I recently introduced 11-year-old Jack Howson to one of the simplest of pleasures from my childhood: eating watermelon whilst bobbing about in the pool. We placed a quarter slice of melon on a boogie board. Then Jack and I, each armed with a spoon, attacked from either side! It’s our third summer living in a house with a pool and we love it. In winter, it takes much less work (for no reward) than I had feared. In summer, it’s the centre of our world. Hence my invitation in the last issue of bmag for you to share your swimming pool activities. Cut this out and stick it under a fridge magnet for next time someone’s looking bored. And yes, many of these can be played just as easily at a council pool.
The game most mentioned was Marco Polo. This is the classic swimming pool twist on Tiggy. The person who is “it” or “Marco” closes their eyes and calls out “Marco!” every 10 seconds or so. Everyone else in the pool responds “Polo!” whilst at the same time moving to avoid being caught. To add more fun, change the call and response. Borrowing the shopkeeper scenes from Little Britain, Jack and I will yell “Margaret!” to which the response is “Yee-eeeesss!” Even more obscure, is “Yerp” and “Nerp!” from the movie Hot Fuzz. But the Howsons’ favourite version is Silent Marco Polo. “Marco” must listen and feel for water movement. If you’re looking for fun with a pool full of adults who don’t want to be yelling at the top of their voices, Silent Marco Polo is a complete crack-up!
For pool cricket, Jack and I allocate scores to different parts of the garden and pool. A basic tap into the pool is one run, two in the middle third of the pool, four in the end third and so on. Jono Perry plays it this way: “The batsmen are the only people out of the water and have to swim a lap for a run. The dive makes all the difference. Good fun, seriously tiring”. For a co-operative, non-competitive ball game, throw the ball from one end of the pool to the other, adding a point to the total score with each catch. A one-handed catch is worth two. Drop the ball and the score returns to zero. Set a target, such as 20, and see how long it takes to reach.
Ann Orchard suggests racing on “doodles” (I suspect the foam tubes are more commonly known as “noodles”). Ann says she races against her dog, which runs alongside the pool! Amanda Dell says “go underwater then flick your hair to get the weirdest style possible!” Before I go on to somewhat riskier activities, I don’t need to remind you about having at least one sober adult supervising pool activities, right? Good.
Rebecca Shaw’s suggestion: “When I was younger, my brothers put a long wooden pole across our pool. We used to knock each other off with pillow cases”. Michelle Ransom-Hughes says “underwater Chinese whispers is fun”. That’s definitely on the list next time we have a few people over. Steve Molk says “see who can sit on the bottom of the pool the longest”.
Bronwyn of Bundaberg suggests throwing dollar coins into the pool and searching the bottom for them (make sure you count and retrieve them all before the pool cleaner does!) Then there’s that other classic Whirlpool, suggested by a number of readers including Heath Carney: “You walk or run around the edge until it creates a current strong enough to pull you round”. Bernadette Young likes to “see who can surf (aka stand) on a body board or surfboard for the longest”.
Jack Howson is a big fan of Charade Jumping, where one person jumps into the pool miming a task, occupation or sport. Everyone else then guesses what it was. Jason Eade says “line up floating toys across the pool then try to walk across”. And comedian Melinda Buttle goes even more daredevil with “put the trampoline by the pool, hold my body board and jump into the pool while holding my board”. She calls it Boogie Jump. Mel, I can’t compete with that! I think I’ll just get some more watermelon out and float around for a while!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Bmag Nov 29th 2011 - Blood donors
The Red Cross Blood Service has been hitting the airwaves again, desperately seeking donations as we head into the silly season. In one interview, the Blood Service’s Shaun Inguanzo told my 612 ABC Brisbane colleague Kelly Higgins-Devine there were just under three days’ blood supply left across Australia. Shaun was encouraging listeners to book an appointment straight away. But, the fact is, many of us are not allowed to give blood, myself included. Perhaps you’re disqualified but don’t realise it.
The reason I can’t give blood is I spent a combined six months in the UK between 1980 and 1996. I’m banned because there’s no test for vCJD, the human form of Mad Cow Disease. I wonder how many other people who like to holiday in Britain every couple of years might fit into that category. Even vegetarians who spent six months in the UK during that time are banned because of what the Red Cross calls “the extensive time period covered by the deferral and the possibility of unknowing exposure to beef or beef products”.
Here’s why some people I know are excluded from giving blood: Michael James can’t donate because he’s been male-male sexually active in the past 12 months. The Red Cross says this is because of “the statistically higher incidence of some blood-borne diseases (such as HIV) and the existence of ‘window period’ infections”. Michael says it’s ridiculous that there’s no option for him to tick “I’ve been sexually active unprotected with a monogamous partner of almost a decade”. Jen Hansen can’t donate “because I’ve had piercings and/or tattoos in the last six months”. Lyndal Cairns was turned away “because my fiancé, who had not had sex with anyone but my fine self for years, identified as a bisexual man.” Lyndal says she has been told that “before HIV, gay men were among the blood bank’s biggest donors because they were so community-minded and healthy”.
