Travel is escapism?

After a few drinks a friend recently told me that she thought travelling in order to find 'ones self' was a load of wank and just an excuse to selfishly indulge on all those things you cant do when your friends, partners or parents are around.

At first I was puzzled because I didn't understand why you couldn't simply do those things in your ordinary day to day life if thats what you really wanted. Then I realized, doing them away from everybody in a secret second life enabled you to return to who you were originally without any hiccups if you didn't really like what you had become.

Kind of obvious when you realize that there is an online Many multi-player online role play game (MMPORG) game called "second life" in which you can change your life for better without leaving your desk. I guess thats the appeal, and I can see it (having been addicted to Grand Theft Auto since V1).

So, I guess the next time I go travelling I should really ask myself if I'm trying to escape my friends, family, patner etc so that when I return I can be me again?

Winkman.org Launched

I have combined my semi-intellectual mumbo jumbo with others of a similar vein.

We intend to make a change.

http://www.winkman.org

Guaranteed posts once a week to make you think.

Little Kids, Big kid

I think there is one factor everyone over-looks when they slip into the 'baby of the family' stereotype. Its a good factor, not a bad factor. It means you really do get to live up to your name, especially when your cousins are mostly younger... even if it does mean they call you uncle!

For more pics see FlickR.

Top tip from Audit School.

"Fish start stinking at the head."

Christmas & New Year

Christmas and New Year... it has been a time i have usualy associated with 3 months of funin the sun, but all that is about to change with my impending position at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Starting Monday I will be a slave to the wage and promptly locked away to work 9 till 5...

However, I did have a fantastic time before christmas with a very eventful trip up to Cairns to see bryan and then down to geelong to see my two lovely sisters, who put me up the whole time, my brother and my mum and dad. Not to mention the 30 odd cousins that all seem to have grown up way to fast down south! I swear they were only like 6 or 8 or 10 the last time I was down in Victoria!

Camping up on the daintree was a great, its been too long! fishing in the rain, cooking spaghetti on toast in the middle of the Daintree river and watching Bryan empty his tent of water in the mornings were all highlights... ok, so maybe cmaping in the middle of a monsoon is not the brightest thing to do!

Hopefully I will start being able to contribute a little more intelectual data to the blog over this next year, but first i need to get that thesis finished! Just the abstract to go! I'll give you a sneak preview of the acjnowledgements i'd like to make, but probably wont be allowed too...

Acknowledgements

In initiating and completing this Honours year I have drawn on a vast array of support and experience, but in my mind there is no doubting the debt I owe to my parents. To them I attribute my desire to achieve and my penchant for challenges which guided me into this program and served me well throughout it. Particularly, I thank them for never buying a television when I was young. I may never have undertaken this Honours year if it wasn’t for the support and inspiration of Associate Professor Peter Wells, Mihir Mehta and David Bedford and I thank them for that. On a technical note, the programming skills of Jacob Govendir and assistance of Brett Govendir and Professor Greg Clinch have also been much valued. Lastly, thanks to all those who have contributed ideas, punctuation corrections, theoretical suggestions and encouraging remarks in times of despair over the year.

Product of your... imagination?

A lot of people think I have a few 'chips' on my shoulder, and I do nothing to dispel the notion, in particular I have a abhorration of private schools (although they might have taught me to spell!). Note I said schools, not the students of said schools! But, to drag the conversation back on topic, we are considering what makes you who you are. Yes, I believe private school has the effect of turning people into silver spoon fed selfish brats... but i also think it has the effect of providing upteen more opportunities more bright minds then public school. Which I think is a contributing factor to social class divisions... but hey, thats another topic!

What makes you who you are? This is something I spend a lot of time thinking about... not about what made me who i am, but what makes people who they are in general, what decides how well they will do in life (whatever that means!), how they behave, how they act, etc.

I agree with my lovely sister, Rhian, that the people that care for us are a very lage part in the process of who we are, how we react and what we think. But I don't think everything that is a part of us is a product of the people who are important to us. I think most things are. Nor do i think that everything that happens to us has a reason or was caused by someone. Logic does not permit us to infer cause and effect from a sequence, just because we won cricket the last time I wore my lucky socks, doesn't mean they are either lucky or that we will win next time I wear them. Accidents happen and sometimes nobody is genuinely responsible.

