Open Daze

I attended the Sydney Uni Open Day today (Sat 26th) and made a couple of interesting observations while checking out details for a Physiotherapy course that they offer:

1. I am always on time if not early. So when I saw that there was a lecture on Physiotherapy course at 10 am I aimed to get there early. I got there at 9.50am mainly because it was cold and I forgot a jacket, also because I had nothing else there that I needed to see. Prospective students were still walking in at 10.20 and the lecturer was done at 10.30. Are these school leavers really serious about going to Uni because this is one hard course.
2. Most people reading this knows what the term "full time" means. But when it refers to Uni, full time usually means a small part of nearly every day of the week. Full time in a Physio course means 8am - 5pm pretty much every weekday. To that the reaction from the majority of the room was a jaw dropping "Woh!!" Whereas I was thinking it was about time there was an actual "full time" course, welcome to the real world school leavers. I think Uni graduates would be all alot more prductive if more courses were really full time.
   
3. Lastly, I knew I could always rely on the student union to be the only people coming up to me to give me information about themselves (and give a few chupachups).

The World Will End

That’s right folks, bad news:

“Foxtel will close its AFL-only Fox Footy Channel at the end of the season because of the uncertainty over pay-TV rights to televise AFL football from next year through until 2011.” (afl.com.au)

It will all happen on September 30th, which is Grand Final Day, and coincidentally, the day after my birthday.

Footy Show Audience

Last night (17the August) I was part of the studio audience to watch the NRL Footy Show featuring Fatty, Sterlo and the gang. Although I’m not very regular in watching The Footy Show, very irregular actually, I found this experience very enjoyable.

I find the behind the scenes stuff very interesting, the stuff that goes on when everyone else is watching ads. Of note was the fact that the song by Deni Hines to feature at the end of the show was pre-recorded before the show had actually started.

From the TV I always imagined that the studio was much bigger but it is pretty small and intimate, which I’m guessing is because they like to get the crowd involved. They have a big funny bloke telling us when to clap and cheer madly, and encouraging us not to look disinterested despite the length of the show and the uncomfortableness of the seats. So there is a good chance to get your head on the TV. As I went home I received an SMS from a couple of people who had seen me and the others I was with, and only one of those people knew I was going to be there.

You even go home with a little gift bag full of little goodies.

Mac Vs PC

I had it mentioned that I start a lot of computer debates yet never follow it through. I thought this was a bit unfair as I usually just say comments in jest such as, “That’ll never happen on a Mac.”

So to set the record straight, here is my position on things based on my experiences, and if you care to expand on my lack of knowledge, then by all means.

• I have always had a Mac, originally because all the schools had them
• I have never had any problems with a Mac
• The iLife package integrates so well together
• Everyday at work there would be a problem with one of our PC’s – I acknowledge that mostly it was network problems
• Fair to say I have been influenced at least slightly by my brother Danny

There are debates coming from PC users that I don’t understand. One from my school days was that “Macs are too easy to use.” Is that supposed to be a put down for Macs? The latest, that I may have interpreted incorrectly referred to the lack of skills gained with using Macs. I think he was referring to skills fixing up the computers as he mentioned how if you have a problem with a Mac you have to send it away to a Mac specialist. This brings me back to a previous point, I have never had a problem with a Mac. Never had a virus shut down our Mac. Shall I go on? OK I will:

• Straight out of the box – plug and play
• Now with the latest Intel chips
• They also have a funky design
• For more go here.

I have all the skills I need and they all came from a Mac. If I need to advance my skills you know where I’ll be getting them……a Mac

The Real Ultimate Football Weekend

I have fulfilled a dream. The dream to see a game in every single timeslot in a round of AFL in Melbourne. That is: Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Throw into the mix going to watch a friend’s game on Saturday morning and that equals 5 games in 3 days. Life couldn’t be better.

Here’s a rundown of all the games:

Friday night - MCG
Essendon 10.14 (74) def. Collingwood 9.7 (61)

Essendon are fighting to lose the wooden spoon and Collingwood are supposed to be fighting for a top 4 spot to secure their premiership chances. But fight they didn’t. From the start the Bombers beat them for intensity at every contest. The skill displayed from both sides was scrappy on occasions but the tightness of the game and the fact that a bottom side was beating Collingwood was enough to keep me shouting till the end. That and the fact that Collingwood’s supposed star forwards produced absolutely nothing. Feels even better that one of them wanted to leave the Swans to play for them.

Saturday morning - Central Reserve, Glen Waverly
The Collegians 10.6 (66) def. Fitzroy Reds 10.5 (65)

Some might say that suburban footy is better to watch than the professional stuff. For true lovers of the game I believe there is some truth to this statement. I like the fact that you can get close to the action and actually hear everything that is being said on the field. Ahhhh, the serenity.

This game was the 1st semi final between the 3rd and 4th teams in the competition. For the losing team it is season over. It was evident all day that both teams were keen to continue their season another week. In the end I think the difference was the greater sense of urgency from The Collegians when attacking the ball. Too many Fitzroy players waited for the ball to come to them, which resulted in costly turnovers.

Saturday afternoon - MCG
Sydney 14.11 (95) def. Melbourne 10.3 (63)

I arrived a bit late due to the morning game so I missed a quarter and a bit. But I saw enough to make me cautiously excited about September Finals.

