September 4, 2006
Constantia et dillengentia. - By perseverance and diligence.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
"Crocodile Hunter" Irwin dies
September 4, 2006
By Paul Tait
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Steve Irwin, the quirky Australian naturalist who won worldwide acclaim, was killed by a stingray barb through the chest on Monday while diving off Australia's northeast coast, emergency officials and witnesses said.
"Steve was hit by a stingray in the chest," said local diving operator Steve Edmondson, whose Poseidon boats were out on the Great Barrier Reef when the accident occurred.
"He probably died from a cardiac arrest from the injury," he said.
Police and ambulance officials later confirmed Irwin had died and said his family had been advised.
Irwin, 44, was killed while filming an underwater documentary off Port Douglas.
Irwin had been diving off his boat "Croc One" near Batt Reef northeast of Port Douglas. A helicopter had taken paramedics to nearby Low Isles where Irwin was taken for medical treatment but he was dead before they arrived, police said.
Irwin won a global following for his dare-devil antics but also triggered outrage in 2004 by holding his then one-month-old baby while feeding a snapping crocodile at his Australian zoo.
He made almost 50 of his "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries which appeared on cable TV channel Animal Planet and won a worldwide audience.
The series ended after he was criticized for the incident with his young son and for disturbing whales, seals and penguins while filming in Antarctica.
Khaki-clad Irwin became famous for his seemingly death-defying methods with wild animals, including crocodiles and snakes.
He made a cameo appearance alongside Eddie Murphy in the 2001 Hollywood film Dr Dolittle 2 and appeared on U.S. television shows such as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and on children's television alongside The Wiggles.
Irwin was married with two children, Bindi Sue and Bob Clarence. His American-born wife Terri was his business partner and frequent on-screen collaborator.
Hear Hear
August 14, 2006
This term means "a shout of support or agreement." And is not to be confused with "here, here". Which is a term often heard on the soccer field when a player wants the ball to be passed in his/her direction. The term originated in the British parliament in the 18th century as a contraction of 'hear him, hear him'. It is still often heard there although sometimes used ironically these days.
This term means "a shout of support or agreement." And is not to be confused with "here, here". Which is a term often heard on the soccer field when a player wants the ball to be passed in his/her direction. The term originated in the British parliament in the 18th century as a contraction of 'hear him, hear him'. It is still often heard there although sometimes used ironically these days.
Le Weekend
August 27, 2006
I went out on Saturday night with some of my Economics mates, Lewis and Nam. We started at the James Squire Brewhouse in Darling Harbour. The Highway Man and the Amber Ale were a particular highlight. After wetting our wistle at the Brewhouse we walked over to the Chinta Ria Restaurant which is a nice chinese restauant above the Wallaby Bar. The restaurant is apparently run by the same people who run the Buddhist monestary in Wollongong, although the fact they serve such tasty meat dishes makes me question that. The massive statue of Buddha in the middle of the room is an interesting touch, giving the restaurant a traditional oriental feel without being incredibly tacky.
I went out on Saturday night with some of my Economics mates, Lewis and Nam. We started at the James Squire Brewhouse in Darling Harbour. The Highway Man and the Amber Ale were a particular highlight. After wetting our wistle at the Brewhouse we walked over to the Chinta Ria Restaurant which is a nice chinese restauant above the Wallaby Bar. The restaurant is apparently run by the same people who run the Buddhist monestary in Wollongong, although the fact they serve such tasty meat dishes makes me question that. The massive statue of Buddha in the middle of the room is an interesting touch, giving the restaurant a traditional oriental feel without being incredibly tacky.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The stream of consciousness email
The stream on consciousness email is a dangerous email at the best of times. However when attempted at 3am in the morning after a couple of beers it is most certainly a recipe for disaster. Imagine the situation where you have an irrational emotional gripe with a good friend, perhaps formerly good friend, and proceed to write an email that starts out as a simple innocuous reply . Almost without warning, the email turns into a presumptuous, rude and obnoxious personal attack and hurtful thoughts that should never have been allowed to form, are typed and sent. You didn't set out with the intention to be incredibly hurtful, but you write with all the reckless indifference of someone who no longer cares about the expected consequences of their actions.
Receiving a reply to my email entitled 'Wrath' I promptly archived the email with the intention of reading it as soon as I should be brave, stupid or drunk enough to endure the verbal lashing that will surely ensue. Or perhaps to be read in several years time when I stumble across it accidentally. Which ever happens sooner. It is difficult to write an apology email when you can't bring yourself to read the reply.
It could be worse. I do have many other friends. But I did like this one in particular.
Receiving a reply to my email entitled 'Wrath' I promptly archived the email with the intention of reading it as soon as I should be brave, stupid or drunk enough to endure the verbal lashing that will surely ensue. Or perhaps to be read in several years time when I stumble across it accidentally. Which ever happens sooner. It is difficult to write an apology email when you can't bring yourself to read the reply.
It could be worse. I do have many other friends. But I did like this one in particular.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Athens - first impressions
I arrived in Athens on the afternoon of January fourth. I was surprised to learn that, even more so than Hamburg, English is a second language in Athens. Most street signs have the Greek and then the English translation directly below it. I asked Markella if this had been an innovation for the Olympics in 2004, however apparently this has been pretty standard for a long time. Getting off the airport shuttle bus at Syntagma Square I was greeted by Athens, in all it's haphazard glory. Amazing classical style buildings stand next to hostels, or ugly apartment/office blocks, or amazingly beautiful little churches, or some ancient ruins, or a local flea market.
