Author Archive

NAAFI

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

One word, two very different meanings…

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes

No Ambition and Fuck All Interest

No Ambition and Fuck All Interest

You choose!

… Let There Be Light

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Light Switch

Some say "The Finger Is Mightier Than God"

So we’ve all read the Good Book and know the phrase from the third verse of the Book of Genesis which says…, ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Others amongst us might just be ardent AC/DC fans and know the lyrics to the song ‘Let There Be Rock’ which goes…, ‘Let there be light, and there was light‘.

But there’s a third group of people out there who don’t know any of this, a group so lazy that they truly believe light originates elsewhere..

(more…)

Debits And Credits

Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Debit versus Credit

Now which one is it... Debit or Credit?

Contrary to popular belief and even some dictionary definitions, accounting debits and credits do not mean decrease and increase. The only constant definition of debits and credits is that debits are left-column entries and credits are right-column entries.

In fact, debits and credits each increase certain types of accounts and decrease others. In asset and expense type accounts, debits increase the balance and credits decrease the balance. In liability, equity and income type accounts, credits increase the balance and debits decrease the balance. Not confused yet, well read on?

(more…)

Australian Petrol Prices

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Australian Petrol Prices

Australian Petrol Prices at the Bowser, 2006 to 2010

Well they say “a picture can tell a thousand words” and I guess this one is no exception.

The price of petrol as seen by me at my local petrol station down the road, from September 2006 until today (March 2010). The price per litre ranges from 86 cents to A$1.46 and everywhere in between. The biggest alarm bells are saved for the CREEP in the price… see how the price keeps on rising over the years with the only respite being October 2008 to January 2009 (right about when the Global Financial Crisis set in)!

What’s it going to take to get the price down next time…?

Slow Is Faster

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Did you know…

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

Laminar versus Turbulent Flow

Smooth running water flows faster than rough, turbulent water!

Let me explain.

Take your ordinary garden hosepipe attached to the tap, turn on the tap and watch the water flow freely. Slowly increase the flow from the tap and correspondingly the flow from the end of the hosepipe increases until suddenly the water no longer flows freely but has become turbulent. At this point you will also observe that LESS water now flows from the hosepipe than before! Why?

(more…)

Be My Valentine

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

I love getting presents and who doesn’t?

It’s amazing what a difference a year makes.., huh?

Happy Valentines Darling
..And Who Said Our Love Wasn’t Hot… IT’S ON FIRE!

I’ll invite you to read my posting of last year on this subject, and then to comment on how my views have changed (or not)…

The Hardest Part Is Always The Beginning

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

They say the hardest part is always the beginning and today this point was once again, clearly demonstrated.

The hardest part is always the beginning

I have a very dear friend (N) who is a natural born artist, one of those rare people that no matter what they turn their artistic hand too, it turns to gold… (figuratively speaking of course) yet if only she would start (literally) ‘turning it to gold’… (more…)

Invictus by WE Henley

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow’d.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

It’s not hard to see where Nelson Mandela got much of his inspiration whilst being incarcerated on Robin Island.

Tall Poppy Syndrome

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Tall Poppy Syndrome
Tall Poppy Syndrome
(TPS) is a pejorative term used in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to describe what is seen as a levelling social attitude. Someone is said to be suffering from tall poppy syndrome when his or her assumption of a higher economic, social or political position attracts criticism, being perceived as presumptuous, attention seeking or without merit. Alternately, it is seen as a societal trait in which people of genuine merit are criticized or resented because the attention given them elevates them above their peers.

(more…)

Q.E.D. Is Q.E.D.

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

… or perhaps the title should read “QED for the QED QED”. Let me explain…

Queensland Education Department demonstrates its pig philosophy.

Q.E.D demonstrates its 'pig philosophy'

Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, which literally means “which was to be demonstrated”. The phrase is written in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument to signify that the last statement deduced was the one to be demonstrated; the abbreviation thus signals the completion of the proof.

Q.E.D. is also the acronym for the Queensland Education Department, an Australian government institution created to manage the state educational system and infrastructure.

BUT

Q.E.D. could also stand for: question everything done as opposed to quite easily done as anyone dealing with the Education Department will attest to. How about quest for educational direction as opposed to quality education data . They spend more time deliberating about how to do it than actually doing it. Another good one is  quickly ends debate and not quick editorial decisions since the department is run as an autocracy. My personal favourite and the meaning of Q.E.D. in the title is quite evidently defunct and not quite easily done.

So the Queensland Education Department is Quite Evidently Defunct.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.