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8
November 2004
First
prize in the lottery from hell
Boy,
this sure looks tempting, don't it?: "Win
tickets to see Tony Benn"
Um,
yay.
link
PHAAAARRRRRRRKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is
this the Photo
of The Year?
link
The
Religion of Peace
'Murder
is normal'.
The
future of multiculturalism in the Netherlands looks bright....
link
When
friends go nuts
Paul
of Montreal has a rather interesting online political conversation
with an old high school friend.
The
conversation reminds me of the Kiwis I stayed with at Phillip Island last
month.
link
Rethinking
the scooter
Just
an update on my Vespa review:
it turns out most 4-stroke scooters need a service every 3,000kms. Obviously,
this impacts the cost-benefit equation. Two-stroke scooters by contrast
only need a major service every 25,000kms, though obviously they use more
fuel and you have to mix in two-stroke oil. Production of two-stroke scooter
has pretty much finished around the world thanks to new EU emission laws.
Pity, as they were cheap, light and powerful engine.
Scooters
are still darn cheap transport (particularly if you don't want a top-of-the-line
model like the one I rode), but it's best to know about the costs before
making your decision.
A
cheaper alternative to the Vespa is the Gilera
Runner, which uses the same excellent engine, but is lighter and better
handling in addition to being around $800 cheaper. Not as stylish or comfortable
though.
link
6
November 2004
Quote
of the day
Shoplifting
is a victimless crime, like punching someone in the dark.
-
Nelson Muntz
link
Hurry
up and die already
Yasser
"fish face" Arafat is still breathing apparently. Naturally,
the idiot French are doing their best to keep this mass-murdering thug
alive. Still no word on exactly what he's suffering from.
I'm
sure its nothing a sniper rifle couldn't solve.
link
Tex's
2004 blog awards: just like the Adult Video Awards, only less interesting
Best
blog of them all: Little
Green Footballs
Best
solo blogger: Charles Johnson at Little
Green Footballs
Best
oz blogger: Tim Blair
Best
cranky old right-wing geezer: Kim
Du Toit
Best
chick: Michele Catalano
Best
essay-style blogger: Belmont
Club
Highest
IQ: the very appropriately named Alan
E. Brain
The
"really needs to start posting more coz she rocks" award: Emily
Jones
The
no-particular-reason-to-give-the-award award: Yobbo
Best
newbie: Currency Lad
link
31
things I will do when I am dictator of Australia
1:
Slash all tax rates by 40%, except superannuation tax which will be scrapped
completely.
2: Stop funding all arts, sport and multicultural programs.
3: Remove cross media laws and local content restrictions for TV channels.
4: Anyone earning more than $25,000 must use private health insurance.
5: Allow homeowners to use deadly force on intruders.
6: Gun ownership will be considered a right, not a priviledge to anyone
without a criminal record. Allow the concealed carry of handguns and the
wearing of bullet-proof vests. Firearm safety courses shall be offered
to all children in school.
7: Decriminalise all drugs.
8: Scrap all defamation, anti-discrimination and anti-vilification laws.
9: Abolish the OFLC.
10: Make proficiency in the English language to be a requirement for residency
& citizenship.
11: Reduce immigration from Islamic countries.
12: Privatise Telstra.
13: Raise speed limits on interstate roads from 100kph to 130kph.
14: Stop funding the ABC and SBS.
15: Raise HECS by 50%. Offer a free university degree to anyone who joins
the Army Reserve.
16: Defence: offer incentives for the young'uns to become Army reservists.
Free university degree & their own automatic weapon at home.
17: Scrap all import tariffs and all industry subsidies.
18: Make a national proclamation that "Soccer is shit".
19: Footpath parking for motorcycles, anywhere in Australia.
20: 'Three strikes' law for violent offenders.
21: Scrap all funding for interstate rail.
22: Abolish all "money for having children" payments.
