Category: Non-car life

Jim Coggeshall is a mate of mine in the US and as I write this, he’s on a 200 mile bicycle ride called the Pan Mass Challenge, raising money for cancer research and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Jim is a three-time cancer survivor so the cause is close to his heart. His most recent brush with cancer was just last year but I’m pleased to report that a recent checkup confirmed he’s still cancer-free, which is great news.

This cause is close to my heart, too. I lost my Dad to cancer back in 1985. This morning I wrote about another friend, Saab ad man Curvin O’Rielly, who passed away on Friday after a short battle with Stage IV cancer. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve just learned this evening that my Mum’s long term partner, Alex Whammond (a very keen and competitive cyclist in his prime) succumbed to cancer just this afternoon. It’s been a crap day.

I met Jim the same week I met Curvin, at the Swedish Car Day in Boston, 2010. Jim’s a Saab nut, through and through, with five Saabs in the garage as well as a beautiful MG that he’s currently restoring.

I’ve already donated 0 to Jim’s ride, but I’m adding another 0 today in memory of Curvin and Alex. The overheads for this event are covered by corporate sponsors so every cent you donate goes to the fantastic research done by Dana Farber Cancer Institute, research that eventually makes its way right around the world.

Jim’s already raised over $5,000 for this year’s ride, but needs another $1,000 to be assured of a start again next year. Last year’s ride raised $35million. If you can make a contribution, then I’d like to encourage you to do so.

Donations for Jim’s ride can be made at this link and even though the ride’s this weekend, donations will still be accepted right through September. His name on the site is recorded as James Coggeshall (you might need to find him when you donate).

If you’re a Saabs United reader, you can win a $100 voucher from State of Nine, too. Just make sure you record your name with your donation.

There’s a new show on the telly here at the moment called Dumb, Drunk and Racist. It’s a docco-style show where the host takes a group of four Indians around the country, with a view to either confirming or refuting the oft-held belief in India that Australians are all dumb, drunk and racist.

Episode 1 was on last night and it was definitely interesting. For the Aussies who missed it, there’s a replay at 10:30 tonight on ABC2.

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This is how we look when we’re not being dumb, drunk and racist.

Data from our 2011 census was released today. I was in Sweden on census night, so just add 1 to all the relevant bits below if you like.

Population: 21,507,717. (Male 10,634,013. Female 10,873,704)

Median age: 37

Families: 568m.

Average children per family: 1.9

All private dwellings: 9.11m.

Average people per household: 2.6

Median weekly household income: $1234

Median monthly mortgage repayment: $1800.

Median weekly rent: $285

Average motor vehicles per dwelling: 1.7

Registered marriages: 7,647,042 or 49.2%

Same-sex couples: 33,714

Heterosexual couples: 4.6 million

De facto marriages: 1,476,369 or 9.5%

Not married: 6,413,399 or 41.3%

Top five countries of birth: Australia, England, New Zealand, China, India.

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With regard to my own neck of the woods, here’s the population breakdown here in Tasmania. We have this many blue and pink people. Less than I thought, actually.

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If you’re interested in finding out more about our dumb, drunk and racist country, there’s more info available here.

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[cp_divide color=”#919191″ height=”1″ width=”100″]

Microsoft just managed to do something that hasn’t been done in a loooooong time – launch an exciting new product without any leaks beforehand.

The product is their new Surface tablet and I have to say, it looks like a very attractive bit of kit.

This story has everything you need to know: Microsoft Surface Event 2012

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According to the stuff I’ve been able to find, the Surface is less than 10mm thick, runs a Gorilla Glass 10.6-inch HD screen, two full USB ports and other media ports as well. It’ll come in two models, a standard version and Pro version with capacity up to 128GB and a built-in stylus. The Surface will be the feature machine for the launch of Windows 8.

I really love what I’m seeing so far about the cover – it attaches magnetically but acts as a keyboard and scrollwheel when connected. You can get either of two different covers, a ‘touch’ cover that’ll supposedly provide a better/faster typing experience than working on glass (not too hard to believe) or the ‘type’ cover, which adds actual clickable keys, whilst only adding 2mm to the cover’s thickness.

This photo shows the ‘touch’ cover, which will be available in five different colors.

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I’ve been a Mac user for around 5 years now and I don’t think that’ll change in the near term. I have made efforts to keep my options open, however.

I made a New Years Resolution back in January that I wouldn’t get an iPhone or iPad (which I’ve stuck to) and I’ve tried to keep myself from getting too deep into Apple’s quicksand customer ecosystem. I really love the Apple products I’ve owned, but other than buying a few songs off iTunes, I don’t want to tie myself too tightly to their system.

