This week

This week has been the start of serious Giro watching, as well as:

• Watched the Mayfair Witches series;
• Tried more job applications, e.g. EA hardship - which required a video interview;
• Went to Centra & had a schnitzel - insipid;
• Had a schnitzel at the Barwon Club & met a girl;
• Got in touch with two (2) of the boys - by SMS, as it is often difficult ringing people; and,
• Bought a whole bunch of stuff & made a cassoulet - rather impressed with it. Gave some to Greg.

Have noticed that I am sleeping an awful lot more! Also, have been trying to forgo alcohol - at least for two (2) days of the week …

Last week

Not a particularly outgoing week, but did manage:

• Watched a few shows, e.g. Jack Irish & Aftertaste;
• Read some books, e.g. McKinty;
• Applied for more jobs, e.g. Coles shelf stacker;
• Mowed the lawn & pruned some bushes;
• Had coffee with the lads; and,
• Went to a plant swap meeting at EG Hub.

But, no (road) riding!

Happy (10th) anniversary!

Well, as you can gather from the title, I have been here for ten (10) years!!! 😵

Who'd have thought, hey?

Anyway, 'celebrated' by going to Igni - one of those places where you open up your wallet & let them take what they need, so that they impress you!

Which they do very, very convincingly!!!

My one (1) comment, before the main discussion, is that the serving girl said that 'English is not my 1st language' - to which I must emphasise 'fuck them' whoever told you otherwise, for the 'mono' linguistic skills of Australians is nothing to be proud of!!!

I went for the 'mystery' degustation ($200) + matched wines ($110) - but then ended up having an unexpected interlude dish (#6), which added another ~$40 to the total. What follows are courses, along with their matched wines & more comments:

1. Started with 'nibbles' - salt & vinegar saltbush (took some home for the 'young fellow' to try), chewy beets & macadamia, chicken skin & cod roe, mussels & zucchini flower, blue mackerel & daikon, fig & schmaltz, venison jerky & blue eye jerky.
2. Scallop, crumpet & finger lime (2022 Crawford River Riesling): wine was minerally & relaxed; food exploded with flavour of finger lime, rye crumpet was a freshingly neutral & complemented a sweet scallop. Interestingly, the one song I recognised played - Here comes your man;
3. Beetroot, swede & almond (2022 Blind corner Quindalup nouveau); a young shiraz, with the vibrancy of a settled beaujolais - used a different form of maturation; the roe 'popped' - slightly smoked;
4. Blue eye, cauliflower & bull horn pepper (2019 Cimabella Godello): wine had a bright colour & flavour, with a good finish; served with a brioche, doused with honey & salt, but did not work with the fish! However, the charred exterior of the blue eye was great;
5. Pork, black garlic & wild plum (2018 Moondarra old school Nebbiola): wine had a good finish, as it was light & vibrant; pork had a subtle pepper sauce, which a mouthful of the saltbush (see above) did not enhance! Texture was variable, with a subtle char on the outside;
6. Spelt, calamari & bronze fennel (2021 Kidoizumi AFS): complex flavour (umami?) - felt that there were levels not seen before; meal was the best balance for the day! Flavours 'popped' - did not 'scream' but smiled;
7. Mimolette & whole smoked orange (Heiwa Shuzo Furu-Tsuru-Ume 10 years old): use = umami? An intense sake; the smokiness of the orange segments was well offset by the bite of the cheese - also, loved the grind used; and,
8. Jerusalem artichoke flower ice cream, strawberry & lovage (Strawberry & basil daiquiri); the basil notes were evident, yet subtle; the use of artichoke was evident up front with the ice cream, but faded to be a fond memory.
9. Finished with some petit fours - oyster ice cream, charred pineapple tube & blackened wild plum tart.

In conclusion, one thing that continues to amaze me - especially given the relative importance to me, is that I could neither take anyone, nor imagine asking anyone else to come with me there!

Funnily enough, I bumped into Carolyn & Chris on the way past the hospital ...

In summary, in case it is not evident, if you can, go there, open your 'heart' & enjoy!

Bit upset?

This past week has been affected by wheezing chest & upset tummy, which has had an affect upon several activities, for better, or worse.