Kevin Conway can’t give blood “because I had a heart attack 10 years ago and have been on blood thinner ever since.” Daniel Rose has a lifetime exclusion because “when I was eight, I had a blood and bone marrow transfusion from myself – it was taken from my hip and put in my nose – and the blood service does not distinguish between your own product and other people’s”. Ask around and you’ll soon encounter people you know who are not eligible to give blood. You may not agree with the reasons given by the blood service but put yourself in the position of someone receiving blood and then see how strict you want the Red Cross to be with their screening!
Other exclusion categories include those living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, anyone who has been in prison in the last 12 months, and anyone who has been with a male or female sex worker in the last 12 months. If you’ve worked in an abattoir in the last 12 months or had acupuncture in the last four months, only the plasma from your donation can be used. There’s a full list of who can and cannot donate blood at http://www.donateblood.com.au/.
Secretly, I’m relieved that I can’t give blood. I don’t like needles or the sight of blood. But if I could, I would. As soon as researchers come up with a test for vCJD, I’ll be first in line with my sleeves rolled up. Currently only three per cent of Australians give blood. If you can, please do. Don’t assume everyone else will step up to the crease. Call 131 495 now and make an appointment. You can donate if you’re 16 to 81 years of age. You can donate for the first time up to the age of 71. Another friend of mine Gayle Richardson can’t donate because she had blood cancer. But she has received blood: “Two bags after giving birth and eight or 10 during chemotherapy,” she says and urges others: “Please, if you can give blood, do. Thank you to everyone who can and does give blood”.
On a lighter note, in the next issue of bmag I’m going to share with you some swimming pool games that my 11-year-old son Jack and I have invented over the past couple of summers. I’d love to hear about yours. Email me (see the address below) with some fun, original ways to entertain the troops in the pool during the school holidays!
The reason I can’t give blood is I spent a combined six months in the UK between 1980 and 1996. I’m banned because there’s no test for vCJD, the human form of Mad Cow Disease. I wonder how many other people who like to holiday in Britain every couple of years might fit into that category. Even vegetarians who spent six months in the UK during that time are banned because of what the Red Cross calls “the extensive time period covered by the deferral and the possibility of unknowing exposure to beef or beef products”.
Here’s why some people I know are excluded from giving blood: Michael James can’t donate because he’s been male-male sexually active in the past 12 months. The Red Cross says this is because of “the statistically higher incidence of some blood-borne diseases (such as HIV) and the existence of ‘window period’ infections”. Michael says it’s ridiculous that there’s no option for him to tick “I’ve been sexually active unprotected with a monogamous partner of almost a decade”. Jen Hansen can’t donate “because I’ve had piercings and/or tattoos in the last six months”. Lyndal Cairns was turned away “because my fiancé, who had not had sex with anyone but my fine self for years, identified as a bisexual man.” Lyndal says she has been told that “before HIV, gay men were among the blood bank’s biggest donors because they were so community-minded and healthy”.
Kevin Conway can’t give blood “because I had a heart attack 10 years ago and have been on blood thinner ever since.” Daniel Rose has a lifetime exclusion because “when I was eight, I had a blood and bone marrow transfusion from myself – it was taken from my hip and put in my nose – and the blood service does not distinguish between your own product and other people’s”. Ask around and you’ll soon encounter people you know who are not eligible to give blood. You may not agree with the reasons given by the blood service but put yourself in the position of someone receiving blood and then see how strict you want the Red Cross to be with their screening!
Other exclusion categories include those living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, anyone who has been in prison in the last 12 months, and anyone who has been with a male or female sex worker in the last 12 months. If you’ve worked in an abattoir in the last 12 months or had acupuncture in the last four months, only the plasma from your donation can be used. There’s a full list of who can and cannot donate blood at http://www.donateblood.com.au/.
Secretly, I’m relieved that I can’t give blood. I don’t like needles or the sight of blood. But if I could, I would. As soon as researchers come up with a test for vCJD, I’ll be first in line with my sleeves rolled up. Currently only three per cent of Australians give blood. If you can, please do. Don’t assume everyone else will step up to the crease. Call 131 495 now and make an appointment. You can donate if you’re 16 to 81 years of age. You can donate for the first time up to the age of 71. Another friend of mine Gayle Richardson can’t donate because she had blood cancer. But she has received blood: “Two bags after giving birth and eight or 10 during chemotherapy,” she says and urges others: “Please, if you can give blood, do. Thank you to everyone who can and does give blood”.
On a lighter note, in the next issue of bmag I’m going to share with you some swimming pool games that my 11-year-old son Jack and I have invented over the past couple of summers. I’d love to hear about yours. Email me (see the address below) with some fun, original ways to entertain the troops in the pool during the school holidays!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Bmag November 15th 2011 - Danny and Kevin
When I first started writing this column at the beginning of the year, I secretly hoped the gig would include judging bmag’s Brisbane Person of the Year. I had no idea how difficult it would be deciding on just one winner!
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and I could see that all 10 candidates were worthy of taking out the award, with their outstanding, ongoing achievements in areas as diverse as business, science, the arts, sport and communities.