23: Employers shall be able to sack any worker, at any time, for any reason.
24: Put competent security staff at airports, and encourage them to use
racial profiling where necessary.
25: Remove all smoking bans from pubs, clubs and restaurants.
26: All laws regarding abortion to be scrapped.
27: Gay marriage and adoption to be allowed.
28: Anyone who has suffered injury through stupid or criminal acts will
not be allowed to sue for damages. Nor will people who have injured themslves
by not paying due care & attention to their activities.
29: Judges will enforce laws, not invent their own.
30: Scrap all regulations on gambling & liquor licencing.
31: All competition laws to be scrapped.
link
Saying
it again, because I feel like it
Maria
Sharapova is hot.
link
Another
list of Tex truths
1:
There is no moral difference between communism and nazism.
2: There is no moral difference between idolising Che Guevara and idolising
Hitler.
3: Anyone who doesn't consider Yasser Arafat a mass-murderer is an idiot.
4: 95% of people who drive Subaru WRXs are dickheads.
5: I will never visit the third-world shithole known as Africa.
6: Terrorists are not freedom fighters. They are murderers. We do not
need to negotiate them. We do not need to understand them. We just need
to kill them.
7: We are not moving slowly toward fascism. We are not going to become
"the 51st state of the USA". Our democracy is not under threat
because the coalition happened to win the election. We are not becoming
a racist, xenophobic society.... The delusions of lefty losers have little
relation to reality.
8: Contrary to the beliefs of very stupid people, Rupert Murdoch, Kerry
Packer and radio talk show hosts do not decide the outcome of elections.
9: Capitalist democracy is morally superior to all other forms of soceity.
10: 'American foreign policy' did not cause 9/11. Muslim terrorists did.
11:
France is a moral sewer. Probably because anyone in France with any brains
got beheaded during the revolution.
12:
Gay marriage is not going to cause the destruction of the family unit,
so get over it already.
link
4
November 2004
The
news gets better and better
Mass
murderer Yasser Arafat is
in a coma. I hope I wake up to happy news tomorrow.
(Via
Damian)
link
"U.S.
Election disaster"
The
losers at The Daily Moron are enraged:
Here's
the editorial screech by Brian
Reade:
GOD
HELP AMERICA
THEY say that in life you get what you deserve. Well, today America
has deservedly got a lawless cowboy to lead them further into carnage
and isolation and the unreserved contempt of most of the rest of the
world.
[...]
This
should have been the day when Americans finally answered their critics
by raising their eyes from their own sidewalks and looking outward towards
the rest of humanity.
And
for a few hours early yesterday, when the exit polls predicted a John
Kerry victory, it seemed they had.
But
then the horrible, inevitable truth hit home. They had somehow managed
to re-elect the most devious, blinkered and reckless leader ever put
before them. The Yellow Rogue of Texas.
A
self-serving, dim-witted, draft-dodging, gung-ho little rich boy, whose
idea of courage is to yell: "I feel good," as he unleashes
an awesome fury which slaughters 100,000 innocents for no other reason
than greed and vanity.
A
dangerous chameleon, his charming exterior provides cover for a power-crazed
clique of Doctor Strangeloves whose goal is to increase America's grip
on the world's economies and natural resources.
[...]
There's
only one headline in town today, folks: "It Was Osama Wot Won It."
And
soon he'll expect pay-back. Well, he can't allow Bush to have his folks
whoopin' and a-hollerin' without his own getting a share of the fun,
can he?
Heck,
guys, I hope you're feeling proud today.
To
the tens of millions who voted for John Kerry, my commiserations.
To
the overwhelming majority of you who didn't, I simply ask: Have you
learnt nothing? Do you despise your own image that much?
Do
you care so little about the world beyond your shores? How could you
do this to yourselves?
How
appalling must one man's record at home and abroad be for you to reject
him?
[...]