• Went off to Hendry's for a BikeFit & then did the usual - got there & stood around for twenty minutes, before turning back & going home. Found out that the tunnel under Barwon Heads Road has been finished - suspect it will be a foldable location, however? After the last interaction, I even checked emails prior to departure, but there was nothing there, so headed off. The next day an email was received, apologising & offering a reason - also an upset tummy. So that (& the derision of the coffee crew) led me to email back to ask if we could try again;
• With my current financial constraints/situation, as well as the motivation of my anniversary, I got in touch with the bank re. the mortgage. Initially, I was going to go in, which would have involved a train to Wyndham Vale & then a bus into Werribee - an effort, but apparently what I have to do! Anyway, due to upset tummy, phoned to postpone until another time. Later in the week, thought that most of the queries could be addressed over the phone? Rang & spoke to Satish, who apologised that was just entering a meeting, took note of my queries, e.g. what could be done re. package cost, what options were available as alternatives and/or a better rate) & said that I would be contacted that afternoon. Which did not happen. Instead, I got signed up to some spam email & got a SMS (at 1753), saying that I would be contacted 11/04 AM to discuss. Spoiler alert - that did not happen either;
• Also had a request from CLK to come in & give feedback on their communication efforts. Could not get to that, so had to send apologies. Interestingly enough, when invited, I was informed that it was too late to send me a confirmation by post & yet they were able to do all that by SMS. To be fair, despite the offer of a $100 food voucher, I am unsure if I could have provided any useful feedback. Also, was very concerned re. the privacy considerations;
• For the past six (6) weeks, I have been lodging a six (6) game lotto entry, costing $5. This week, I went to check on the entries & found that I had accumulated winnings of $32.95 - that is (almost) 10% dividend, over the six (6) weeks! Which is certainly not a bad return, but I do not feel that I could comfortably rely on that return with any consistency;
• Being sick did, however, allow me to settle in & watch the Paris-Roubaix races - women one night & the men the next night. Also, because it was Easter, there was no need to worry about how late it went. Also bought a leg of lamb to do on the fire out the back, for Easter Sunday, but the day was very drizzly, so ended up doing it in the pot in the oven - this also was not the day to have washed my jeans! Although, this did allow me to put the fire on & curl up to watch the men's race. Highlights were so many women having to stop to push their bikes over the final climb & then a Canadian won. With the men, the two main ones were Philipsen & van de Poel 'ganging up' on Dekenkolb, causing him to crash & when Gee rode through Arenberg, then the wheel started wobbling, followed by the tyre going one way, the tube another & then the wheel (effectively) just folded in on itself; and,
• Got some money, so went shopping! Bought the Levi's 511s that I had been thinking about, a pair of track pants, to wear as PJs & lashed out on a bottle of whisky.

In all, it has been an interesting week, with highs & lows - I guess that means that I need to just keep on going, without concern about what has been missed & focussing on what has been gained?

The precipice - to fall?

Hmm, have just finished reading The precipice: existential risk & the future of humanity, by Toby Ord & am not sure if I agree with its suppositions - but, to be generous, I am a better person for having read it, no doubt! One thing that I would like to share, in full, is the list of what not to do:

• Don't regulate prematurely: at the right time, regulation may be a very useful tool for reducing existential risk. But right now, we know very little about how best to do so. Pushing for ill-considered regulation would be a major mistake;
• Don't take irreversible actions unilaterally: some countermeasures may make our predicament even worse (think radical geoengineering or publishing the smallpox genome). So we should be wary of the unilateralist's curse, where the ability to take actions unilaterally creates a bias towards action by those with the most rosy estimates;
• Don't spread dangerous information:studying existential risk means exploring the vulnerabilities of our world. Sometimes this turns up new dangers. Unless we manage such information carefully, we risk making ourselves even more vulnerable;
• Don't exaggerate the risks: there is a natural tendency to dismiss claims of existential risk as hyperbole. Exaggerating the risks plays into that, making it harder for people to see that there is sober, careful analysis amidst the noise;
• Don't be fanatical: safeguarding our future is extremely important, but it is not the only priority for humanity. We must be good citizens within the world of doing good. Boring others with countless talks about this cause is counterproductive. Cajoling them about why it is more important than a cause they hold dear is even worse;
• Don't be tribal: safeguarding our future is not left or right, not eastern or western, not owned by the rich or the poor. It is not partisan. Framing it as a political issue on one side of a contentious divide would be a disaster. Everyone has a stake in our future & we must work together to protect it;
• Don't act without integrity: when something immensely important is at stake & others are dragging their feet, people feel licensed to do whatever it takes to succeed. We must never give in to such temptation. A single person acting without integrity could stain the whole cause & damage everything we hope to achieve;
• Don't despair: despairing would sap our energy, cloud our judgement & turn away those looking to help. Despair is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whilst the risks are real & substantial, we know of no risks that are beyond our power to solve. If we hold our heads high, we can succeed; and,
• Don't ignore the positive: while the risks are the central challenges facing humanity, we can't let ourselves be defined by them. What drives us is our hope for the future. Keeping this at the centre of our thinking will provide us (& others) with the inspiration we need to secure our future! (pp. 212-4)