But in this most terrible of years for Queensland, for his work in the South East Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi, and for training and inspiring the next generation of SES volunteers, the decision to present the award to Danny Armstrong was unanimous.
Danny, as I said to you at the ceremony last Monday night, congratulations and thank you on behalf of your fellow Queenslanders.
I also want to congratulate a Brisbane radio stalwart and good mate who has decided to hang up his headphones after 21 years on the ABC. Kevin “The Big Wheel of Motoring” Weule hosted his first car valuation talkback show in 1990. Last Saturday, with obvious sadness, Kevin farewelled listeners, telling them that after 52 years in the car business it was time to enjoy retirement (read camping and fishing) and make way for the next generation (Kevin’s valuation company and his talkback show are now in the hands of Troy Dwyer).
Regular guests like Kevin Weule are the backbone of a radio station. More often than not they do it for nothing, week in, week out, and they’re as much a part of the station’s sound and success as the paid announcers. I had the great pleasure of working with Kevin when I was presenting regional afternoon radio in the mid 1990s. Heck, I think all of us at 612 ABC Brisbane have worked alongside Kevin Weule and learnt the spiel: “What sort of car? How many Ks? Air? Steer?”! Without Kevin Weule, I’m pretty sure I would have ignorantly sailed through my entire life without knowing the difference between dual-cab and twin-cab utes!
Kevin is a true gentleman who I know will be missed, especially by the older ladies with whom he would flirt (just a little) as they asked him what their “only driven to church on Sundays” car was worth. They were Kevin’s favourites too. You could see it in his face when he was talking to them. And Kevin would always take great care when talking to recently bereaved women faced with selling their husband’s car. Kevin always worried about them being ripped off. If time ran out, he would continue talking to these callers off-air long after the program had finished.
(I’ve just realised this is starting to sound like a eulogy. Well if it is, then at least Kevin is still around to read how much he’s been loved by his listeners and his colleagues at the ABC! We’ll miss you, Kevin!)
As Kevin Weule reflected on his half century in the business, he offered his listeners a final, serious observation: “One thing that should happen in Queensland – there should be annual roadworthies. The only time you do a roadworthy on a car is when you sell it. It’s going to cost Queenslanders a little bit more but you get a better quality of car. Over the years, when you buy a car from NSW, some of them are better cars. Here you can have a car for 10 years and not even take it near a garage.
“I don’t know how they’re going to do it. I don’t want to bring it up because it’s going to cost Queenslanders but one lady one time traded a car in and we went to roadworthy the car and she had the back brakes of the car squeezed up with a pair of pinch grips and taped up and she said `I was only driving the kids to school with the car. I wasn’t going anywhere’!
“And if they can’t get the airbags to work, they just disconnect them. A lot of that is happening.”
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and I could see that all 10 candidates were worthy of taking out the award, with their outstanding, ongoing achievements in areas as diverse as business, science, the arts, sport and communities.
But in this most terrible of years for Queensland, for his work in the South East Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi, and for training and inspiring the next generation of SES volunteers, the decision to present the award to Danny Armstrong was unanimous.
Danny, as I said to you at the ceremony last Monday night, congratulations and thank you on behalf of your fellow Queenslanders.
I also want to congratulate a Brisbane radio stalwart and good mate who has decided to hang up his headphones after 21 years on the ABC. Kevin “The Big Wheel of Motoring” Weule hosted his first car valuation talkback show in 1990. Last Saturday, with obvious sadness, Kevin farewelled listeners, telling them that after 52 years in the car business it was time to enjoy retirement (read camping and fishing) and make way for the next generation (Kevin’s valuation company and his talkback show are now in the hands of Troy Dwyer).
Regular guests like Kevin Weule are the backbone of a radio station. More often than not they do it for nothing, week in, week out, and they’re as much a part of the station’s sound and success as the paid announcers. I had the great pleasure of working with Kevin when I was presenting regional afternoon radio in the mid 1990s. Heck, I think all of us at 612 ABC Brisbane have worked alongside Kevin Weule and learnt the spiel: “What sort of car? How many Ks? Air? Steer?”! Without Kevin Weule, I’m pretty sure I would have ignorantly sailed through my entire life without knowing the difference between dual-cab and twin-cab utes!
Kevin is a true gentleman who I know will be missed, especially by the older ladies with whom he would flirt (just a little) as they asked him what their “only driven to church on Sundays” car was worth. They were Kevin’s favourites too. You could see it in his face when he was talking to them. And Kevin would always take great care when talking to recently bereaved women faced with selling their husband’s car. Kevin always worried about them being ripped off. If time ran out, he would continue talking to these callers off-air long after the program had finished.
(I’ve just realised this is starting to sound like a eulogy. Well if it is, then at least Kevin is still around to read how much he’s been loved by his listeners and his colleagues at the ABC! We’ll miss you, Kevin!)
As Kevin Weule reflected on his half century in the business, he offered his listeners a final, serious observation: “One thing that should happen in Queensland – there should be annual roadworthies. The only time you do a roadworthy on a car is when you sell it. It’s going to cost Queenslanders a little bit more but you get a better quality of car. Over the years, when you buy a car from NSW, some of them are better cars. Here you can have a car for 10 years and not even take it near a garage.