Any act of significant influence can create change and have an impact on people. Al Gore and the movie he is promotong, "an inconvenient truth" may change the way some people view the world. Armstrong stepping on the moon may have had the same impact. There are many moments in life that can have a major impact on who we are; a near miss car accident, a winning lottery ticket, an inspirational drunken D&M, a random pay-it-forward moment, a smile from the woman in the red dress and for the chaos theorists, a butterfly flapping its wings...

As for those parents who bring a child into the world that they cannot support, I don't think it is quite so black and white. I'm sure there are situations where people are responsible for raising children they had no hope of supporting. However I'm also sure that people who were in a position to support a child, had a child and then circumstances change to place them in a position where they can no longer support that child. And what say those of us who are in a position to support a child, but don't?

So who and what is it that I can blame for me having this tendency to write on my blog when I should be finishing my thesis! Not to menthion the tendency towards addiction to certain computer games!

In the end.

Rhian makes some very good points (here).

I think a lot of us are very obessive these days, but you need to take a wider view of death, money, success and time then usually implied to cover most stereotypes...

For instance, success can mean a lot of things. I'm obsessed to a certain degree with success... but it is success in terms of goals I have set myself. Some people are obsessed with succeding according to societies goals. Success can only be defined in terms of the goals it is measured against.

Which brings us to money... obsession with money could mean an obsession with cold hard cash (think scrooge from Donald Duck), material possessions or freedom. Being obsessed with Death could mean being obsessed with living (fear of death), being obsessed with health or being obsessed with religion (after life)... and although it wasn't mentioned, some of us are obsessed with being in love!

I think being able to live the lives we live is a product of much more then just the people around us, the people who care about us... but if you think back to the start that you get in this world, the statement has a lot of merit. I never did like the saying that we are all born equal, because clearly the kids on cigerette packets under the heading "Smoking can harm your baby" are clearly not born equal, and that is a product of being born to parents who didn't care as much as they should have. On the flip side, Kids born malnourished are not born equal. Kids whose familes cannot support them are not born equal... but it is not a product of the people who care for them.

Is feeling loved and wanted all that matters in the end? I'd like to think that along with feeling loved, I'll feel contented that, as a product of the people who care about me, I did the only thing they ever really asked of me, I tried my best.

What do you want to feel/think in the end? Are you working toward that right now? Is this a meaning of life?

BBQ Monday 27th November 6:30Pm

Yes thats right, BBQ, Monday 27th November, 6:30 PM. My place, Pacific Hwy, Artarmon. Call me or email me if you need the address. BYO meat and drinks, salad and softies provided.

Bring your swimmers. We have a pool!

Time and Marginal utility

I know it has been a very long time since I made an effort with regard to this blog, and it is a factor of two things, time and marginal utility...

Time:

Not many of us have a lot of time anymore. But time alone cannot be an excuse, because it is always possible to make time, it is always possible to stop doing one thing, and do another. So, rather then sleeping you could be visiting your girlfriend (like Heath!). Rather then working you could be at the TAB (Like dad!). Rather then calling your family you could be studying (like me :P). So, time is not an excuse, because a lack of time implies a lack of importance, which introduces our second concept...

Marginal utility:

The choices you make about time reflect, to a degree, your opinions of whats important, wahts enjoyable and whats urgent in the world. Geroge bush spends a lot of time talking rhetoric, rhetoric is important to Gerge Bush. John Howard spends a lot of time talking about whatever the hottest topic currently is (global warming) because wining elections is important to him. Unfortunately I have to admit that i have spent a lot of time recently glued to my computer working on my thesis because ithas been important, enjoyable and urgent! I'm sure my family understands!

So... is TV time more important, more urgent and more enjoyable then wahtever else you could be doing? Which ties in so well with opportunity costs... but maybe another time!

14/11/06

Buenos Aires..

