On logging in many new names appear but few are posting.
We often get stuck on the same subjects politics religion get big threads but why no new directions?
Some threads fail, yes they need to be ones others are interested in so why do some of our sand baggers[ a ham radio term for listener who do not take part in discussions] get involved.
Want your first thread to fly? try climate change but stand by for the insults.
Tell us what you think and why it took a while to post.
Or subjects we do not seem to talk about and why.

Here's a thought starter. No time to write it just now but is a critical subject because if the words take root, we might also finally expose the myths of coal fired power generation.

Solar cannot produce base load electricity is a well worn statement, particularly in Australia. It isn't doubted in Spain where it is reality.

We should recognize that base load is what coal (and nuclear) technologies produce, not what is required by society.

Human activity and energy usage correlates significantly with the delivery from direct solar systems, not with base load coal or nuclear on a daily basis. Load-following clean technologies are what we should be seeking.

Now let's continue the inevitable argument. 78% of the coal industry is foreign owned. It is not in the interests it is said to move to solar anytime soon and this government and the last "bought" that pitch.

Perhaps we should look at what Siemens, Areva and Alstom are busy with! And we are talking in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars.

My thoughts??

Hmmm, I guess I fall into the group you mention.
I think I have contributed once or twice but I mainly use the site to gauge the public view on subjects.
Alternative views help me form and confirm my own views.
The trick is to eliminate the extremists and gauge the views of those who actually think about the subject.
The use of name calling is a sure sign of an extremist.
Forums such as these are of great value to the community as they enable views to be expressed and comment to be made.
In times past, the print media was an unbiased form of information. Unfortunately this is no longer the case.
Forums such as these and the internet in general are now our only means of free speech and freedom of information.
The freedom of the internet is one of the greatest gifts the community have received.

I have many thoughts on a number of issues posted here, but of course politics, sex and religion are the three "forbidden" subjects. These are probably the most controversial and so create the most emotional responses. Unfortunately I spend far too much time in front of this screen as it is, but like a lot of other people, I am sure, I get sucked in when I see an opinion that contravenes my sensibilities.

Politics always strikes a raw nerve with a lot of people and we all have strong prejudices in this respect. Sex ? Well that's a natural part of human existence and plays an important part in everyone's lives so our responses to it are usually governed by what we have been taught. That leaves religion which more than any other is something that is generally instilled at a young age and becomes "faith". Such a nebulous term means different things to different people and can only be argued in philosophical terms as there is no evidence either way. That is why I consider religion as such, totally absurd. However, others look around them and justify some existence without any proof and for some reason don't need it.

Anyway, any subject discussed has to really "press a button" with most people to motivate a response. It has to with me. In this respect I am tempted to write something on money and happiness which might provoke a lot of controversy !

Dear Belly,

One of the things I like about this Forum
is the diversity of subjects that are
discussed. It's not only the usual topics
of religion, gender, sex, politics, sport,
although they tend to figure greatly - which
is to be expected, I guess, as these are topics
that attract attention in our media. But there's
also been issues like racism, marriage, the Republic,
the Australian Flag, Indigenous issues, the meaning of
love, scientific topics, trolls on the internet,
the etiquette of posting on the web, the most
beautiful places you've ever visited, favourite holiday
destinations, and so on, that have added spice to
discussions.

We all have our reasons for not posting - whether it's
a shortage of time at that moment, lack of interest in
the topic, limited knowledge of the topic, or just simply
a certain topic just doesn't seem to get off the ground.

All in all, however, I think this Forum is very moorish,
and I find myself coming back for more - again, and again.
It's opened up a world to me that I don't get anywhere
else.

I am happy we have bought new contributors out and subjects.
sex we one day must get away from the death hold religion put on original sin.
And we can run almost every home in Australia on solar and one day wind if you wish.
A good thread for some one to start.
Every view has value and the forum runs on ideas let see more contributions.
Thread titles? will we have another world war?
is climate change real, bet that one is hot but some do not think it is happening.
world trade and its victims.
Return to back yard food gardens?
Welcome to new posters, please say something controversial, so we can disagree.

*Welcome to new posters, please say something controversial, so we can disagree.*

Hehe Belly, I love it :)

I do often wonder about how many lurkers are really out there,
Graham might be able to tell us more.