Walking to my hostel that first afternoon I became aquainted with the local stray dogs. These dogs are not the malnourished mongrel dogs that cover the streets and gutters of India like rats, but healthy looking well groomed stray dogs that are very protective of their turf. One stray dog I saw was sitting on the main road outside of the Parliament building. Oncoming cars would have to move out of the way in order to avoid this dog and, if the cars came too close, the dog would bark disapprovingly at the cars as they passed by.
I stayed in the Student's Inn the first night because Markella was busy. The rooms and bathrooms can generously be described as spartan, however this was made up for by the healthy supply of free internet. The restaurant next door turned out to be quite exceptionally good. You never expect much from a place that has a continuous stream of suckers from the hostel next door, but Athens is not your ordinary city. The owners of the restaurant were the main waiters and there were two musicians singing and playing traditional Greek songs on the guitar. The owners and the musicians were so relaxed and happy to be there that it almost seemed that they were in on some great secret to which the patrons were blissfully unaware. The musicians played in a relaxed and easy manner, and the owners served the customers in such a way that I felt as though I was in their home, and they were treating me to some rare and wonderful Greek hospitality.
My first day in Greece was pretty eventful. Woke up at around 10am, which was a nice change from the nazi 7am starts that I was made to endure with my dear insomniac friend Nick, and his super keen girlfriend. Went to the Benaki museum which was an amazing walk through the Greek artifacts from different periods of the long and illustrious Greek history. Better yet, because I am a student (or at least still have my student card), the 6 euro fee was waved. I also went to the museum of Cycladic Art. This museum cost 2.50 euro, half the museum was closed for renovations, and after having just been in the Benaki museum I was, how shall we say, a little underwhelmed. I also managed to visit the Roman Agora, which I believe is where the Romans had their market place in ancient times. After all of this I met Markella and we went back to her place. The frozen pizza we had for dinner was pretty good. Well, the first one ended up on the floor but the second one was good.
Today, January 6th, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale hit the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake went off at 7.14am, 124km wouth-west of Athens. I am pleased to say that I slept soundly through the whole thing. It was a Greek Orthodox holiday today commemorating the John the Baptist baptising Jesus in the river. The church/chapel we went to was tiny, and there were way too many people to fit inside the church at any one time. There was no mass as such, but there was a blessing of holy water by means of a ritual where the priest throws a silver/gold cross into the Mediterranean and some people dive in to retrieve the cross. The water is thereby blessed, and the person to retrieve the cross obtains a blessing that lasts the entire year.
Walking to my hostel that first afternoon I became aquainted with the local stray dogs. These dogs are not the malnourished mongrel dogs that cover the streets and gutters of India like rats, but healthy looking well groomed stray dogs that are very protective of their turf. One stray dog I saw was sitting on the main road outside of the Parliament building. Oncoming cars would have to move out of the way in order to avoid this dog and, if the cars came too close, the dog would bark disapprovingly at the cars as they passed by.
I stayed in the Student's Inn the first night because Markella was busy. The rooms and bathrooms can generously be described as spartan, however this was made up for by the healthy supply of free internet. The restaurant next door turned out to be quite exceptionally good. You never expect much from a place that has a continuous stream of suckers from the hostel next door, but Athens is not your ordinary city. The owners of the restaurant were the main waiters and there were two musicians singing and playing traditional Greek songs on the guitar. The owners and the musicians were so relaxed and happy to be there that it almost seemed that they were in on some great secret to which the patrons were blissfully unaware. The musicians played in a relaxed and easy manner, and the owners served the customers in such a way that I felt as though I was in their home, and they were treating me to some rare and wonderful Greek hospitality.
My first day in Greece was pretty eventful. Woke up at around 10am, which was a nice change from the nazi 7am starts that I was made to endure with my dear insomniac friend Nick, and his super keen girlfriend. Went to the Benaki museum which was an amazing walk through the Greek artifacts from different periods of the long and illustrious Greek history. Better yet, because I am a student (or at least still have my student card), the 6 euro fee was waved. I also went to the museum of Cycladic Art. This museum cost 2.50 euro, half the museum was closed for renovations, and after having just been in the Benaki museum I was, how shall we say, a little underwhelmed. I also managed to visit the Roman Agora, which I believe is where the Romans had their market place in ancient times. After all of this I met Markella and we went back to her place. The frozen pizza we had for dinner was pretty good. Well, the first one ended up on the floor but the second one was good.
Today, January 6th, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale hit the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake went off at 7.14am, 124km wouth-west of Athens. I am pleased to say that I slept soundly through the whole thing. It was a Greek Orthodox holiday today commemorating the John the Baptist baptising Jesus in the river. The church/chapel we went to was tiny, and there were way too many people to fit inside the church at any one time. There was no mass as such, but there was a blessing of holy water by means of a ritual where the priest throws a silver/gold cross into the Mediterranean and some people dive in to retrieve the cross. The water is thereby blessed, and the person to retrieve the cross obtains a blessing that lasts the entire year.
Friday, November 30, 2007
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
I visited the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Wednesday (28 Nov). ITLOS was formed pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law fo the Sea, which entered into force on 16 November 1994. The title of this tribunal makes it sound impressive, but in reality, it is really not. Since its formation the Tribunal has heard a mere 15 cases, and at one point went without any cases for two whole years.
All in all, a little underwhelmed by ITLOS. However, as with all UN agencies built upon multilateral agreement, ITLOS may just need some time to gather steam.
All in all, a little underwhelmed by ITLOS. However, as with all UN agencies built upon multilateral agreement, ITLOS may just need some time to gather steam.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