“I don’t know how they’re going to do it. I don’t want to bring it up because it’s going to cost Queenslanders but one lady one time traded a car in and we went to roadworthy the car and she had the back brakes of the car squeezed up with a pair of pinch grips and taped up and she said `I was only driving the kids to school with the car. I wasn’t going anywhere’!
“And if they can’t get the airbags to work, they just disconnect them. A lot of that is happening.”
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Bmag Nov 1st 2011 - Stephen Fry's 3.3 million
Remember the excitement when you hit 50 friends on Facebook or 50 followers on Twitter? Last week I had the chance to ask someone: “What’s it like having 3.3 million Twitter followers?”
Many celebrities, politicians and organisations have smashed through the million follower mark since CNN and Ashton Kutcher famously raced to be the first (Kutcher won in April 2009) but few if any have the intellect of British actor and writer Stephen Fry.
Fry has been in Brisbane to present a live stage version of his ABC TV show QI, at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre this week (Monday 31 October to Wednesday 2 November). Speaking on my ABC radio show, Fry explained why he’s drawn to Twitter:
“It suits me fantastically. Print journalists are a savage, unpleasant and deeply unlikeable people mostly who wish to do one down and make one look an arse so the great thing is when your Twitter followers exceed the circulation of a newspaper you can just tell any press person that you’re not going to do any print media for the rest of your life and it’s great. There’s no newspaper that has a bigger circulation than I do!”
The trouble is, Stephen Fry’s 3.3 million followers tweet him back, about once every 10 seconds from what I’ve seen. So how does he deal with one-on-one feedback on that scale?
“This is the problem and people have to understand Twitter. Sometimes newcomers don’t get quite how it works. You have to imagine I’m in the middle of a forest in autumn and leaves are going all around me in a huge cyclone and I might occasionally grab one and look at it, and grab another and look at it, but the vast majority howl past me without any chance of my seeing them.”
That said, he loves asking a direct question and watching the responses come in. “It’s terrific fun when you show it to someone! Dangerous, intoxicating and thrilling at the same time!”
Stephen Fry knows he can’t promote every charity or fundraiser he’s asked to – “It’s hard to turn them down but I don’t want my Twitter feed to become a bulletin board of good causes” – and when he does endorse a blog or website, it’s likely to crash. Fry’s own site couldn’t handle the 20,000 hits a second it received after he wrote a Steve Jobs obituary and posted a link on Twitter! It makes me think having just 50 followers (or Facebook friends) might not be such a bad thing after all!
The car dilemma in perspective
There was quite a reaction to my column on the two-car dilemma and wants versus needs. To recap briefly, my sister-in-law has garaged her car with us for the past two years while she’s been overseas. However, she’s returning home soon and we must decide whether to buy our own second car or go back to running just one.
Former Ten News presenter now PR executive Kristin Devitt tweeted: “We’ve been a one car household for the past 16 years. All good. Until we start Saturday sport, then all bets are off!” Current Ten News presenter Bill McDonald also chimed in: “Four boys, sport, Mt Coot-tha. Nah, need two cars”. Environmentalist Rowan Barber suggested I investigate one of the “collaborative consumption” car-sharing websites.
Chris Hassall tweeted: “Buy another car but allocate a certain number of days per week to use public transport”. But Deb Russell-Groarke put it all in perspective when she said: “We’ve been a no-car family since our car was written off last October. We’d happily be a one-car family again.”
In the same column, I argued that materialism was out control but “as soon as you realise you can never have everything, you give yourself permission to not want anything more”.
Sarah emailed: “I fully understand and agree with you! I was fortunate enough to be in my early 20s when this dawned on me. My chosen career was never going to give me the earning power to satisfy many of those materialistic desires, so consciously choosing not to go after the latest and greatest has resulted in much happiness and contentment. “I’ll admit it’s not always cool to not want the latest toys and gadgets, but I feel much happier for it now, more than 10 years on. If only more people knew this kind of freedom and happiness!”
Many celebrities, politicians and organisations have smashed through the million follower mark since CNN and Ashton Kutcher famously raced to be the first (Kutcher won in April 2009) but few if any have the intellect of British actor and writer Stephen Fry.
Fry has been in Brisbane to present a live stage version of his ABC TV show QI, at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre this week (Monday 31 October to Wednesday 2 November). Speaking on my ABC radio show, Fry explained why he’s drawn to Twitter:
“It suits me fantastically. Print journalists are a savage, unpleasant and deeply unlikeable people mostly who wish to do one down and make one look an arse so the great thing is when your Twitter followers exceed the circulation of a newspaper you can just tell any press person that you’re not going to do any print media for the rest of your life and it’s great. There’s no newspaper that has a bigger circulation than I do!”
The trouble is, Stephen Fry’s 3.3 million followers tweet him back, about once every 10 seconds from what I’ve seen. So how does he deal with one-on-one feedback on that scale?