In my experience, a great many people are extremely self concious
and have trouble expressing what they really think and feel.
Some have simply never thought about issues, some even like a set
of rules, by which they can live, they don't want to think too deep
beyond that. But many enjoy reading others viewpoints.

Perhaps the regulars here are simply a very noisy bunch !

.

On the day this even then nearly middle aged bloke who could never spell and thought grammar was a school for rich kids first posted?
It was another forum, the PC was a 486, my spell check had a nervous breakdown,even I could not understand what I had written.
But I could think, I do not talk as I sometimes write.
It is human nature, I got rubbished, often, even now a Mr or Mrs Bucket will trumpet from up high about that grammar school, miss spelling, too many words without a full stop , but I serve it back.
Out there now are folk we would like, learn from enjoy conversations with, who fear such as that,dive in please tell us what you think.
By the way in my first forum Australian politics I thought it was my miss spelled posts got to about the number they are here.
It was in a forum I loved your rights at work I got a spell check that seemed to understand almost every thing I wrote, maybe it is dyslectic?
PS
Middle age, what a thread starter, it is not mid 50,s you know it in fact is about 32

Belly I have decreed that for you and I middle age is 65 i.e. life expectancy is 130, after all only the good die young. :-) :-)
Poets day, old son, your first up, mines a dark ale.Cheers

I feel sorry for runner and those who are so morally sure, (assuming they live up to their standards) their time must be almost up. :-(

Belly: << Return to back yard food gardens? >>

I don't want to start a world war, but personally, I reckon you're mad if you have a back yard and you don't grow at least some of your own food. We've had an excellent season from our vegie garden this year - about the only vegetables we've had to buy for months are onions, and fruit like mangoes, bananas and avocadoes that don't grow in this climate. Now we've got pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and spaghetti squash coming out of ears. Totally organic, not to mention they taste better than what you buy at the supermarket.

And eggs. We've got 4 chooks who live on scraps and free range, and we're always giving eggs away.

examinator: << their time must be almost up. :-( >>

Absolutely - it's Last Days for those poor buggers.

Let's have a drink for them too! Make mine a White Stag... doctor's orders :(

CJ Morgan

How do you go about protecting chooks from foxes? Foxes are the size of Great Danes around here.

And you're right about not using back yards, and I probably could do better...

And I guess those are my thoughts right at this moment.

Hi Severin - the chooks and ducks come in at night and are let out in the morning. A handful of grain brings 'em running. During the day my vicious golden retriever keeps potential predators at bay, at night I'll sometimes set a (non-injurious) trap if I think a fox, feral cat, or occasional quoll is about.

Now I have to go and do battle with the kikuyu and lovegrass that's also gone berserk while I was away. Another advantage of vegie gardens is that you put them where useless lawn used to be...

My back yard has self sown veggies. I throw the seeds on the garden patch with my day lilies for fertilizer. if the seed take a bonus if not who cares.

I do have a hive of native bees I rescued from the council mulcher about 4 years ago I go out there periodically and talk to them.
We have a 3 mtr above ground for fresh water turtles (Twonk and Key ring) two huge yabbies (Boris and Oscar [he's cranky]) and a pile of fish originally bought for the turtle live food but they couldn't care less.
There is a noisy friar bird who has decided my back yard is his territory and he chases away unwanted day time visitors. He leave the little birds but gets cranky at the butcher birds.

The fig bird (Capone) and the wattle bird do regular visits but do so when the friar bird is away and my side yard is a nursery for the magpie babies. At nigh a pair of local tawny frog mouths watch from the clothes line. The mega bats squabble in the neighbours palms. Late at night George and Mildred have domestics on our front grass (thick knees, stone curlews) In the trees at night Spooky visits (the local Boo-book owl).
Max the Green tree frog lives in the fernery) been there for about 3 years.
The compost pile has a pair of legless skinks about 11" long they look like small snakes.

Yep, our place has the lot and yes my 24 yo daughter has named them all.
I kew we shouldn't let her have a duck (Daddles) that thought it was a chook ( Chookins)and the chook that thought it was a mongoose. It killed 5 snakes while we were on the property.

Did I mention Shimisu our dopey Shihtzu that stalks up right sticks at the beach, pots in the back yard and the baby magpies but runs when they investigate her. When she runs at the beach she doesn't watch where shes going and goes apex over base if she his a pot hole.