Well since Damo hasn't updated his blog for ages I have decided to write
something..
Not long now and i will be back in Oz..
But for the moment I am enjoying my stay in Buenos Aires the captial of
Argenina and what a beautiful city it is! With just over 2 million people (I
think) It's a city full of all the necessities..like good food and an
awesome nightlife..crazy..
A typical night here (most nights of the week) might include a parrilla
(basically a Argentinian BBQ) where HUGE lumps of
steak..lomo,tira,chorizo..cooked slowly over hot coals, served with a simple
salad of lechuga,tomate y cebolla (lettuce,tomato and onion) you can't go
wrong. And it's soooo cheap!For all this you might pay 10 pesos ($4 AUD)
this is the life..
The thing is parties don't start till at least 1.30-2am sometimes 3 and out
till 9am..that's the life and it's very easy to get used to..

What was really cool..I went to a Boca Juniors game..if that means nothing
to you, let me explain. La Boca -'The Mouth' in English- is a working class
area in BA at the mouth of the rio de la plata (river of silver) and they
have one of the most famous soccer teams in the world. They have won around
15 international championships and so therefore have a HUGE following. So
went to the game on Sunday night. You have no idea how crazy these fans
are.The hooligans (the cheer squads) have like mafia control over the
officials, players, ticket sellers everything..fans throw bags of piss at
each other..suddenly Collingwood fans seem quite dignified..they have like
100 songs that are sung throughout the game all about there love for la
Boca..otra, otra vuelta Boca! For these people, their team is their
life..locazo!

Well just a little bit of news to add..hope alls well..
Will be seeing you all soon

besos

Ange

_________________________________________________________________
Advertisement: Fresh jobs daily. Stop waiting for the newspaper. Search now!
www.seek.com.au
http://a.ninemsn.com.au/b.aspx?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fninemsn%2Eseek%2Ecom%2Eau&_t=757263760&_r=Hotmail_EndText_Nov06&_m=EXT

Ultimate Frisbee - FCUTS

I have decided to take up ultiamte frisbee this summer. I had so much fun with the 'Mothers Finest' team in Canada that I had to take this sport up again! We only ever won one game that I can remember, but hell it was so good until we started to take it too seriously!

Besides it remioned me of 4ths and 3rds Football where I played 3 seasons for about 3 wins! (Going on 18 games a season, thats Stats of: Losses 51, Wins 3.)

As everybody knows, Ultimate is mixed sex sport so we really need to encourage some girls to get involved. Its anything but serious and they have 4 divisions based on skill, so their is always going to be beginners.

Checkout http://www.ufnsw.com.au/uts/ for more details.

Water

Did anyone catch the short Documentary on SBS or ABC last night about the privatisation of water? I had to duck off to Ultimate Frisbee (more on that later) so missed most of it, but thought the topic was fascinating nonetheless.

Although some people may think this is a bit over the top, It really doesn't matter. It is an inescapable reality that one day, clean, fresh water is going to be a precious commodity. Whilst the amount of fresh water in the world will remain constant, population and pollution growth will drastically reduce the amount of clean fresh water we have per capita, not to even mention distribution problems for places like Australia where it has a habit of not showing up where its most required.

A friend asked me recently for a long term investment tip. I told him of a few stocks I had my eye on but I also told him that long long long term - anything to do with water was going to be a winner. Innovation with regard to water quality has recently been a hotbed of activity, and with good cause, we can't live without it, and eventually it will be a commodity for which we will have to pay a hefty price for. People complain about paying $1.50L for petrol, what about $1.50L for water? Your average 5 min morning shower would cost more than $25.

Caufield Cup

Caufield Cup Day is Saturday the 21st of October. It is the last opportunity to get in on the spring racing action, to dress up, drink up and checkout the frilly fillys and suited stallions.

The plan at this stage is to meet up at Eddy Avenue, Central Station and catch a bus in to Randwick as a group at around 1130. For full event info check here and above. Feel free to bring a friend along, cost is $15 and I have been informed that it is not BYO unfortunately. Picnic rug recommended?

Past, present and future.

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!

Look to this Day!

For it is Life, the very Life of Life.