“This is the problem and people have to understand Twitter. Sometimes newcomers don’t get quite how it works. You have to imagine I’m in the middle of a forest in autumn and leaves are going all around me in a huge cyclone and I might occasionally grab one and look at it, and grab another and look at it, but the vast majority howl past me without any chance of my seeing them.”
That said, he loves asking a direct question and watching the responses come in. “It’s terrific fun when you show it to someone! Dangerous, intoxicating and thrilling at the same time!”
Stephen Fry knows he can’t promote every charity or fundraiser he’s asked to – “It’s hard to turn them down but I don’t want my Twitter feed to become a bulletin board of good causes” – and when he does endorse a blog or website, it’s likely to crash. Fry’s own site couldn’t handle the 20,000 hits a second it received after he wrote a Steve Jobs obituary and posted a link on Twitter! It makes me think having just 50 followers (or Facebook friends) might not be such a bad thing after all!
The car dilemma in perspective
There was quite a reaction to my column on the two-car dilemma and wants versus needs. To recap briefly, my sister-in-law has garaged her car with us for the past two years while she’s been overseas. However, she’s returning home soon and we must decide whether to buy our own second car or go back to running just one.
Former Ten News presenter now PR executive Kristin Devitt tweeted: “We’ve been a one car household for the past 16 years. All good. Until we start Saturday sport, then all bets are off!” Current Ten News presenter Bill McDonald also chimed in: “Four boys, sport, Mt Coot-tha. Nah, need two cars”. Environmentalist Rowan Barber suggested I investigate one of the “collaborative consumption” car-sharing websites.
Chris Hassall tweeted: “Buy another car but allocate a certain number of days per week to use public transport”. But Deb Russell-Groarke put it all in perspective when she said: “We’ve been a no-car family since our car was written off last October. We’d happily be a one-car family again.”
In the same column, I argued that materialism was out control but “as soon as you realise you can never have everything, you give yourself permission to not want anything more”.
Sarah emailed: “I fully understand and agree with you! I was fortunate enough to be in my early 20s when this dawned on me. My chosen career was never going to give me the earning power to satisfy many of those materialistic desires, so consciously choosing not to go after the latest and greatest has resulted in much happiness and contentment. “I’ll admit it’s not always cool to not want the latest toys and gadgets, but I feel much happier for it now, more than 10 years on. If only more people knew this kind of freedom and happiness!”
Monday, October 17, 2011
Bmag Oct 18th 2011 - Two cars, dayight saving vs TV tweeting
We always said we wouldn’t but, for the past two years, the Howsons have been a two-car family. We never planned it that way. But when my sister-in-law decided to spend some time living and working in the UK, she needed somewhere in Brisbane to park her belongings. Now we face the moment of truth. Carly tells us she is coming home at the end of November and, funnily enough, she wants her car back! We must decide whether to go back to one vehicle or purchase a second car.
Where Nikki works, public transport isn’t an option, so she has always taken our car. I would be the one going back to taxis and buses. I do enjoy using public transport. I find it relaxing – as long as you can get a seat – and I believe in public transport as a way of keeping cars off the roads and reducing congestion and pollution. But there is something to be said for leaving work when you want to, having your own space, calling in to your favourite CD shop on the way home, and not having to walk from the bus stop!
And yet, we don’t need a second car. It’s an indulgence and further proof that materialism is out of control. We’re as guilty of this as the next person. When we bought our last television four years ago 32 inches seemed a decent size. But a couple of months ago, 55 inches became just a little too tempting. We now have two TVs. Last time we replaced our computer, we bought two identical ones and put them on a wireless home network. Sure, our son Jack is using one at the moment, meaning I can type this on the other, but did we really need two computers? Probably not. Just like the second TV and second computer, we don’t need a second car. We want one. But we don’t need one. Of course, the ultimate material want is a bigger home. I like the one we’re in but that doesn’t stop me browsing the real estate pages. The trouble is whatever you buy, you’ll always want bigger. Or newer. Or a better view. Quite simply, we are never satisfied.
I’m sure this isn’t an original thought but these words came to me the other day: As soon as you realise that you can never have everything, you give yourself permission to not want anything more. I’m not claiming to be the Dalai Lama or Confucious, but I think I’ve hit it on the head with that statement. It takes a while to come to that conclusion. No 20-year-old is going to agree with it. But as you get older – I’ll be 40 next time – you learn to be at peace with your lot. No promises, but hopefully you won’t see me buying a second car. I’d like to think that, instead, I will top up my go card and hand over the car keys.
Light or wrong? Finally, a word on daylight saving. As someone who moderates radio talkback discussions about daylight saving every six months, like clockwork, I offer the following conclusion: If you like to get up with the birds so you can surf, write, read or garden before getting on with your day, chances are you are happy without daylight saving. A 5am sunrise, as it is at the moment, makes more sense to you than 6am. If you’re not an early riser. If you’d rather use that extra hour at the end of your day, you probably support Queensland joining the southern states in having daylight saving. For you, a 7pm sunset would be preferable to the current 6pm.