This is a nice thread to read.

I look occasionally to see if there are any new names.

Foxy: <"All in all, however, I think this Forum is very moorish,
and I find myself coming back for more - again, and again.">

I really like the way the pages are set out and the format for submitting. Other message boards are a tedious drag in comparison.

Yahoo! used to have a fabulous board set up but took it all down after some sook litigated about getting flamed or summin. Now Yahoo! has replaced them with a very irritating set up that is too annoying to follow. Also, seems to be dominated by fairly silly talk; nothing amusing or thought engendering.

My only complaint relates to myself and that these boards provide the perfect method of procrastination for me when I should be working hard at something else.

CJ and others: I agree re: the backyard. We grow a few things but I am not a gardener. Thankfully the other half makes a good effort and we've had a bounty of nice tucker from a pretty small patch of ground.
We still have far too much lawn.

Come on new posters the water is great we are waiting for you as Lara said where the goodness gracious are you?
Examinator hope 64 and a bit is half way, the trip has been great.
CJM back yard is fruit and front veggies plus my mums garden flowers, well for the old girl she never lived here.
Chooks? well bantams soon me and the birds will soon stop sharing the fruit small chook pens are going around them.
Wish my mango had made it, winter and mango's do not like each other here.
Strangest thing fruit can be very dear here , My plums are the good ones and sell around $7 in peak, I give ten gallons of great fruit away, but have to travel because neighbors are living a life locked in each others arms but isolated from the community, now there is a thread starter.
OK so you insist on not posting? tell us why?
nice try what do you think?

QLD and WA are about to enter what has been described as 'the biggest resources boom ever'. Much larger than the previous one.

So, given the number of jobs this boom will provide for, and, the amount of revenue that governments will collect, how on earth do those who oppose coal fired power, or LNG expect to feed the masses if we switch to alternatives like solar or wind power.

Can our economy afford not to have coal-fired, or LNG power?

QLD, where I reside is broke! Now where would we be if we had not just been through the massive resources boom of late, which, besides providing thousands of jobs, also provided billions $ for our government to waste. Sorry, couldn't help it.

Where would the money have come from otherwise?

Where would the jobs have come from?

Be careful what you wish for, as the alternative, although being clean and able to provide you with that 'warm and fuzzy' feeling, may well spell the end for our economy.

Personally, I am quite happy with the way things are.

By all means let’s find an alternative, but not one that will cripple our economy.

Out there, just in the shadows are folk who read but do not post.
I can hear the rumble of their grumbling maybe at rechtub maybe at me,
But if you enjoy the forum ,feed it please.
Unlike my sparing partner rechtub I look for change.
Constant change that brings improvement.
And while I do not have enough years to see it we are going to get it.
Nuclear power, we are not getting five mile island or that Russian shanty town power.
We are getting, bank on it, Europe's brand new power only far too long after the rest of the world.
Goggle how many power stations in how many country's exist already.
Add value tell us your views please?

ok so we skidded to a stop, threads do.
The welcome to new posters is real, and from most who post here.
Good ideas for threads came from here too.
CJM and his grow your own, vegies I mean is a start.
Kick me, my ALP went badly over the weekend but be aware he who laughs last [after federal election] is happiest.
NRL, well do not get me started, no my team won, Saints you can call them Dragons, but ref won todays Parra Manly game dreadful problem, is some one making cash out of gambling on the game?
Or is it mandatory that lines men leave their seeing eye dogs in the shed and refs be rude self important fools who have no idea of the game?
Thanks contributors we did ok.

Belly

The SA and Tas elections were hardly a strong endorsement of the Libs either.

The Greens gained as I thought they would in Tassie - irrespective of how you think about the Greens (they are now far more than a single policy party), both the Libs and Labor need to be brought down to planet earth because this is the only place in the universe we've got.

I've just got home from spending an afternoon
with my mother-in-law and late afternoon - early
evening - with my mother. Both are suffering from
alzheimer's. One's worse than the other.

I still have two mums, but there's a cloudiness
that's started to come in. There are slow changes
to their personalities - and all we can do is let
them enjoy the moments spent with us. It's painful
to watch at times - but I'm not giving up on them -
not by a long shot. I want to wrap my arms around
both of them - and if I could I would stop this
process that's re-arranging who they once were.