In its brief course lie all the

Verities and Realities of your Existence.

The Bliss of Growth,

The Glory of Action,

The Splendor of Beauty;

For Yesterday is but a Dream,

And To-morrow is only a Vision;

But To-day well lived makes

Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,

And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.

Look well therefore to this Day!

Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

A poem by Kalidasa

Beautiful world

There are quite a few big issues floating around the world these days which could have a major impact on life in the future. Now I'm not well versed in the current scientific mumbo jumbo but my understanding is that it goes soemthing like this;

Polution is bad. Air polution in particular has a very nasty effect on the ozone. The ozone is what protects the earth from adverse amounts of radiation from the sun. The increase in radiation can be exemplified by global warming. The main claim of Global warming is the melting of ice caps and hence the increase in sea levels / reduction in land levels.

If the earth gets hot enough and the ice caps melt enough, then we will all be flooded (or our childrens childrens childrens.... children^(n). Now since those ice caps have probably been around since the ice ages... it stands to reason that they have been melting ever since. Now its going to be a long long time before anything bad happens, but we have a lot of very intelligent people who claim to know that this is definately going to happen.

So what will be done about it in our lifetime? What can we do about it? I'll let you think about that for a while because... the reality is, while it is a very important issue I'm afraid to say that I really have to go do some work on my thesis, which on a global scale is far less important, yet has a deadline of November 13th, 2006.

Sad isn't it, how the world works.

Paintball

I know I haven't been posting much lately, I'm sure people will argue with me but statistical computer programming doesn't leave much room for creative thought processes...

For those that didn't get the email - Paintball is happening on Sunday October the 29th.

Why so far away? because if you book a month in advance you get 100 free paintballs (worth $20). So anybody interested you need to contact me before the 29th of September if you want your free paintballs, otherwise simply before the 22nd of October to get your $10 discount!

So assuming you contact me before the 22nd of Ocotober prices are as follows:

400 paintballs + gun + lunch = $60
600 paintballs + gun + lunch = $80

For every extra 100 paintballs you buy on the day they will cost you $20.

You will need to make your way out to edwards rd, Rouse Hill by about 9 am. Any late registrants forefeit their discounts!

Email me for more details: damian(dot)fuller(at)uts(dot)edu(dot)au

Seeing Double

I could write a post about 11/9... but there is enough crap already written about it... So, here is another puzzle for you!

You have two glasses of equal size. One is half full of Gin and one is half full of Tonic. A shotglass from the Gin glass is poured into the tonic glass, then a shotglass full from the tonic glass is poured into the gin glass. Does the Gin glass have more tonic then the tonic glass has Gin?

Talking abouit a year away

Its has been over a year since I flew out to London, and over a year since I flew from London to Canada! How time flies... in two and a half months I will hopefully be finished Honours! Funny how our lives can be seperated into such small segments.

Some of the things I have forgotten to tell you in the past year because they weren't that interesting then!

When I arrived at Regina international airport, I was confident there would be no problems going through customs. It was late - around midnight. The flight had been slightly delayed. My transfer (Richard from the exchange office) was waiting for me. I didn't have a student visa because I was staying in Canada less then 6 months... When the Canadian immigration offical asked me what I was doing in Canada, I said studying, of course.

I'm not sure if she was new to her job or what, but she wouldn't let me pass! Despite the law being that i didn't need a visa, she thought it a good idea that she prepare a special visa which indicated all the restrictions of a student visa. In fairness it was because I was leaving the country after 5 months and coming back in again! Unfortunately she needed to process all the other passengers first, then she needed to contact the emergency IT department because she needed to overide certain controls to make this 'special' visa. I wonder what those controls were in place for?

Eventually I got away at about 2am. Poor Richard! Then of course there were the problems when I flew into Vancouver from Seattle, they looked at my now expired 'special' visa and said; "What the hell is this?" Yay, more delays, except this time it was Alvin who had to wait about an hour before they shook their head in exasperation and let me go free!

I still say none of it was my fault! Don't even let me get started on the stupidity of the fact that you need a US visa even if you only transit through the country but stay more then 3 or 6 months!