There is no right and wrong answer. There are “morning people” and “night people”. Yet every April and October, those pushing for daylight saving get on their high horses and attempt to convince everyone that their way is the better way. As someone whose radio show starts at 5am, you can guess with which camp I currently sympathise! The only argument I see gaining any traction is the frustration felt by those wanting to watch television whilst Tweeting (or Facebooking, etc) along with their friends in the southern states. At least some interactive programs – including Q&A on ABC News 24 and Australia’s Next Top Model on Fox 8 – are broadcast into Queensland at the same time as the other states.
Where Nikki works, public transport isn’t an option, so she has always taken our car. I would be the one going back to taxis and buses. I do enjoy using public transport. I find it relaxing – as long as you can get a seat – and I believe in public transport as a way of keeping cars off the roads and reducing congestion and pollution. But there is something to be said for leaving work when you want to, having your own space, calling in to your favourite CD shop on the way home, and not having to walk from the bus stop!
And yet, we don’t need a second car. It’s an indulgence and further proof that materialism is out of control. We’re as guilty of this as the next person. When we bought our last television four years ago 32 inches seemed a decent size. But a couple of months ago, 55 inches became just a little too tempting. We now have two TVs. Last time we replaced our computer, we bought two identical ones and put them on a wireless home network. Sure, our son Jack is using one at the moment, meaning I can type this on the other, but did we really need two computers? Probably not. Just like the second TV and second computer, we don’t need a second car. We want one. But we don’t need one. Of course, the ultimate material want is a bigger home. I like the one we’re in but that doesn’t stop me browsing the real estate pages. The trouble is whatever you buy, you’ll always want bigger. Or newer. Or a better view. Quite simply, we are never satisfied.
I’m sure this isn’t an original thought but these words came to me the other day: As soon as you realise that you can never have everything, you give yourself permission to not want anything more. I’m not claiming to be the Dalai Lama or Confucious, but I think I’ve hit it on the head with that statement. It takes a while to come to that conclusion. No 20-year-old is going to agree with it. But as you get older – I’ll be 40 next time – you learn to be at peace with your lot. No promises, but hopefully you won’t see me buying a second car. I’d like to think that, instead, I will top up my go card and hand over the car keys.
Light or wrong? Finally, a word on daylight saving. As someone who moderates radio talkback discussions about daylight saving every six months, like clockwork, I offer the following conclusion: If you like to get up with the birds so you can surf, write, read or garden before getting on with your day, chances are you are happy without daylight saving. A 5am sunrise, as it is at the moment, makes more sense to you than 6am. If you’re not an early riser. If you’d rather use that extra hour at the end of your day, you probably support Queensland joining the southern states in having daylight saving. For you, a 7pm sunset would be preferable to the current 6pm.
There is no right and wrong answer. There are “morning people” and “night people”. Yet every April and October, those pushing for daylight saving get on their high horses and attempt to convince everyone that their way is the better way. As someone whose radio show starts at 5am, you can guess with which camp I currently sympathise! The only argument I see gaining any traction is the frustration felt by those wanting to watch television whilst Tweeting (or Facebooking, etc) along with their friends in the southern states. At least some interactive programs – including Q&A on ABC News 24 and Australia’s Next Top Model on Fox 8 – are broadcast into Queensland at the same time as the other states.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Bmag October 4th 2011 - Spencer's advice to high-schoolers
My attention was recently drawn to the amount of work that must be completed by Year 12 students in term three. A concerned dad emailed me his daughter’s assessment list which included seven 1000 word essays and seven in-class exams.
Discussing this on my ABC radio show, the consensus from teachers and parents was that term three of Year 12 was the toughest period in a student’s life, often much harder than university. All this prompted me to pull out a speech I gave to Year 10 students at Aspley State High in 2004. Show this to anxious teens in your life if you think it will inspire them as they begin term four.
Year 10 was a shocker for me. I barely passed. And yet I left Year 12 with a T.E. score of 990, now known as an OP1. The reason I did well in Years 11 and 12? I knew it was time to get serious but also I chose subjects which I enjoyed. At university, I could have done anything but I wanted to study journalism. So I did. Again, I chose a course which I knew I would enjoy. And, from then on, I’ve been having a ball!
I know what you’re thinking – it was easy for you, Spencer! You knew what you wanted to do! I was lucky in that regard. But, if you don’t know what you want to be doing at my age, it doesn’t matter. What do you want to be doing right now? Work towards that. Your goals will change.
My wife Nikki started off studying anatomy. After a year, she switched to journalism and ended up working as a TV reporter and producer. Her anatomy year wasn’t wasted. She was able to take credit points into her journalism degree and she learned that anatomy wasn’t for her.
A friend who works at The Courier-Mail, Michael Lund, started out in a mathematics course. Then he worked out that what he liked about maths was taking complex models and explaining them simply. This led him to a job at a newspaper, where he was taking complex news stories and explaining them simply. He never regrets studying maths, otherwise he might never have ended up in journalism.
What I’m saying is pursue your current dream with all your energy. As long as it doesn’t involved sitting under a tree somewhere, or watching daytime television while the dole trickles in. You do need a job. And you do need money. But you don’t need a great job. And you don’t need lots of money. It helps to find out about jobs before they’re advertised. Do this by mixing with people in your chosen industry. If you don’t know any, do some unpaid work – anything to get your foot in the door – and to build relationships with people you would like to work alongside.
