On the Ball . . .

 My wife's a  football tragic (Aussie Rules, of course), and a devoted fan of Essendon team, and that means that I watch lots and lots of footy on TV. I can  recognise at least a dozen players on screen these days.
Footy was just "work" for me, back when I used to visit country matches each Saturday afternoon to take pics for the paper, and then race home to develop the films. Nowadays, what with being sympathetic to Essendon and barracking  (a) for Adelaide Crows and (b) for Port, we're not short of  conversation points over the (expanding) weekends, and I don't have to work.
Football was a compulsory subject back in my High School days, and I hated it - until I discovered that being a boundary umpire was easy (because kids weren't expected to really keep up). 
Fair Dinkum footy's big business these days. My father, who used to drive to Adelaide  with mates to watch  State matches, would be amazed at the AFL - the skills, the promotion and the money involved. Every one of the players is earning big money, and the best of them demand and receive millions. And I don't blame them a bit!

Stage fright!

I've never dictated the story for a newspaper, and I've never even dictated a letter. I used to kid myself that I was a "reasonable" typist, so I'd pound out a  beautifully phrased letter on my typewriter, for my secretary to post. But it didn't take long for me to realise that that young, clever young woman, as matter of course, used to retype those golden words as a matter of course, and it took only one comparison,  for me to recognise why.
The above is just to set the scene for the big announcement – this posting is a direct result of my dictation, courtesy of the software program called Dragon.
In truth I have to admit that I'm not really proceding any faster than I did by typing last time, but that's mainly becauset I'm not a practised dictator (literary type, that is). It's really a little bit embarrassing to be instructing a computer that seems to be working a lot faster than am I.
But I'm not grumbling, but full of new enthusiasm.
It is a fact that we all  have opinions and most of us like airing them, and it seems fairly safe to be doing this in a blog that very few have ever shown any evidence of having read in the past.
Therefore, having disposed of all the explanations, and having proved there's more than one type of dictator, my bold plan for future posts is to analyse as many of the world's problems as I can handle, and then pass on my suggestions. The real plan, though, is just to type/talk and see what happens
The hope is of course that I might encourage some friendly debate, or even a little gentle criticism.
So here goes   –

Back from the depths

I abandoned this blog a couple of years ago and I think that was partly through boredom, seeing that a fair bit of our world was still at peace then, and politics in Australia, and  South Australia, were rather settled. In short the really wasn't anything to be grumpy about, outside or inside the family circle.
More likely, though, the literary hiatus developed from my typing standards having dropped from "just fair" to "lousy"! There's nothing that discourages literary flow more than having to correct at least one typo in every word.
I blame all deficiencies on either failing eyesight, lack of co-operation between brain and fingers, or the fact that laptop keyboards (and most of the desk-top PCs) don't fight back. Every keyboard I've had in the past four years at least has insisted on energising "CAPS/LOCK" if my little finger goes within  two inches of it.It's been a long struggle, but here I am again!
A year or two ago I loaded a speech recognition program for my laptop. It seemed like a good idea, but the software wasn't then able to make much sense of my voice.
A month ago I updated the software (Dragon) and now we're getting on well (after a bit of dictate-orial tension), and I can now talk to my computer and get much better text with much less  bad language.
But that's not all! Last week I sat my laptop up at the back of my desk, connected it to an additional monitor, and then installed a new and separate keyboard . That's such an improvement in itself that I've actually really and truly typed this post with my poor old Dragon left lamenting, and I've only had to correct about six words (so far). Next post will be dictated, and we'll see what we shall see.

Christmas bonus

Well, we have no worries about the world financial crisis.
Our Prime Minister has solved the problem for Australians by giving pensioners, new home-buyers, and carers, lovely cash Chrissy presents - all all to save us from national financial doom. He's also guaranteed all of Australia's bank accounts, so businesses large and small, and the rest of us, can resume lending and spending.

I'm not really treating this generosity lightly. In fact, I think our PM has made the best and probably the only move that was available. All the experts have been telling us Australia had such financial stability that we could weather the storm better than almost any other country. The experts were probably right, but their assurances didn't carry much weight against constant tales of impending World doom on TV, and headlining our papers every day.