Although it is unlikely that I will return to discussing this any further, unfortunately, there are a number of particular items that I would like to initially draw attention to, based upon my simplistic & relativistic reading:

1. Existential risk - although not necessarily a 'new' concept, I was extremely interested in how it was framed, as something to consider above & (well) beyond daily concerns;
2. Teachers vs engineers - this I found to be particularly surprising. Following on from what not to do is what you can do & the biggest emphasis is on getting a technical career/job, e.g. computer programmer, climate scientist and/or manager. What there was not was an encouragement to be a 'thinker' (like the author) & actually consider what direction(s) will be most useful, so as to direct the technical innovators, i.e. give them places to work towards;
3. Earn more, give more - which is the answer if you can't (or won't) commit to a career change, because money changes everything! Whilst that is (perhaps) harsh, I am not (at all) sure that an admonishment to create more money is inherently useful, as it is premised upon a false (or inadequate) premise. It reminds me of what Weber found with the 'protestant work ethic' & how if you have more money, you can do more good. Which leads to such things as e.g. Hillsong church & Donald J Trump;
4. Love of Singer - like Singer & books/thoughts such as, e.g. 'animal liberation', this a book that derives from ethics, but is not an 'ethical' book. As an ethicist will tell you, such things are 'practical ethics', aka morality. With the relation to Singer, I wonder if it there is anything to an Australian philosopher going to Oxford, in the midst of significant social change;
5. Not conservative, but frozen - with all the admonishments for the future human, it seems that change is strangely absent. How humans are to change all these things & live for millions of years, yet not be changed themselves is beyond me; and,
6. Effect of attending CND rallies as a child - briefly alluded to in the book is that little historical nugget. What affect that has on the thought seems self-evident. That being said, nuclear war/proliferation is an existential risk & we must use that experience to inform us in preparing for further innovations & their inherent (social) changes.

I am certainly not the loudest voice here, but one thing that is most self-evident is to consider & discuss such things - there can be no doubt that non-critical questioning, to allow for alternative possibilities, to remain with a blinkered view of both self & the future is what will be most detrimental to the progression of humanity - surely with the 'rights' come the responsibilities!

Wait - what else?

Well, glad you asked …

Also in this past week, I did manage to do a few other things:

• Had a night of cycling, watching the ‘Tour of Flanders’, both men & women;
• ‘Cashed’ in my points from the c/c - got a DM card & went shopping! Got a bottle of Zubrowka, one of whisky & a bottle of sherry, for the young fellow. Which he proceeded to decry - ‘it means I can’t choose my own choice’. But then proceeded to drink it all over the next few nights; and,
• Went to the library & picked up some books, e.g. ones relating to effective altruism & existential risk. Also found out that there are a lot more novels in the Jason Bourne universe …

Que pasa?

Glad you asked - what has been going on? Not quite ‘what a day’ but more a ‘what a week’, I would suggest ...

• Got a call from Deakin Uni library, re. the job, saying ‘great application & great interview (although, I would beg to differ), but no job for you’ … discussed whether that was enough to at least add me to the ‘casual’ list? But, alas not …
• [see also the previous post] Went to Pivotonian, to see ‘Lone wolf’. Not too bad & an Australian film, so extra kudos. Interestingly, I was the only one in the cinema! Anyway, coming home, shouted out a warning, to some random fat fuck who was wilfully endangering me. Said fat fuck then pursues me & swerves into my way, near the tennis courts, yells something inaudible/unintelligible at me & goes screaming off, down the road. So, I chased him, as you do, but to no avail …
• Actually, just mind blanked, so may add more later …
• Also, seem to have been bitten by spiders (?) & the injection sites are very itchy/sore!

Death defying!