Once you’re inside an organisation – as a casual or intern – there are three things to remember. If you’re asked to do something, do it. Secondly, do it well. And thirdly, be likeable. I don’t think enough is said about likeability. It’s certainly never mentioned in job advertisements, although sometimes you see “team player”. At the ABC in Brisbane, I see casual staff and interns come and go. They’re all capable and reliable. But the ones who go the distance, and end up with full-time jobs, get on with everyone.
There’s a well-known saying that Bill Gates likes to repeat. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one. What I would say is be nice to everyone because you could end up working for them! At high school there are people you like and people you dislike. There are people who like you and people who dislike you, but when you leave school shake hands with everyone and wish them all well for the future.
Life just keeps getting better and better. I have a job which I enjoy. I’m paid money which I enjoy spending. I have a wife and son, whom I love very much. If you’re having a tough time now, it does get better! And to those who are already having fun, that’s great. It gets better still!!
Discussing this on my ABC radio show, the consensus from teachers and parents was that term three of Year 12 was the toughest period in a student’s life, often much harder than university. All this prompted me to pull out a speech I gave to Year 10 students at Aspley State High in 2004. Show this to anxious teens in your life if you think it will inspire them as they begin term four.
Year 10 was a shocker for me. I barely passed. And yet I left Year 12 with a T.E. score of 990, now known as an OP1. The reason I did well in Years 11 and 12? I knew it was time to get serious but also I chose subjects which I enjoyed. At university, I could have done anything but I wanted to study journalism. So I did. Again, I chose a course which I knew I would enjoy. And, from then on, I’ve been having a ball!
I know what you’re thinking – it was easy for you, Spencer! You knew what you wanted to do! I was lucky in that regard. But, if you don’t know what you want to be doing at my age, it doesn’t matter. What do you want to be doing right now? Work towards that. Your goals will change.
My wife Nikki started off studying anatomy. After a year, she switched to journalism and ended up working as a TV reporter and producer. Her anatomy year wasn’t wasted. She was able to take credit points into her journalism degree and she learned that anatomy wasn’t for her.
A friend who works at The Courier-Mail, Michael Lund, started out in a mathematics course. Then he worked out that what he liked about maths was taking complex models and explaining them simply. This led him to a job at a newspaper, where he was taking complex news stories and explaining them simply. He never regrets studying maths, otherwise he might never have ended up in journalism.
What I’m saying is pursue your current dream with all your energy. As long as it doesn’t involved sitting under a tree somewhere, or watching daytime television while the dole trickles in. You do need a job. And you do need money. But you don’t need a great job. And you don’t need lots of money. It helps to find out about jobs before they’re advertised. Do this by mixing with people in your chosen industry. If you don’t know any, do some unpaid work – anything to get your foot in the door – and to build relationships with people you would like to work alongside.
Once you’re inside an organisation – as a casual or intern – there are three things to remember. If you’re asked to do something, do it. Secondly, do it well. And thirdly, be likeable. I don’t think enough is said about likeability. It’s certainly never mentioned in job advertisements, although sometimes you see “team player”. At the ABC in Brisbane, I see casual staff and interns come and go. They’re all capable and reliable. But the ones who go the distance, and end up with full-time jobs, get on with everyone.
There’s a well-known saying that Bill Gates likes to repeat. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one. What I would say is be nice to everyone because you could end up working for them! At high school there are people you like and people you dislike. There are people who like you and people who dislike you, but when you leave school shake hands with everyone and wish them all well for the future.
Life just keeps getting better and better. I have a job which I enjoy. I’m paid money which I enjoy spending. I have a wife and son, whom I love very much. If you’re having a tough time now, it does get better! And to those who are already having fun, that’s great. It gets better still!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Bmag September 20th 2011 - Most abuse is in the home
With Daniel Morcombe’s remains found and a man charged with the Sunshine Coast teenager’s murder, the term “stranger danger” is again front-of-mind. Leading the way are Daniel’s brave parents Bruce and Denise, who have summoned unimaginable strength to travel the state, speaking to school students about personal safety. The Morcombes are also devising a universal distress signal so children can attract attention and fend off would-be attackers.
What concerns me is that any increased media and community focus on stranger danger has two undesirable consequences. Firstly, it creates a perception that our community is filled with child-abductors. The target of this paranoia is generally older men, as seen recently when a group of semi-retired blokes at Palmwoods set up a Men’s Shed so they could socialise and potter together. In no time, there was a complaint to Sunshine Coast Regional Council, arguing that it was no longer safe for children to walk alone in the area.
The second and arguably far more serious side-effect of shining the spotlight on strangers as perpetrators is that the abuse of children in the home, inflicted by trusted adults and family members, disappears into the shadows. As Megan Y said to me in a recent email: “Tragic as it is, cases like that of Daniel Morcombe are incredibly rare thankfully. Crimes like child abuse, abduction and infanticide are usually committed by family members, trusted family friends, church people or foster carers. Why the constant fear-mongering/repetition of the anti-public transport/you must drive your children everywhere meme? I haven’t seen any evidence that the risk of children abduction is higher today than it was when we all walked/rode our bikes/caught buses unaccompanied as children.”
