I’ve mentioned before that our time in Bangkok wasn’t your typical tourist experience. One day, for example, we spent six hours in the Don Mueang district government offices. Here’s a photo of the men’s toilet.
What next for Justice Michael Kirby?
In the 21st Century, daily newspapers have turned into a collection of magazines and supplements geared to the needs of advertisers, with a veneer of “news” at the front.
The Sydney Morning Herald is no exception, and their monthly the(sydney)magazine is particularly irritating. Supposedly it’s about “who and what makes this city tick”. It’s actually about self-indulgence such as food, wine and “the arts” printed on expensive glossy paper so the ads for top-shelf electronics, perfume and jewellery look good.
This month’s feature “the(top100)”, Sydney’s “most influential” people, listed more chefs, wine marketers and furniture designers than politicians, and no religious leaders whatsoever. Bah!
I was pleased, however, that “progressive” judge Justice Michael Kirby (pictured) made the list — along with one of his trademark snappy thoughts.
Kirby is almost 69 years old and thinking about what for him is the weird concept of retirement. Apparently his entry in Who’s Who lists his recreations as “work”.
“I’ve no idea what I’m going to do… I’m pretty good with a live audience — maybe I could become Australia’s answer to Jerry Springer and have my own show?”
Perhaps we should start the fan club now…?
Fake tuna!
Liar, Coonan, Liar!
Well surprise surprise! The (former) government’s campaign to promote their dodgy NetAlert filter — it was cracked by a teenager, after all — over-stated the risk to kids on the Internet. And Senator Helen Coonan seems to have fibbed about what was in the government-commissioned report.
One advertisement said a survey had shown that more than half of 11-15-year-olds who chatted online were contacted by strangers…
[Coonan] refused to make the research public, saying it contained personal information. The Age has obtained the research, a survey prepared by the Wallis Consulting Group, under freedom of information laws. It does not contain any personal information…
[The claim] regarding stranger contact does not appear in the government-commissioned research. The question was not posed in this form. Participants were asked: “When chatting online, have you ever been contacted by someone you haven’t met in real life?” More than half answered “yes”.
So, a “stranger” is anyone you chatted with online, even a friend of a friend, who you just haven’t met physically. A “contact” could have been spam. Gee, we all have them, don’t we?
Still time to comment on Microsoft
There’s some great comments on yesterday’s piece about Microsoft. And there’s still time to add your thoughts before my dinner tonight. You know what to do.
Weekly Poll: Merry Bloody Christmas!
Yes, it’s that time of year again, when a celebration of the birth of social radical Joshua bar Joseph is turned into a retail extravaganza.
How do you feel about Christmas? Personally, I get annoyed with the “compulsory cheerfulness” and the pointless mob behaviour. As the old saying goes, you can’t pick your families, and Christmas forces them together regardless — though reports that the suicide rate peaks at Christmas is an urban legend.
Yes, how do you feel about Christmas? Go to the website to vote, or add your comments here.
[poll id=”15″]
[Yes, that is me in the photograph. I made the antlers for the Snarky Platypus, who should be wearing them on Friday, and ’Pong took the photo using my Nokia N80.]