Newton's Law of Physics (the one that says, "when a fat guy is running down hill, it is hard for him to stop!," this spider very nearly had enough food to last it's entire species a life time.  While I did not actually fall over, I came close to imitating a baseball player sliding in for home base.

Funny enough that i was running down the hill, funnier still that I had to stop in such a hurry, I then had to find a way past the stinking thing!  Every time I came close, it would rear up with its two pair of front legs and bare some vicious looking fangs in all their glory.  Needless to say I was a little unenthusiastic about fighting with this thing- whose web was strung up right across the path, mind you.

In the end, I succumbed.  I found a big stick and wiped away all the web I could comfortably get to, and squeezed past at a flying run.  I don't much like crawly things, and ones that bite even more so!  Anyway, I learned my lesson- and now will take a big stick on each run through the park I embark on.