Anyway - those are my thoughts this Sunday evening -
One thing I have learnt is that love is the wondrous,
mysterious element in the centre of all relationships -
and that's probably not a bad thing to acknowledge...

My mother is in a nursing home, after 10 days in a Qld public hospital robbed her of the ability to walk. The nursing home has nursed her back to health, but she's never going to walk again.

Great places our hospitals.

In view of the great job our commonwealth lot did with their insulation initiative, do you really want them to use this wonderful efficiency on our hospitals?

I really don't know.

Foxy and Hasbeen

My mother has been ill for a long time now. The time has come where she can no longer live alone and we are trying to sort out the best situation for her. She maybe has 6 months.

I am grateful her mind is still sharp - I know how difficult it is to watch a loved one not even know who you are.

My thoughts on Rudd's take over of Health are mixed, I honestly don't think the Libs can do any better. And that's the choice we are left with. Hence the hung parliament in Tassie and the barely there win in SA.

Dear Hasbeen and Severin,

I don't have the answers.

I only know how difficult it is to see
staff shortages - especially in high-care
nursing homes where the continuity of care
is so vital - and agency staff often don't
appear to be well trained - or familiar
with their patient's specific needs.

I've witnessed more than once patient's
pressing their call buttons - with no reaction
from staff.

Something definitely needs to be done ...

"The SA and Tas elections were hardly a strong endorsement of the Libs either."

... well, of course not - no one in their right mind could endorse the Liberals in any State, or federally. They have no policies worth an iota; spend their time throwing rocks rather than offering alternatives; and dodge any and all questions put to them. Add to that their slavish subscription to outdated, hyupocritical and often discredited notions of law and order, success, morality, and health - and you have to wonder that they have survived at all. But then, of course, a large part of our population swallow the rhetoric of consumerism, competition and growth that are blights on our society and diametrically opposed to caring, cooperation and contentment and human advancement in any real sense.

However, in reality, there is no longer a Labor party, either. Little seperates it any longer from the self-serving characteristics of the Liberals and Country parties - it simply provides the lesser of two evils for the 'little' people.

What we need is a complete shake-up of our political system - yet no-one seems to want to discuss that. The Westminster system may be the best political system known [or it may not] but, even if it is - is that a reason not to try to improve it? Does that make it the best possible system that is possible? I think not.

Major flaws have developed with our system, not least being the move to presidential style Prime Ministership, the relative impossibility of a minor party being able to oust Labor or Liberal, and the notion that pay levels are a measure of competence and effectiveness.

It's time for real change ...

Hay, Pudd, stop beating about the bush mate, & tell us what you really think of them.

As for no liberal policies, what would you expect. Evert time they produce some, that policy free zone on the other side pinch them, & call them their own.

That might be a good way of running things actually, with the libs not actually in power, just their policies, except for one thing.

It means the labor mob get their hands on the cheque book, & that truly is disastrous.

Foxy
This is the season for it.

Last Monday my 84YO mum while sitting at our dining room on her usual visit, slid sideways, losing consciousness, twitching on the right side, untill I sat her up right.

Once conscious, I checked her for stroke(petty mal), She was fine, She refused the doctor/home,lie down getting agro, demanded we drop her at the shopping centre.

My wife did but hung around while I rang her Dr, their instructions, ”hospital *immediately*' In the intervening 10 minutes mum had changed her mind and was going to bus it home. My wife relayed what the Dr had said and they went to hospital.
There mum was cranky at me for 'panicking'.
After an ECG the Dr. told her she wasn't going home now., had an irregular heart beat.

Next morning the surgeon told her she had no choice she was to get a pacemaker that afternoon.
independent mum's pulse went haywire untill I corrected the surgeon by saying 'she does have a choice...but that choice would end in lots of frowny faces... not advised' mum laughed, told me off for being silly. Pride restored ,she agreed.

Friday her doctor (GP) told her "had I not rang and my wife hadn't took her to hospital then and there... given the information that trip would've been her *last*".

By Saturday she insisted showing us the wound.
She also declared that, it wasn't my wife and I who saved her, it was 'God hand that prompted me to ring the Dr'.

