The Public Purse

A lot of people seem to be unhappy that public funds from the State govt have been spent to make sure World Youth Day pilgrims as well as the Pope and his entourage are kept safe. Many roads have been closed inconveniencing city goers all week. It has been all over the talkback radio.

The dislike of supposed misdirected govt spending is understandable. But I doubt that there was the same whinging when the 2000 Olympics were in town, or the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

Perhaps there is increased moaning because all this fuss is over a religion. One that many people probably consider as the face of Christianity as a whole. Also, a lot of fuss over an old man that most can’t relate to at all.

Face the facts, this is what the State govt does. They control the police force when big events come to town. Morris Iemma wanted these big events to come to Sydney. He succeeded in getting two of the biggest within a year (APEC & WYD), probably his only great success. So, good on the State govt for what was a smooth APEC (except for The Chaser) and for what has been a smooth World Youth Day/Week.

Nice Try

Put a few student activists together with a civil libertarian and usually chaos would ensue. Instead all you get is said student activists getting their wish and handing out condoms to young Catholics in town for world youth day celebrations.

What I guess they didn’t count on (for some reason) was that these Catholics might actually like the Pope and not be willing to accept anything from anyone wearing a “The Pope Is Wrong” t-shirt. On top of that there would be the fact that they would believe in sex after marriage which means they have little need for condoms, at least on this trip to Australia.

What resulted was a lot of “no thanks” to their kind gesture and a lot of rejected condoms still safely sealed in their packaging in bins or dropped on the ground.

At least that’s what was seen on the 6 o’clock news, and that’s all they wanted anyway, a bit of notoriety. Pity it somewhat backfired on them. I’m really starting to warm to World Youth Day.

Been Moved One Year

As of the 21st of July I would have been moved out of my parent home for one year. While I would stand by the statement that it was the best decision I have ever made, it has had its tough moments.

• Interest rates – Have increased over 2% since last year. My repayments have gone up by over $100 per fortnight. Relief is in sight it seems with no more increases but decreases are probably a long way off.
• Limitations – I have considered some options for alternate careers but one in particular that I fancied required further study. With a mortgage it just isn’t an option as I need the full time income, and could probably do without another expense.
• Chores – Some I don’t mind so much, others like ironing I would rather do without. Although lately I have just plugged into the iPod and sang up a storm with the headphones on. Apologies to neighbours who were around at the time.

Pushing Hard

There’s no doubt that NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, is under pressure. On the nose as I heard it described on radio. Opposition Leader, Barry O’Farrell, is pushing his case very hard as the possible next Premier of NSW. But there is still a long time till the next election, about 3 years actually.

Polls suggest that if there were an election tomorrow then the Labor govt would be voted out. But because the election is about 3 years away then should the opposition be pushing Iemma so hard to stand down as Premier of NSW. Of course they should push him for answers on issues, but surely in the back of their minds they are thinking that they would rather face him as leader over anyone else.

What if someone else takes over and they’re half decent? This would mean they are twice as good as Mr Iemma. But three years is a long time in politics. Just look at how quickly Kevin Rudd rose to the top.

Deputy Premier, John Watkins, seems the most capable to turn things around, but I’m told that factional divisions will prohibit any promotion on his part. Carmel Tebbutt has been sounded out too, even though she recently resigned from cabinet to look after her young son. So maybe Iemma is the best they have.

Bachelor Cooking

I cop a bit of criticism for my simple and somewhat unimaginative method of cooking. I stand by my method for 2 reasons:

1. I am a bloke – so no need to complicate things
2. I am cooking for one – a difficult enough task for anyone

My pantry comprises of a few dinner essentials

• Packets – Dinner bases as well as pasta and rice side dishes
• Jars – Pasta sauces, Indian Sauces, or any other sauce that comes in a jar. Options are endless
• Tins – Tomatoes, Baked Beans, Soups
• Frozen Veges – Seems to get added to everything I make. Never had fresh veges in my possession.

Every now and then I do a big cook up to store and freeze meals ready to take for lunch. One recent cook up involved 2 kg’s of mince and 20 meal size portions. I even invested in a separate freezer to house these meals until they get to be enjoyed.

Particular favourites include:

• Spag Bol
• Chilli Con Carne
• Butter Chicken

In the end, isn't it just great that I'm a bloke who can cook something for himself??