America
has chosen a menacingly immature buffoon who likened the pursuit of
the 9/11 terrorists to a Wild West, Wanted Dead or Alive man-hunt and,
during the Afghanistan war, kept a baseball scorecard in his drawer,
notching up hits when news came through of enemy deaths.
A
RADICAL Christian fanatic who decided the world was made up of the forces
of good and evil, who invented a war on terror, and thus as author of
it, believed he had the right to set the rules of engagement.
[...]
You
have to feel sorry for the millions of Yanks in the big cities like
New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco
who voted to kick him out.
These
are the sophisticated side of the electorate who recognise a gibbon
when they see one.
As
for the ones who put him in, across the Bible Belt and the South, us
outsiders can only feel pity.
Were
I a Kerry voter, though, I'd feel deep anger, not only at them returning
Bush to power, but for allowing the outside world to lump us all into
the same category of moronic muppets.
The
self-righteous, gun-totin', military lovin', sister marryin', abortion-hatin',
gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport ownin' red-necks, who
believe God gave America the biggest dick in the world so it could urinate
on the rest of us and make their land "free and strong".
[...]
Today
is a sad day for the world, but it's even sadder for the millions of
intelligent Americans embarrassed by a gung-ho leader and backed by
a banal electorate, half of whom still believe Saddam Hussein was behind
9/11.
Yanks
had the chance to show the world a better way this week, instead they
made a thuggish cowboy ride off into the sunset bathed in glory.
And
in doing so it brought Armageddon that little bit closer and re-christened
their beloved nation The Home Of The Knave and the Land Of The Freak.
God
Help America.
Quick,
somebody fetch Brian a douchebag. Stat!
link
A
Californian swing voter speaks up
My
good friend Steve in Los Angeles is an interesting fellow. A Gore voter
in 2000, he regarded Dubya as little more than a spoiled buffoon. Like
many people, his priorities changed after September 11, 2001. On Monday
in his livejournal, he wrote this excellent piece:
Tomorrow
at 9:30am I will be in line to vote for George Bush as President of
the United States of America.
Through
out the day the people I have recruited, convinced or cajoled will be
doing the same, even though California is predicted to go for John Kerry.
You never know how many other people managed to convince someone to
cross party lines, or go from undecided to Bush.
I
have never voted Republican in a Presidential election. I voted against
George Bush in 2000.
Tomorrow
I will vote for him, because he is the right man to lead our war on
the Islamic jihad that has been declared against us. He is the right
man because he will make the tough choices. He is the right man because
he will not allow the corrupt and venal United Nations to stop us from
doing what is right. He is the right man because he sees that our former
allies, France, Germany and Russia have sold the collective souls of
their nations in pursuit of greed, graft and their fading influence
on the world stage.
As
a nation we will not go the way of Spain and surrender ourselves to
a leader who will try to purchase peace at any costs. John Kerry would
seek that peace and drag our country down, down, until the jahadis could
at last grasp our thoat and choke the life from us.
I
predict that we will not let terror rule us. Instead we will vote to
keep a man who has proven he will not give in to lies, fear and despair
Tomorrow
night I expect to see George Bush stand at a podium and declare that
as President he will stay the course. That as a nation we will promote
peace, democracy and freedom through out the world.
That
is how I will know that my vote counted.
Indeed.
link
USA!
USA! USA!
Some
people are not happy about Bush being re-elected:
-
Niall Cook is whinging:
It's
perverse. How any nation which calls itself democratic can operate under
such a fragmented and diverse electoral system defies rationality.
Like
all lefties, Niall considers any electoral system to be corrupt if the
wrong people get elected. Funny he'd even care, considering he'd criticised
EvilPundit for posting a pro-Bush
opinion:
The
above brought to you by an Australian, with no firm ties to the American
political scene, no personal experience of present day life in America,
no vested interest in the outcome of the US Presidential election, no
intimate knowledge of either of the proponents apart from what he reads,
in the doubtlessly Republican-biased media and clearly no understanding
of the potentials of either candidate winning.