Melbourne was without some of their stars, and Sydney exposed that fact. Adam Goodes was at his Brownlow best and some fringe players found some good form at the right time, namely Ted Richards. We also welcomed back Stephen Doyle for his first game back in 16 months. He has been injury ravaged for the last 2 years so we hope he can get some consistent footy under his belt.

The game was close in the first half. Sydney extended their margin at the beginning of the 3rd quarter kicking 3 goals but allowed Melbourne to get 2 back. The 4th quarter started in similar fashion with Sydney dominating and further extending their margin.

Saturday night - Telstra Dome
Richmond 21.16 (142) def. Brisbane 8.12 (60)

Both teams had nothing to play for as their finals aspirations have been over for a few weeks now. Brisbane has one of the longest injury lists in the competition. Most of their team are in their 1st or 2nd seasons with most of their leaders off the field with injury or other reasons.

So it’s hard to say if Richmond was as good as the scoreline suggests or if they just came up against Brisbane at a “good time.” All I have to say is that when you are leading by 80 points at half time, good teams go on with the job and win by 100+ points. Richmond sat back and did enough to maintain their lead, which diminished the spectacle.

At least we had fantastic seats that we didn’t have to pay for, so we made the most of the night by cheering loud. Especially when “RICHO!!!” got the ball.

Sunday afternoon - Telstra Dome
St Kilda 15.13 (103) def. Geelong 11.14 (80)

Geelong, the team with the most to play for put in a performance that you would expect from a team with no finals aspirations at all. They were close up until late in the first half when St Kilda put on consecutive goals to skip ahead. From then on Geelong put up no fight to St Kilda who went on to kick the first few goals of the 2nd half to extend their lead. Geelong never really had a chance.

Highlights

• Sydney defeating Melbourne
• The actions a group ladies had choreographed to the Swans team song
• Essendon defeating Collingwood
• The seats we had at the Richmond game
• The Mars Bar cake at the Retro Café
• The Melbourne Museum

Lowlights

• The heartbreaking one point loss by the Fitzroy Reds
• Geelong’s insipid performance, especially when they had so much to play for

Tips for attending neutral games:

• Pick a player you haven’t heard of and cheer for them
• Don’t inhibit yourself with what you say, let it flow
• Get out of your seat to cheer occasionally – doubles as an opportunity to improve blood flow.
• Be aware of who the people around you support – especially if you plan on hurling insults at their star player
• Have a pie (beer optional) – this goes for all games you attend, it is just part of going to the footy

Other places visited:

• Melbourne Museum – great exhibits for a cheap price
• The Retro Café – try the Mars Bar Cake

C’mon Blokes

I have started doing (again) what I think all blokes should learn to do at some stage, social dancing. I went for the first time to Nuroc about 2 years ago. Nuroc is like a modern jive style of dance. More details on what they do can be found on their website. They even have a large range of merchandise.

I have to admit that when I went for the first time I had to be dragged along. I was very apprehensive about dancing, pretty self-conscious. Dancing just wasn’t something blokes did was my general thought.

Well I’ve got a message for blokes that think like that. There are plenty of blokes that attend and all of them are straight blokes too, as far as I can tell. Most blokes actually come with their partners.

You do get to be masculine when doing this dance, as the blokes have to be the leaders. Look out for girls that want to lead as they will lead you astray. I believe that most of the girls that attend enjoy having a strong lead.

If you want you can stay with the one person to learn the routine, otherwise it is usually the ladies that move along the lines and swap dancing partners.

So break down your own gender stereotype and give it a go. I think you will be pleasantly surprised, I was.

Letters to Jim Main

My favourite column in the Inside Football Magazine is crudely titled "Up Yours!" It's the space where people write their thoughts on footy issues to the editor of the column, Jim Main. I regularly write to this column and have had many letters published. Here are my most recent efforts.

Eagles' 23rd Man (26/7/06)
Dear Jim,
I do not believe that the Swans are that ill-disciplined that they should have been paid fewer than half the free kicks awarded to West Coast. Some frees against Sydney were obvious, but many were pedantic at best. Scott McLaren affected the result of the match, but good on the Eagles for a second-half belter. However, if McLaren umpires another Swans game I may be sent over the edge.

Jim Main says: The Swans lost, end of subject.

Eagles' Form Baffling (2/8/06)
Dear Jim,
The West Coast situation has me baffled. Until the big win over Adelaide, the Eagles had not played a full game for the entire season. Instead they have relied on their ability to run over the top of teams. Fox Footy's Clinton Grybas revealed an interesting statistic on White Line Fever when he said that over five recent matches they had led for only 60 minutes collectively.

Jim Main Says: Well, they jumped out of the blocks against the Crows didn't they? It would be foolish to write them off, especially after the thrashing of the Crows, but the Grand Final is at the MCG, not at Subiaco

Mr Write Off

I'm always interested when religion neutral editorialists write something that in some way backs up what Christian leaders have been professing for years. Amanda Platell writes for the Daily Telegraph and today (2/8/06) she published "Beware Mr Write-Off, Destroyer of Dreams." In it she refers to the failure of the feminist movement by allowing women to believe that cohabiting is the better way to rather than marriage. But what Platell has found is that most men in these relationships opt out by the 10 year mark, leaving her high and dry and in "no-mans land." By that time the woman may be desprate for children which is a major turn off for blokes. So while the bloke has found someone else the woman is finding things difficult indeed.

Check out the link and pass on your thoughts.