 Just for a lark (& to get out of the house), went to town, got some $$$, then went to Pivotian to see 'Lone wolf' ... My 1st impression was that a whole bunch of people were missing, but the movie had characters filling their roles, e.g. Claudia Karvan? My 2nd impression was that, although it was based upon 'Secret agent' by Conrad, it may have been better to not have been familiar with the book prior to viewing? If I was to be pressed, I would give it a 62% satisfaction rating!
Rode home & alerted some 'fat fuck' in a vibrant pink micro car (Toyota?) that I was passing - typically, he had been 'stealing' merchandise off the footpath & then wandered back across the road, without checking for oncoming traffic, i.e. me! Which was bad enough, but then the dumb fuck wandered back onto the road & preceded to open the RHS passenger door, again without checking for traffic ... alerted him that I was passing by, e.g. "look out" & kept going. Only to find that I got chased through the 'laneway' behind St. Margaret's & he then swerved across my path, so as to yell some inaudible squeaks at me! Chased him on the bike, but ... <sigh> Think that the licence plate started with '1B'?
#whataday

Random thought(s)

Question: whilst I get that people are/were happy (enough) to see me on the 'listening tour' & it has prompted some (2) to reciprocate with a visit, which part of 'I am struggling & need some help' am I not articulating coherently???
In other news, been (re)reading 'Drug traffic' (& being reminded as to how seminal it was) & came across this poem, in chapter 8, by 'David King':

I'm just an ordinary bloke really;
I don't really want to mince words you know;
Well, not wanting to seem strange or anything,
I think a person looking at me would say,
'An ordinary bloke, yes, definitely, so'. 

It's not much use worrying about
Things that'll upset you life,
I mean, why wonder? It'll all
Turn out right;
You come back in ten years,
Things'll be better,
Just wait and see,
What, with a raise coming (the boss told me last week)
I'll have two cars in the garage and a brand new TV
It's a good life mate,
When you're an ordinary bloke like me.

Interestingly, this book seems exceptionally hard to source - could this be my Dystopia?

Boom!

Well, a week of socialising & merriment?

• Went to the Barwon Club to see the Scientists. Had some fun. Of course, the one song I was looking forward to ('Swampland') started just as I unzipped in the boys' room! Stevie drank too much & missed two (2) rounds - how do you get that back??? Then proceeded to stagger home! Still, it was fun, walking there & back;
• Got home on Friday to find the planting guide had arrived. So, went to spend $$$ on plants, on Saturday & then put them in on Sunday. Based decision on what was available at Diacos & the guide from Diggers. But, also got a (dwarf) pomegranate & a wasabi plant;
• Having got through the drama(s) with CLK, letters appeared stating that I will get some $$$ - but after one week delay! The employment provider was quite blasé - partially due to moving to another job, but was a lot more chilled, e.g. being responsive to changing circumstances - 'you work with us & we will work for you' sort of attitude;
• But, short term money issues have been resolved; and,
• Which, in part led to a few social activities. Dean came to visit & ended up tripping down to Portarlington, for mussels (& a beer). He then made a paella! Then caught up with the 'girls' - except it was only Carolyn. Had a natter & took the advice to seek employment back with ABS. Well, will try that ...

Thought

 Thoughts:

• This is my version of ‘post-scarcity’ now;
• Could be that I need to focus on creating the world as I want it to be, rather than complaining about it; and,
• Change comes from being pushed to change, rather than relying upon ‘natural selection’ where things are in stasis/inertia, or being manipulated by other factors, who are seeking their own ends? Be assertive/proactive, rather than reactive, or passive!

A w/e of cycling!

 Well, a week (or so) of cycling!

Started with the Cadel w/e of cycling, the Vegemite family ride, then the ‘people’s ride’ & then the professionals. See below for pix of the 50km people’s & then the start of the women’s ride.

Then, the M2W was on, so rode out to watch the start - (very) strong Westerly wind, so pulled off ASAP & watched them go by. A lot of police cars - including a BMW SUV?

That was a lot of fun!

Could not have done it myself (?) of course, but was interesting to see so many participants!