Niall
will no doubt tell us about his own "firm ties to the American political
scene", his own "personal experience of present day life in
America", his own "vested interest in the outcome of the US
Presidential election" and his immense "intimate knowledge of
either of the proponents" that authorises him to spout his endless
juvenile gibberish about the USA.
-
The Islamic
Sydney folks aren't happy either:
omggggg
did bush win? no wayyyyyyyy i bet he tried anything to win. I doubt
it was an ethical election. I'm sure there must have been electoral
fraud involved.
Despite
all the efforts and campaign, Bush won and it somehow indicates the
social nexus of the American society. They are at their final stage
of social and moral nihilism, protected by constitutional dictatorship.
I
just can't stand Bush. And then seeing that smug look on his face when
he found himself winning The man is an evil kaffir, murderer, uuurrgghhhhhh
Hate him!!
He
is losin the battle in IRAQ and ironically UNITING MUSLIMS in the process
for ONCE ARABS TURKS and all muslims wanted KERRY!! NO lets use this
to unite the ummah and make the ISLAMIC STATES!!
-
I'm keen to see what Michael Moore will say in his next update. Here
was his last one:
I’ve
been getting early tracking results from across the country and things
are looking good – very good.
Looks
like this election has gone the same way as 'payback
Tuesday', eh Mikey?
-
As usual, the folks at the "your say" sections of the SMH and
The Age provide the best entertainment:
The
Americans have the right to vote for the leader they wish. Surely as
citizen of the world we have the right to vote for the 'Leader of the
Free World'. If that was the case then the outcome may have been different
Stupid
people behind picket fences and barbed wire fences voted for these stupid
leaders. Ban the likes of Howard and Bush from our big inner cities.
We didn't vote for them.
I
think they dont know how hated they are.They are known to be strong
with armies but can't admit anything that happens that they did worng.
White
supremacy is alive and well and the plebs want it that way. Watch Blair
get re-elected as well when the death toll in Iraq climbs to 150,000
or 200,000 and the middle east totally erupts in chaos. These three
fools and their stupid nations will say "see you have to re-elect
us 'cause only we can save you from this mess", except they have
created it and we in the great unwashed heartlands and so cruel and
selfish we refuse to see the "untermenschen", the under people.
It's a sad and shocking day when these two ride triumphalant over their
dumbed and dumber populations.
Its
a sad outcome for the world. Obviously Americans never saw "farenhiet
911".
U.S.Oil!
U.S.Oil! U.S.Oil!
The
majority of people in both these countries are amoral and ignorant,
features that are exacerbated by a subservient mass media which play
the tune of their paymasters. Stupidity, ignorance, apathy and amorality
never pay in the long-run...hence the bloodshed will continue in iraq
and elsewhere.
Opinions
are like arseholes, everyone has got one.. Just so happens Australia
and America re-elected ones to the top job!!
So
it was the Pentecostal and Born Again Christians who brought Howard
and Bush to power, it has nothing to do with popularity, but everything
to do with evangilism, and biggotry.
It
is the same situation as Australia. People are inherently selfish and
cannot see beyond themselves nor beyond the next day. They are easily
cowed and bow to mob rule.
Three
words: Stupid beyond belief.
Those
rednecks deserve the leader they got.
When
God and Corporate America stand shoulder to shoulder who could stand
in their way? But seriously folks, when you have a group of people a
large percentage of whom believe the planet was created in 7 days it
doesn't take a miracle for the Washington evaneglists to convince them
to come unto George.
If
more people listened to people like Arundhati Roy then perhaps they
might be able to break out of their four walls of ignorance. But unfortunately,
I can only assume that Bush and Howard voters have never heard of her.
And
the winner is.....He with the most damaging PROPAGANDA!!!!
Happy-Clappy
Christian hicks in middle America voted for the 'Holy War' in the Middle
East.
