Hello Switzerland, China, Indonesia and again Moldova...I've all but given up trying to follow the 'views' statistics for the blog because they fluctuate so much, and there could be a number of 'mis-hits', etc, but if places like Moldova come up regularly in the 'audience' stats it's a fair bet that there's some-one there checking in fairly often...howdy...
Profusest apologies for no post yesterday but was having Interweb problems last night (freezing up, dropping out, and still doing it this morning at 0530hrs), gave up and took a break to watch ABCs QandA show and fell asleep on the couch...(you are just so rock'n'roll-Ed)...so, sorry, 2 posts today...(orrrr nahhhh-Ed)...and it's Interwebbily ironic because yesterday (Monday 28th) there were some blokes working on installing some plastic cable conduit piping up by the Blue Lake, and one of them said it was something to do with the NBN (National Broadband Network)...(I thought we weren't getting the NBN for another 7-10 years-Ed)...exactly, don't know, will try to check...maybe something to do with the new phone tower just 3kms down Bay Rd...dunno, neither did he...
Also 3 former Country Liberal Party members in the Northern Territory, who only weeks ago quit the CLP as a protest about an alleged failure to support Aboriginal people in the NT, have suddenly signed on to the Palmer United Party...(Clive Palmer is the coal mining billionaire from Queensland who has 'bought' himself several Federal Senate positions at the September 2013 election and now 3 NT Ministers)...(and the good money's on more NT pollies defecting to the PUP as early as today-Ed)...
Feedback: often conflicting about how I should be sticking to strictly local stuff and not meander off into international issues, whilst elsewhere there is praise for not just grinding through the same old issues and instead mixing it up a bit...and the same advice about Humours Attempted, 'people are too busy to read stupid jokes', whilst others have praised the Jocular Excursionings, the Witty Wordsmithery, and the Japery and Aspersionings dripping satire and sarcasm...(I like the dog poo jokes-Ed)...right...
I have availed myself of the Mt Gambier City Council Budget and it's a fascinating read...and it's that sort of rubbish that's pretty much all I read these days...the last time I tried to read a novel it was some old John Wyndham stuff that I really like and haven't read in 20 years, The Midwich Cuckoos, The Kraken Wakes, etc, but only a few pages in I was drifting and distracted...changed novels but no better...before that it was all of the Lemony Snicket's and Harry Potters and Deltora Quests, etc, stuff that my child was reading...haven't sat down and read a novel cover to cover in years...
I mention it as being symptomatic of other issues...I was never a great reader of fiction but used to chew through Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and a bunch of that sort of gear...but in recent years, not nuthin'...radio, TV, papers, Interweb, that's about it...hardly listen to music anymore either, usually only on weekends when there's sport on the radio and I'm not doing the blog...haven't been to see live music in so long I can't remember...it's all symptomatic of Chronic Depression and Agoraphobia stuff...(and Pariahtisation and isolation-Ed)...sure...you just stop doing things, particularly things you enjoy, bit by bit, until eventually you grind to a halt.
There's an old saying about how a lump of coal submitted to extreme pressure over eons eventually becomes a diamond...(that or a very gritty smear of crushed coal dust-Ed)...indeed...
I read 'It' by Stephen King 25 years ago, long before I was overwhelmed by the St Martins Abuse Issue, but even then it struck me that if you took Pennywise the Clown out of 'It' and made that lurking evil paedophilia instead, it's a fair freakin' metaphor...I don't know whether this was Mr King's intent, one of perhaps several, whatevs...'It' critiques perfectly the adult tendency to 'not see' that which the children can see and endure preying on them...
Connecting The Dot Points:
1) At the Council meeting April 15th 2014 Grant Humphries was 'Acting CEO' due to Mark McShane's absence which I did not hear explained and is not on the Agenda or Minutes, and in February Mr Humphries was 'Acting CEO', in the big comfy chair up the front because Mr McShane was absent on "Compassionate Leave" (Mayor Steve Perryman's statement, not in Minutes) which was 'Minuted' as a 'Leave of Absence', however, according to the Agenda, Mighty Marky Mark McShenanigans was in the chair for the March meeting that I missed...I don't know what's going on here...he's there, he isn't, who knows...