It's clear that the best way to financial security is to have "money in the bank", and we are lucky Prime Minister Rudd had a large a surplus from which to draw.
It's a bit tough on the politicians from our former government, who raised most of the money, and set up what they called "future fund".
But it's going to be great to see our country back in business!

How dreams dissolve

Have you seen the "mansions" so many young couples are building/buying in the suburbs these days? Of course you have - 4 or more bedrooms, two or three floored Greco-Roman castles They're mostly bought through once-generous loans, with repayments originally considered affordable, by up-and-comers who just had to have everything all at once.
These are the people who need our sympathy now we're starting to feel the effects of the US financial crisis.
We can hope that the Reserve Bank and the retail banks here are flexible enough to give our PM's "Working Families" proper consideration, and that the many hard-selling loan company sales executives remember their share of blame for the problems.
Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, now looking quite good as newspaper commentator, tells us we're better governed, financially, than those in the US. He believes our political system, in which the people for whom we voted bear executive responsibility, serves us more fairly, too.
Coincidentally, I was shocked to see how devastating are the problems of the mortgage-belt homeowners in one Californian suburb. A 10 minute movie (from a link in Monday's Crikey.com.au web site showed newish suburban streets with more than half their homes empty and bank-owned. Contract teams were emptying furniture and personal items from up to 15 homes per day, where former "owners" had typically walked out with just what they could carry.
We should all hope Australia never gets like this!
But it's hard to feel sorry for those who gambled unwisely with other people's money in the share trading industry. there's plenty of room for improvement here.

Fruity flootling!

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I can blow a full octave of notes from a 2/3 full beer stubby, and that's a skill I reckon is OK, even though neither my wife nor any of my friends are impressed.
I can generate a reasonable tune on a harmonica too, and I've played around with piano since I was a kid.
In fact, I've loved music as long as I can remember, and admit to youthful dreams of making a career of it. Had I had the determination to study and practise, and half the talent I once thought I had, then I might well have made some sort of a mark with it.
But the enthusiasm remains, and our small home contains a piano, a sophisticated and computer-friendly electronic keyboard, two chromatic harmonicas, a tin whistle, and a flute!
Aren't I lucky that my dear wife is a musician too, and much more "proper at playing it" than I (which means she really reads the music, and "never" improvises)?
What I really meant to say at the start of this posting was that my impulsive purchase of a flute, while caravaning nearly four years ago, has changed my life.
I thought playing a flute would be easy. I could, after all, get a tune out of almost any instrument. After all, a flute's just a metal tube with hole in it - not unlike my (unpopular) tin whistle, I thought.
By dint of annoying caravaners over a wide swathe of Eastern Australia I did manage to force a shrieking sort of an occasional tune out of the thing, though I wonder, sometimes, at my wife's forbearance. After a year I was able to take six lessons, during a six week rest in Adelaide, and learned a little bit more.
Since then, and since settling down, my flute has become a near constant companion at home. Can I play a reasonable tune on it now? - Yes, if you're not too fussy.
But there's a long, long way to go.
I'm getting better at remembering the fingering for the really high notes (second and third register to us flutists). I'm can play the high notes cleanly and softly, most of the time - except when I'm really trying and thus tend to hold my lips wrong, or blow too hard, or run out of breath.
I recorded myself playing a favourite tune yesterday, hoping for a pleasing mark of progress. But I discovered that listening from the blowing-end is quite different to hearing what others might hear. So I've put the microphone away, for now.
Am I frustrated? Yes. It seems that every step taken leads to another set of stairs, and I wonder if I'm going to live long enough to play well enough to satisfy myself.
But I think I love my flute. It seems to follow me around the house, so I can play to a good tune on the radio, or add my bit to my wife's piano practice, or so I can just make a quick go at going from register 1 to 2, or even 3, without even one of those damned "squawks."
I think I'm obsessed!
(Picture: Two grandsons trying to help)

See left for pics

Wife and I spent a few days exploring S.A.'s Yorke Peninsular, a few weeks ago. We thought we'd get the trip done while the grass and the crops were still green, and it's as well that we did because we're well into the early hot spells and gales that accompany Spring here.
Anyway, if you look to the left of your screen (below the old grey-top bloke's head shot)you'll see the mini movie show that covers the trip. Just double click on the pic. and you get to my photo library.