What I Learnt Today

The Siege : Scene 20

The Siege Site

It is now dark. Marty, Stu and Jase are setting up for a live cross.

MARTY How about if I crouch down like this?

STU What for?

MARTY (as if it’s a stupid question) To make it look like I’m in danger.

STU But the gunman’s five kilometres away.

MARTY Shut up. It’s dark. Who’s gonna know?

STU (joking) Sure you don’t want a flak jacket?

MARTY Actually, that’s a bloody good idea. See if we can borrow one from the cops, will ya?

I didn’t see this widely reported, but this week four reporters and staff from Channel in Brisbane were dismissed when it was revealed that they had faked a cross to a helicopter supposedly hovering over the forest where the police were searching for evidence in the sad case of Daniel Morcombe.

In fact, the helicopter was sitting safe on top of the Channel Nine building.

Lifehacker uses this story as an introduction to an excellent article on Why You Don’t Learn Much from Watching TV News.

If life really does imitate Frontline, then all the Channel Nine reporters will be quietly reinstated after a couple of weeks of paid R & R in Fiji.

Although we rely on tank water, we haven’t mastered the art of frugal showers.

The tanks have been running low, but there was rain around this weekend. which meant the gutters needed to be cleared of leaves.

Cleaning the gutters is fairly tricky, and always results in lacerations across the back of the hand that only just heal before the gutters are next due for cleaning. According to the log of OH&S incident reports in Dees Lane, a scaphoid fracture is the worst injury that has been sustained in this street,

Finally, after years of experimentation, and enoromous investments in inadequate products, I’ve found the perfect tool for the job.

A golf iron.

Not just any iron. I find the No 3 iron has the correct pitch for the purpose, and the Daiwa had the perfect feel. I think I need a bit of work on my grip, but I’m happy with my stance otherwise.

Of course, others will need to conduct their own experiments to find the right club for their local conditions.

All this rain and talk of golf clubs reminds me of the last round I played with Lee Trevino. As storm clouds surrounded the course, all the other groups retired to the clubhouse. When thunder clapped all around us and lightening lit up the dark sky, I assumed we’d follow them to the bar. However, nonchalantly, Lee continued to play, holding one club above his head between shots.

I asked him what he was holding up.

“My one iron”, he said, as more lightening struck around us.

“Don’t worry.” he said. “not even God can hit a one iron”.

Boom Boom

What I Learnt On 28th August in other years

28th August 2012 The Flight of the Conchords on a mission to save the kuds!

Steve Jobs may well be thinking of Mark Twain today.

It must have pleased Mark Twain very much in 1897 that he was able to tell a reporter from the New York Times that ‘the report of my death is an exaggeration’. In fact, as the 1907 photo above shows, he lived for a great many more years. (till 1910, to be precise)

Steve Jobs stood down as CEO of Apple for health reasons today. It is unlikely that he will miss the annual salary he was paid as CEO – $1.

Apple shares dropped by 5% immediately after the announcement.

Despite the obituaries published everywhere, he is not only still alive but remains the Chairman of the Board.

In 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumour  (an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor), and subsequently underwent major surgery (a Whipple’s Procedure). In 2009, he required a liver transplant. He has been on medical leave of absence since January, but did present at the iPad 2 launch and iCloud launch this year.

If it feels like Steve has been around for a long time, it is because he has. The rarely seen video below shows a young Steve launching the Macintosh computer in 1984, to a standing ovation. The formula hasn’t changed much after all these years, although the black turtleneck (mock St. Croix) was introduced in 1998.

Tony Dietz had the first Mac in college. He was studying aeronautical engineering for the Navy, so probably needed it. Jonesy and I quickly discovered that MacPaint was perfectly designed to make golf score cards which included a map of our improvised Royal St John’s course. The RPAH car park has not been a safe place to park since then.

What is the best selling children’s book of all time?

Our sister site (?daughter site) wiltjunior.com today posted the top 20. The number one book has sold 14,000,000 copies since it was introduced as one of the first Little Golden Books in 1942. That is 5 million more than the next placed book (Charlotte’s Web). It featured this rather naughty puppy.

When it comes to dogs and Little Golden Books, I must say I preferred the more adventursome Scuppers, the Sailor Dog

or the more independent Mr Dog, the Dog who Belonged to Himself

The wiltjunior list  has no Noddys, Wild Things or Pooh Bears. No Far Away Trees, Wind in the Willows, or Narnia’s. No puddings, wombats or possums – in fact no marsupials of any sort.

What book would you add? Let us know in the comments.

I have been worried about my sister. Today she sent me this email

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me today, and we all could probably use more calm in our lives. Some doctor on tv this morning said the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I’d started and hadn’t finished and, before leaving for work this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, a pockage of Prungles, tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valiuminun scriptins, the res of the chesescke an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how bludy fablus I feel rite now. Plaese sned dhis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov iennr pisss. An telum,u fukin luvum.!!

I’m not worried any more. Sounds like she’s doing much better.