This is the problem with missing the March meeting because I don't know what happened and the Council's Agendas and Minutes are not accurate...not completely wrong, but with enough omissions and errors to render the rest subject to doubt, eg, I refer to the infamous Council meeting September 19th 2013 re the Old Hospital Demolition and associated Old Laundry Redevelopment that were not on the Agenda at all, and the Minutes re Mayor Steve Perryman that refer to his 'Conflict of Interest' and subsequent withdrawal but are not a verbatim reproduction of what he actually said...
I've just also checked the Agenda and Minutes from February 18th 2014 (that's some mind-numbing boredom right there-Ed)...ah, yes it surely is...I spent my afternoon trying to cross-reference who did and didn't attend various meetings but it makes no mention of Mr McShenanigans absence until the end of the meeting under Motions without Notice, lists Grant Humphries as being 'Director Corporate Services, and has no-one acting as Chief Executive Officer...the vote to indefinitely install Mr Humphries as CEO wasn't held until the end of the meeting but he spent the meeting in the CEO Chair.
2) Regardless, Mr McShane was apparently back in the CEO chair for March and was present at some stage to offer The Border Watch the info that Council will be spending another $700,000 at the Old Hospital site, but the detail of on what exactly was not in the article...(and do other interviews, and sign Council documents, eg, 'Notice of Meeting' paperwork-Ed)...indeed...the Laundry is meant to be only $200k, so $500k on what?...(an artificial lake?-Ed)...that sir, is not funny...it's hilarious...
This all does seem a bit 'nit-picky' I know, but it is critical minutiae who
is in attendance; why exactly has the Mayor left the Chamber with a Conflict of
Interest, yet again; who is the CEO and therefore has the keys to the
kingdom's purse-strings and can unilaterally distribute ratepayers
money without scrutiny; what issues are to be and/or were discussed; etc...I refer back
to the posts from September 2013 re the particular Council meeting 19th
September 2013 where Mayor Perryman left the Chamber 2 or 3 times, the
Old Hospital Demolition wasn't on the Agenda, etc...more tomorrow...
This level of 'diversion from the factual' and/or omission is absolutely critical on supposedly official documents, eg, the major issues of the Demolition Contract and Laundry Restoration weren't even on the Agenda...ironic isn't it?...(what is?-Ed)...from the big comfy seats raised up on high the view is me...(hilarious-Ed)...and from down in the cheap seats I'm just looking at all of them...(priceless-Ed).
Forestry Minister Leon Bignell was on the ABC yesterday (the 28th) stating that the Wirrabra Forest wasn't insured (for $20m?) and that Forestry SA handed back the funds to the government when the SE Forestry Estate was sold and that it will cost $5m to replant...I believe that he said Wirrabra "wasn't worth it to insure"...(charming-Ed)...
Berry Nuts If You Ask Me: Council is offering $250 of Fruit and/or Nut Trees to ratepayers to have planted in their local park, and this 'offer' closes 5pm this Friday 2nd May...I kind of like the idea with this but there are a few potential problems, eg, if people move or lose interest, etc, that will fall to Council to maintain...even if people don't eat the fruit at least the birds and possums and shizzle will get into it, but this could be a vermin issue because it'll be mostly a bunch of Feral Starlings, Sparrows and Rats, not native critters...this program has been running for at least a year...(just running 'ad' again now on ABC 0630hrs 29th)...I support utilising inner-city space for food production, even if it eventually does fall to Council to maintain.
I'm very, very pissed off and deeply concerned by the Nationalistic, militaristic jingoism being ramped up and interwoven with the impending Federal Budget...more later but here's a sampling...get the Royals in for ANZAC Day, ramp up the Nationalistic fervour with gross manipulation of the truth of what ANZAC really is, and then slam lower wage earners with a Budget of class structured bastardry rammed home with sickening calls to stoicism and being like the Diggers...shreck that...
Deloitee Access Economics reckons that the SA economy is going gangbusters off the back of a super season and good prices and mining hasn't completely nosedived, etc, and it's a good global economy which means good spending, and although housing could be better it's still improving due to positive pressure from more immigration and there's been a big pick-up in the industry backed by very low interest rates...it was all good news for sure about the South Australian economy from a firm that allegedly specialises in the subject...don't really believe it myself but then I ain't an Economist.
Finishing suddenly at 1730hrs Tuesday 29th April 2014 the post for Monday 28th...later today...
Tomorrow: More Budget Bashin'
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...be bloggin' atcha' 'ron...cheers and laters.
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