Indeed, a 2007 Griffith University study found that strangers accounted for only 14 per cent of the sexual abuse of children. Friends and family friends were responsible for 50 per cent, whilst 35 per cent of cases involved a family member.
I’m also concerned about the false sense of security created by the Blue Card system which can only ever detect, and protect children from, those who have already attracted the attention of police. There is nothing to stop a child abuser who hasn’t been caught from holding a Blue Card.
All of this leads me to the importance of empowering children within the home. I’m not saying you should panic or suddenly be suspicious of your husband, wife or others who live under your roof or spend time alone with your children. Instead, be pro-active and talk to your children about safety and trust.
Brisbane blogger, radio producer and child abuse survivor Annie Reuss suggests using these words: “An adult who truly loves you will never make you feel afraid – they will always make you feel safe, even when they are angry at you. If an adult ever makes you feel afraid you should always speak to another adult who makes you feel safe.
“Adults should never, ever touch you in sexual places and if they do it is wrong and another adult needs to know about it straight away. Even if they tell you they will do something terrible to someone if you tell on them, don’t believe them. They won’t. “Even if it is someone in your family you must tell someone you trust. You can be brave and you can stop them from hurting others.”
Annie says she always wishes she had spoken up when she was little. “He went on to abuse others and I could have stopped him from doing this by speaking up, but I didn’t and I do feel very bad about that. I didn’t speak up because you know once you do everything changes. Even though you don’t like being abused, it is the only family you know, so it’s a double-edged sword.”
I know other survivors who haven’t felt strong enough to speak up until their 30s and 40s. They share Annie’s guilt – that they could have saved younger family members from the same pain – but at the same time they are relieved to have finally sought justice. It’s never too late for that once scared child inside you to find the strength to tell someone. Finally, a plea to anyone who touches children inappropriately. You are betraying trust, inflicting fear and impacting lives forever. You must stop. Seek help today. Please.
What concerns me is that any increased media and community focus on stranger danger has two undesirable consequences. Firstly, it creates a perception that our community is filled with child-abductors. The target of this paranoia is generally older men, as seen recently when a group of semi-retired blokes at Palmwoods set up a Men’s Shed so they could socialise and potter together. In no time, there was a complaint to Sunshine Coast Regional Council, arguing that it was no longer safe for children to walk alone in the area.
The second and arguably far more serious side-effect of shining the spotlight on strangers as perpetrators is that the abuse of children in the home, inflicted by trusted adults and family members, disappears into the shadows. As Megan Y said to me in a recent email: “Tragic as it is, cases like that of Daniel Morcombe are incredibly rare thankfully. Crimes like child abuse, abduction and infanticide are usually committed by family members, trusted family friends, church people or foster carers. Why the constant fear-mongering/repetition of the anti-public transport/you must drive your children everywhere meme? I haven’t seen any evidence that the risk of children abduction is higher today than it was when we all walked/rode our bikes/caught buses unaccompanied as children.”
Indeed, a 2007 Griffith University study found that strangers accounted for only 14 per cent of the sexual abuse of children. Friends and family friends were responsible for 50 per cent, whilst 35 per cent of cases involved a family member.
I’m also concerned about the false sense of security created by the Blue Card system which can only ever detect, and protect children from, those who have already attracted the attention of police. There is nothing to stop a child abuser who hasn’t been caught from holding a Blue Card.
All of this leads me to the importance of empowering children within the home. I’m not saying you should panic or suddenly be suspicious of your husband, wife or others who live under your roof or spend time alone with your children. Instead, be pro-active and talk to your children about safety and trust.
Brisbane blogger, radio producer and child abuse survivor Annie Reuss suggests using these words: “An adult who truly loves you will never make you feel afraid – they will always make you feel safe, even when they are angry at you. If an adult ever makes you feel afraid you should always speak to another adult who makes you feel safe.
“Adults should never, ever touch you in sexual places and if they do it is wrong and another adult needs to know about it straight away. Even if they tell you they will do something terrible to someone if you tell on them, don’t believe them. They won’t. “Even if it is someone in your family you must tell someone you trust. You can be brave and you can stop them from hurting others.”
Annie says she always wishes she had spoken up when she was little. “He went on to abuse others and I could have stopped him from doing this by speaking up, but I didn’t and I do feel very bad about that. I didn’t speak up because you know once you do everything changes. Even though you don’t like being abused, it is the only family you know, so it’s a double-edged sword.”
I know other survivors who haven’t felt strong enough to speak up until their 30s and 40s. They share Annie’s guilt – that they could have saved younger family members from the same pain – but at the same time they are relieved to have finally sought justice. It’s never too late for that once scared child inside you to find the strength to tell someone. Finally, a plea to anyone who touches children inappropriately. You are betraying trust, inflicting fear and impacting lives forever. You must stop. Seek help today. Please.
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