Sensing the family's disappointment I smiled shrugged and remarked 'so that was the pain behind the ear I thought it was a pinched nerve," Then followed it up with "therefore *she* hadn't done God's will by getting cranky with me, tsk tsk".
everyone laughed and the topic dropped.

She is a fundie after all... PS she is battered but it'll take more than to kill the the "little (bionic) turtle" (the Children's nick name for her.)
Last week was... well busy.

Examinator, your mum is lucky. One of the things our Qld health system does brilliantly is cardiac treatment. If you have to go to hospital, make sure it's cardiac.

Don't go with something as simple as a bowel ulcer, or a gallstone. They call in the kids to treat those.

Hope your mother beeps improving

Dear Examinator,

Gee whiz - you really have had a tough time of it.
I'm glad that your mum's pulled through.
You, all deserve a medal.
But as my husband keeps gleefully pointing out to
me - "It's only going to get ..."
Well, you know the rest!

I've just bought a book - at the recommendation of
a friend - called, "Alzheimer's: a love story,"
by Vivienne Ulman. I've only just begun to read it -
but it's amazing how much I recognise my two mothers -
in the author's experiences. She describes herself
as being the "sandwich generation," squeezed on one
side by concerns for her children and on the other
by anxiety about her parents.
I'm sure that you will be able to identify with that.
It looks like being a good read.

Dear Hasbeen,

Love your sense of humour!

Given our eldest's career he has offered to work on her pacemaker for free....perhaps increasing it's functionality to change the TV channel automatically if becomes disturbing enable us tr find her by GPS tracking if she develops Alzheimer's.
He is if nothing else are imaginative? Hmm

Dear Examinator,

I've got a better idea -
let her have some fun...

Get her some t-shirts:

1) A Bionic Woman t-shirt.
2) One that says - "I've got Rhythm."
3) One that says - "Wired 4 Life."

Well, you get the idea...

Make her laugh - she probably could use it!

And give her lots of hugs and TLC!

Oh yeah, my apologies, I'd forgotten that this forum isn't really for serious discussion ... just a mutual admiration centre for dullards with attitude.

What we need in this country is a political system in which citizens actually have a real say in decision making and politicians actually represent their electorates.

I'd suggest that the first thing we need to do is change the system so that instead of listening to promises and electing on the basis of what politicians say that they'll do, we rate them on what they've done. Let's have a league table and rate each politician according to how well they've done. They could be ranked on work for their electorate, work for the national interest, and work for humanity. The government could comprise the top rated individuals and the Prime Minister could be 'player of the season' so to speak. That way, John and Judy Citizen would actually have a say and politicians of all persuasions would have to work together to actually deal with issues.

In addition, I'd suggest that we introduce Citizen Initiated Referenda for all major decisions so that they really do reflect what people want.

However, as none of this is likely to happen, I'd suggest that at very least, all ballot papers be changed to include an option for 'none of the above'. That would at least allow a more realistic appraisal of the relative support for individual parties than the farcical situation that pertains now.

YP! goodonya!that first line in your last post saved me a lot of time.
I get this from it, the understanding we need not bother communicating, we have nothing to talk about.
Foxy and others, continue always to talk to them as adults, always.
3 long dreadful months it took a stroke to kill my mum and while she could understand she could not speak.
Every effort you make is worth while, my best wishes to you.
Thread idea, verbal snobbery, is it a fault?
Hasbeen, once QLD had a very good health system, we can not except things as they are, it is true, Tony Abbott not very long ago wanted what Rudd is now trying.
You, I every one should demand far better, but be warned about increasing cost.

Sorry Belly,
For interrupting your thread

YP.
My apologies if my concerns interrupted your "serious discussion"

It should be pointed out that the CIR argument has been thrash out several time.
I might point out the cost of a CIR let alone a series of them.
Then there is the issue of increasing pressure group power.

The theory is fine but the practicality is part of the issue.
One could argue that all you would do is formalize the power of specific interests i.e. Capital.

The problem is in the party system and the ever increasing power of capital. Elections are becoming more expensive to run thus governments are becoming more subservient to the forces of those with money. Even if elections were paid for by the states banning outside donations.Only corporations/ the trade union can afford the $100's millions of media campaigns.