I don’t own a tablet and when I tried an iPad earlier this year, I didn’t like it that much. My theory is that whilst many people love the iPad as media consumers, I skew more towards being a media creator, and the iPad just wasn’t that practical for me as someone who writes a lot. This looks like something I could get into if I had the tablet urge.

I changed from a Windows laptop to a Macbook Pro in 2009 and I welcomed the increased portability of the MBP, as well as its improved media-making performance and rendering (very important when you’re working on the web as I was). I’m not travelling anywhere near as much nowadays, but if I was, a fully functional tablet computer like this would make much more sense than an iPad and if it’s any good at photo-processing and movie making, you might even make a case for replacing the MBP.

I really hope the screen is a beauty because this looks like a nicely thought-out machine. And hey, it’d be nice to see Apple get some hipster competition, wouldn’t it? Keep the bastards honest, I say.

My brand new Great Nephew.

Henry Andrew (Magic) Johnson. Born around 8 hours ago in Melbourne.

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I hate to burst your bubble but triple-double trouble is coming to your town and he’s going to make rubble!

Welcome to the world, little man.

And well done Mum and Dad. Enjoy a few day’s rest.

You internationals might want to pass this one by (or not) as it’s very Australia/Tasmania-centric. I just had to get it off my chest.

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Tasmania is a beautiful island. There are so many wonderful places to visit and things to see.

Binalong Bay, on Tasmania’s east coast, is still one of Australia’s best kept secrets. It’s getting harder to find a reasonably priced holiday rental there, but a sunny week in Binalong will take years off the way you feel.

Our rugged west coast is full of natural, mountainous gems – the Franklin River, Strahan and the Henty Dunes. Even the moonscape of dowdy Queenstown is worth a look at least once, if only so you can experience the hairpin-infested road out of the town.

Living in Tasmania is relatively easy, too. Whilst daily essentials cost a bit more, housing is cheap compared to mainland prices and even in Hobart, the state’s capital, a commute of more than 30 minutes would be rare. Personally speaking, I have to cross a bridge and proceed through to the other side of the CBD and if I leave at the right time, I can get there in no more than 20 minutes.

Tasmania tends to offer a lot of opportunities to people from other states, which may explain why people from across Australia move to Tasmania for jobs. Also, it is normal for them to purchase new land and build their dream homes. With the availability of a moving company and a vehicle shipping firm (if interested, check out motorcycle transport interstate), settling in Tasmania seems easy.

Continue reading Tasmania – the sadder state

We’ve been in the countryside for a few days and I was struck by a few stories told by our host. Let’s call him Farmer Dick (mostly because that’s his occupation and name).

As we were driving around a rather rainy southern Victoria, we saw a herd of cows all gathered in one corner of a paddock. They were bunched really close, all facing the same way and it’s fair to say that PJ and I were a little intrigued.

I asked Dick about this phenomenon over dinner and learned that it’s common cow behavior. When the rain is coming down persistently, they’ll bunch together and point their backsides to the weather in an effort to stay warm and also to keep the brunt of the rainfall from their faces.

Dick has another trick if he knows the wet stuff is coming, too. He likes to make sure they’re well-fed beforehand. A hungry cow will walk around looking for food and in the wet, their wandering can dig up the pasture a lot more than when it’s dry. A well-fed cow is more content to huddle with its friends and just work on digesting the food already in its belly. Farmer Dick and other farmers like him have this bond with their animals which helps them know their mood instinctively. They know when their cows are happy, when they are sad, when they are healthy, and when they need a lookover from a qualified Veterinarian. There’s something to be said about being in harmony with nature here.

Swade’s bottom line: If things are stacking up against you, just point your bum at what’s getting you down and wait until is passes.

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Another story from Dick concerned some share farmers.

I can’t remember who the ‘person in authority’ was, but he came to address a group of farmers and in doing so, enquired about their relationships with the share farmers they were working with. This, of course, was none of his business as the relationship was between the farmer and contractor, but he was given a reply that satisfied him nonetheless.

He was told that the share farmers generally received a farm house that was in very good order, freshly painted and ready for them to move in and have a good, comfortable place to live as they worked the land. When the ‘person in authority’ asked if this was perhaps setting too high a standard, intimating that share farmers elsewhere would expect such generosity, he was told the following:

We expect their best, so we give them our best first.

Dick’s bottom line: Set the standard first. Show that you expect a high standard by giving generously or working diligently with your partners right from the get go.

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Our thanks to Dick and Judy for a wonderful weekend.