Newspaper advertising stickers
I saw an advertising sticker on the front page of the Adelaide Advertiser this week.
It’s a new advertising trend in Australian newspapers, annoying but effective.
Smoke alarms
A smoke alarm woke us up the other night. It wasn’t warning us about a fire ripping through the house, but rather its battery was running down.
That was the second time in a fortnight (separate alarms).
Why do smoke alarm battery warnings only start beeping at 3am? Why can’t they make that irritating sound in the afternoon?
Cold and flu tablets
I had to wait 10 minutes today getting cold and flu tablets from a pharmacy while they quizzed me and added my name to a register.Chess boxing: strange but true
A 19-year-old Russian defeated a 37-year-old German last weekend to win the world chess boxing championship.
The contest alternates between periods of chess and boxing.
The loser said he was simply too punch drunk to fend off checkmate.
“I took a lot of body- lows in the fourth round and that affected my concentration. That’s why I made a big mistake in the fifth round: I did not see him coming for my king,” he said.
The Border Watch
The Border Watch website had its public launch on Friday. There was an immediate spike in traffic, but visitor numbers slowed down over the weekend.
It will take a while to get a steady base of users. There are about 30 subscribers to news headlines already, which is a good sign.
Aches and pains
I woke up during the night with a sore toe, or more specifically an aching joint in the big toe on my right foot.
It didn’t get any better when I went for a jog/walk before breakfast and it ached most of the day before suddenly healing (no pun intended) later in the day.
About the same time my toe started feeling better my left knee began to ache. Old age?
Snow starting to fall
Snow is finally starting to fall in the Victorian Alps. After a sluggish start to the ski season it now appears there might be some white suff on the slopes this weekend.
Climate change is undeniable. The question is whether it’s caused by emissions or some natural event.
The winters in Australia have become much milder in my lifetime.
iPhone sales to start on July 11
Telstra today confirmed it will begin selling the iPhone in Australia from July 11, as will Optus and Vodafone.
Can someone tell me what all the fuss is about? Is it the built-in GPS or just the Apple flavor?
Is it a must-have gadget or simply another new toy?
Arty discussion
I was at a formal dinner on Saturday night. Two of the people at my table had an intelligent conversation about art.
They both liked paintings by a particular Aboriginal artist I had never heard of.
I appreciate good art, but not to the level that I can have an in-depth discussion. It was interesting to hear.
Zimbabwe election farce
According to the BBC: “Robert Mugabe has said he is heading for a “sweeping victory” in Zimbabwe’s unopposed run-off presidential poll.
“Officials have scheduled his inauguration for 1300 GMT on Sunday, even though official results are yet to be published.
“He was the only candidate after the opposition boycotted the vote amid reports of violence and intimidation.
“African observers of the poll have called for fresh elections to be held, saying the vote was not free or fair.”
What a sham; a tragic farce. The world really does need to intervene.