... and what do you mean by 'verbal snobbery'? It appears that it is a term you apply to those who write clearly, can punctuate appropriately, and who understand what a sentence is and what it isn't.

Just as a fish probably wouldn't swim very well if its head was behind its tail and its dorsal fin on its side - so it is that words are rarely very effective when strung together haphazardly.

Structure is as necessary to the effective communication of meaning using language as it is to any other effective technology.

I have no quarrel with your apparent belief that everyone has an opinion and a right to express it. Nor do I disagree that many are reluctant to do so because they have poor literacy skills. That is not, however, a sound rationale for lowering standards but rather an argument for raising the skill level of those individuals.

Belly, instead of encouraging gibberish you would do better to encourage some literacy development so that there is an opportunity for correspondents such as Foxy, Examinator and yourself to more effectively express your thoughts and ideas in intelligible English.

And a good day to you, too.

As this thread is about why certain topics interest people enough to make them post, I have a question. I tend to look at the article and the previous posts and only tend to add something if I disagree with something that someone has said. Do others tend to think this way or am I argmentative?

PS Foxy, Severin & Examinator; Best wishes to your mothers.

Benk your posting style is ok but do you understand we only hear from you when you think it is worth it to you.
Contributions help from anyone a subject that grabs us all can come.
It is a great site made better by all who contribute.
YP I could defend my education, I have at times, but you won the debate for me.
I could not draft a better post to describe verbal snobbery.
A tip, self confidence can be a problem, if you both overestimate your verbal skills, and under estimate your opponents you are likely to fall at the net.
Verbal tennis is best played with some strings in the racket.
And this is not my thread bend it shake it like every thread I ever started it belongs to every one who wants to post subject to GYs laws

Hay pudding, sorry if my post offended you, I was just trying to have a little fun, it was not meant as a put down, in any way. It was meant as a bit of a welcome. [Gets foot out of mouth, AGAIN]

Yes Belly QLD hospitals were once the envy of every other state. That was when they had local hospital boards. The locals could get right up the board members, when things went wrong. A Patell could not have happened them.

It was Goss, a control freak, who stuffed that system, probably did not like all the national party blokes on the boards, along with stuffing the locally based ambulance system, which worked much better [at least in the bush, where I lived], than the bureaucratic system he introduced. At least in the bush, we had the ambulance service we were prepared to support by fund raising. The vehicals were less of mobile hospitals, but there were enough to serve the district.

I don't know about Ruddies plan. It does include local boards, which sound good, but unfortunately, I just can't trust him. Just too plastic, & controlled for me. I'm sure we never see the real man, & I wonder if anyone knows what he really thinks.

I could be wrong about him, I was wrong once before, I hope I am, but only time will tell. At the same time, I am yet to form any idea of Abbott.

Still the 60/40 split in funding worries me, but I'm not sure it worries me enough to say no. I don't like the idea that all bureaucrats will keep their jobs. Too many of them is most of our problem right now, so what's the point of the plan, if we don't get some improvement in efficiency?

Our local hospital is pretty good. Even if I can't understand a word the doctor says, he seems to be able to fix most things, damn quick. It's when we get to the bigger places, with too many managers that it all goes wrong.

... no problems, Hasbeen, clearly I can't take a joke and, according to Belly, my postings represent the epitome of verbal snobbery, too. And I thought that I was just using the language appropriately. Clearly, I have that wrong, too.

However, you do have one thing wrong, Belly: self-confidence is something I've never had and I probably wouldn't have contributed at all were it nor for what I thought was an invitation to do so. As it is, please accept my apologies for upsetting your apple-cart, I'll butt out now and leave you to your playground.

take care and enjoy, I wish you all well.

Come on Pudd, now we've sorted that out, come & join us, it can be fun. Yes really.

Belly has had a couple having a go at hin for his spelling, & puncuation, so he's a bit sensitive right now, too. Some are more interested in the how, than the what is said. There's nothing wrong with that either, if that's your go. I enjoy professor Rolly whats his name, talking real english, but hell, I spent so much time speaking only pidgin in PNG & the Solomons, me no got tomush left, Im all he go pinis one time, true.

We need all the ideas we can get, so stay with us.