In other news:

• Applied for a job with GRLC;
• Did a self-assessment with Bolle - I could be focussing on the wrong things here;
• Fell over the (rear) fence! Not sure what happened there, but went to spray with glyphosate & right leg refuses to lift over the gate, so ended up A/T :( Also, spilled glyphosate all over the footpath! Sore & bruised after that; and,
• Have run out of $$$ :( Got on to CLK, to submit an application … need to provide bank transactions, either in person or by post & you can’t progress your application until submitted. So, went into the office - where there were four staff, but only one was actually servicing clients, with another acting as a receptionist … oh, also two (2) security guards! After that, path was unlocked :p so that an appointment could be booked. At appointment time, was sitting indoors at Deakin cafe, waiting. Phone rings once & then call terminated, with no ‘caller ID’, so I ‘presume’ it was CLK? This would be ultra vires! After all, cannot go any further until CLK is satisfied <sigh>

So, went to pub & had two (2) beers - except that they ran out of Red & had to have a Green! Then walked home & got rained on - had to shelter in Red Cross until it settled down!

Addendum: so, sent a 'suggestion' to CLK re need to let phone ring, on 03/02/23 & somebody called today! Seemed to have a lot of difficulty understanding that a bank statement had been provided :o & then terminated the call :( <JFC>

The year (2022) in review

This year was been one of many changes, with some of the highlights being:

• 'Listening' tour. The two (2) biggest lessons that came out of that were epitomised by the two aphorisms: "The kids are alright" & "Leave me alone". Yet, it was a worthwhile tour, for all of that. I wanted to know how people are going & where were they now, some thirty years later - in some cases, it was that long! Some did not want to meet (Ray & TB), some did not reply (Moira & Hugh), one did, but then did not follow through (ManE), caught up with many & even spent some extended time with some. But, I do fear that only one was genuinely happy to see me, in the sense of paying attention to me, rather than just slotting me into their otherwise ongoing existence. Gave money to some (but only one told me what it was utilised for) & t-shirts to others. Accompanying this was family - met David, but not Michelle. Which was unfortunate, as I wanted to give them some money. Saw family & then got remarkably ill - also broke a ceramic cockpit on a 'not an induction' hotplate. There were some crazy times there;
• ABS. Contract ended & I said, 'happy to do more of the same, but offer me something else, something to engage me'. They did/could not & neither could I. I would like to say that there was much to like about it. But, I do tend to not like lying;
• Purchases. Of these, there have been a few, of late. Whilst the 'listening' tour was expensive, I did notice that I tend to earn & save a lot of money, so what other is the purpose of money, if not to enjoy the ill-earned gains? Seriously though, I lashed out on two new bikes (a Trek & a Canyon), as well as a new bed (along with a KS latex mattress - surprisingly smooth). Another 'expensive' purchase was another three bottles of Prunier XXO cognac - to be fair, however, one was for Trent, but he has 'minimised' his alcohol consumption! However, in terms of smaller & yet remarkable purchases, also got a pair of Redback boots & a new Waterman fountain pen, whilst on the listening tour;
• Investments. Well, there was money for the house :) However, most of anything else did not do so well, e.g. super went down (despite some extra additional funds), due to the sharemarket downturn? Also the ETH investments have not gone so well - which has been aggravated by not being able to realise the assets! They wanted POI established by 06/01/23, but then would not allow me to sell prior to that, as POI had not been established. Sheesh;
• Movies. Finally got around to see a few movies, at the Pivotian cinema. Some were quite good - all were a good excuse to go to the movies; and,
• Health. Although the spectre of COVID-19 has receded, it has required more shots - I think I am up to my 3rd booster now! This was particularly evident when I went to Cairns, as the Qld numbers were exploding & Cairns had a bit of an 'anti-vax' vibe to it, so I got another booster! Consequently, have had a few days this year where I have been recovering from vaccines! Also lost a lot of days to gout - indeed, had a massive attack the day after the bikes arrived & so have done very, very little riding! Wonder if it could be psychosomatic?

After leaving the job (ABS), I found this in my stars that next week:

Mountains look tiny in the distance & they also look small once we've climbed them. It's when they loom before us & we have no option, but to start scaling the rocky passes, that they appear huge. As we slowly make our way to the top, they still seem massive. You're reaching the summit of the mountain you're currently climbing. Prepare for a view of your future; it's going to be spectacular.

On that note (& with that in mind), I reckon that the goals/aspirations for '23 can be summarised as: A year of innovation, rather than reinvention; remember the traits, rather than the past; and, be a man, rather than part of a group of men - 'they' are no longer there & need to be (re)found!