Yes stay YP I am trying not to reveal to every new poster my education back ground, it smells[to me] of fishing for pity.
By the age of 12 years and ten months I finally left school to work full time.
I had been absent as much as present in any case working , yes it was not hard to get part time work then.
My teacher in country NSW Mittagong in fact, stood in front of a whole class and tore up my school details card.
He would not be so displeased with me I think now, long gone Doc stood for ALP selection.
In my job, long ago at work too, I found so very many who can not read or write.
My radar is set on full scan, I left my glasses at home, wife does the paper work, lead to can I help mate questions from me.
I became obsessed with reading, at 16 years of age ,age put up to 18 I stayed in road side accommodation camp reading while mates went into town.
Reading? every thing! bought a 32 volume set on dairy cows and two world war two massive things, never stopped, have just got life story of weary Dunlop, can not wait to get it started, then full out put of Banjo Paterson.
YP my opening up is my sorry bloke, sorry too ofend you, stay please.
But let your radar switch on when confronted by some one who gives his/her spell check a break down ask why.
Some know no better,my idea of Grammar is a pie.
Some never got the help I did to use spell check, some are not able to truly look before posting, some are driven by other problems.
Education is not a measure of IQ.
You mate can not be expected to know others problems, but in time you too may understand some have a far different back ground than us.
my regards.

Some of us who have been around OLO for far too long, are aware that Belly's English expression has actually improved beyond expectations over the years. Having been guilty at casting aspersions on Belly's spelling and grammar when I first appeared here under a different moniker, I make the effort to understand the MEANING Belly is conveying, rather than taking issue with his gaps in formal education.

<<< Education is not a measure of IQ. >>>

Well said, Belly.

At the risk of turning this into a spelling flame, ISTM that Belly makes a positive effort to be difficult to read, simply because that way he's always got an out if people disagree.

Speaking in rhetorical gibberish is second nature to union officials and there's no reason to suspect that Belly is any exception. I'd say he writes more or less as he speaks.

yorkshire_pudding, I like the idea of an Athenian democratic model too. I reckon we've got the technical means to implement it via biometric instruments and the 'net. Getup! is an early effort at a demonstration of it.

Sounds like a bit of wishfull thinking there Anti.

Even if you do have a way of implementing your plan, & I don't doubt you, how many Ozies do you think would understand the thing.

I reckon you'd have as much chance of having your results believed as there now is of Ruddy getting his carbon trading tax, I mean scheme through, more's the pity, perhaps.

Yeah, it's a utopian vision that will probably never happen, but it's nice to dream.

The biggest problem is not making the voting process secure, I'd reckon, but getting people sufficiently educated and motivated to bother, while ensuring they have enough time to do so meaningfully.

Fine effort anti, only remark that comes to mind
are you aware only the letter T separates a wit from a twit?

Belly:"are you aware only the letter T separates a wit from a twit?"

Yeah. I can even tell the difference between the two.

See the time anti, I rarely have much to waste so I take this opportunity to say a final fair well to you.

OK thread has slipped and fell, partly my fault.
But looking at new poster this morning woke me from a slumber, HATEGOD
What an extra ordinary log in name.
may be an extremely interesting person who knowns.
But in my inability to pass a second hand or junk shop a ran in and out of a salvos shop yesterday.
On the way out with books way in more cash.
A bloke was wandering about , clearly wishing to be seen.
he had a tee shirt with the devil on the front.
And the words God is busy can I Help?
you all know I am booked for hell a non believer but I thought he needed help.
A whole new opening for a thread here why do some seek to be noticed even if only branded as a fool?

What do you mean, Belly, SOME people seek to be noticed even if only branded as fools?
Surely all humans want to be noticed. Years ago it was found that children in orphanages who were not noticed, i.e. who were not shown affection or handled, died of marasmus. In that case the question is who should be branded as fools?

Are you for real.
Are you just looking to be noticed.
How can you find in my post reason to say such children are in any way involved in my thoughts.
That person, a needless grub, put the shirt on, his or your right.
To offensively and without need wander around extensively in a salvation army shop, trying to offend.
Those manning that shop are there to help, they believe in their God, are not inflicting him/her on anyone.
And Salvos traditionally feed the hungry house the homeless and from the jungles of New Guinea to bush fire or flood, fire, or storm are there tea and bicky in hand.
I still think using them in that way to show that shirt is a rotten thing to do.
I remain however no Christian.