The
majority of Americans (and Australians, for that matter) have always
had a deep distrust of anyone displaying intelligence or education.
They want someone more like themselves - stupid.
Dumbocracy,
freedum, Truth, the AmeriKKKan way. You know you want it.
Bush
and Howard won because they were successful in brainwasing the majority
of people towards their sick view of the world. This was achieved using
private propoganda machines such as those run by murdoch and packer.
Over
half of Americans aren't free, they're trapped by there own ignorance.
The minority that understand that Iraq is more than a video game and
culture means more than red rooster, are surrounded by those idiots.
I've
come to the conclusion that Americans are just deeply insane.
The
majority of our two countries are brainwashed tv junkies.
Now
it's clear, the problem is not with any individual leader (be it Bush
or Kerry), but with the majority of the American people. They accept
Bush, and they should also accept whatever that comes with him.
who
would have lost if the whole world got to vote instead of a privileged
minority?
It
doesn't seemright that the safety and commonsense of the world can be
chosen by a small group of uneducated, mis-informed rednecks who probably
don't even have a passport and don't understand anything past the next
US state. Given the devastation casueed by Bush all that Howard has
succumbed to, it seems only fair that Australians be allowed tovote
in the US elections.
They
won through lying, fear mongering and let's face it, Americans have
never been known to be the sharpest tools in the shed.
The
US and Australia have essentially re-elected 2 war criminals. This is
the begining of the end for western civilisation
America
and Israel, have weapons of mass destruction; believe god is exlusively
on their side; are only in it for themselves. Why do we have doplomatic
relations with these monsters?
'Doplomatic'
relations? Heh.
link
A
question for my motorcyclist readers
I'm
looking for recommendation for my next set of sportsbike tyres. I don't
want full-on soft supersport tyres, but I don't like sports-touring ones
either. Here are the sportsbike tyres I've tried:
Metzeler
M1 Sportec
Pirelli Diablo
Bridgestone BT12/19
Michelin Pilot Sport
Michelin Pilot Power
The
Sportecs are my favourite out of this lot. Any other ideas?
link
2
November 2004
Oh
lord, please let this be true...
Yasser
Arafat may
have AIDS.
link
USA
election
I
hope Bush wins, if for no other reason than the lefties here and in Europe
will go utterly insane with rage. How delicious would that be?
link
Wonderful
News
The
following message has been posted on Joe
Vialls' website:
My
father Joe Vialls is seriously ill at present. If your
email contains critical intelligence, please resend in
three weeks time. If you email is only comment, please
do not send any more for three months. Thank you.
Critical
intelligence. Heh. Anyway, it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
I'm
half-hoping Joe recovers so we can read whatever nutjob theory he has
over his illness. I'll wager it'll be something like "North Korean
Zionist agents used plutonium cloud seeding to poison the crops which
make my cereal. They have done this to silence me, as they know I am the
only investigator brave enough to seek The Truth about the Worldwide Secret
Jewish Government".
link
Horsies
I
won $20 in the Melbourne Cup sweeps at work today (the horse I was assigned
came 3rd).
For
the 4th time since 1982, I actually picked the winner. Didn't bet on him
though.
Actually,
I couldn't give a fuck about horse racing, which ranks with basketball
& golf as the world's dullest sport. It's just an interesting once-a-year
exercise in trying to pick a winner.
link
A
convergence of idiots
The
Green Left Weekly is organising a protest
outside Parliament House on November 16 - — the day parliament opens.
According
to our idiot green friends, "This will be the first opportunity to
come together in a national protest against the newly elected Coalition
government."
I
love this. They're not protesting anything other than the fact the government
has been reelected in a free, democratic election. Unsurprisingly, Bob
Brown will be speaking at the event.
Hey
folks,
this isn't Cuba. In this country, people are actually free to ignore you
and vote for who they like. Now sod off back to Nimbin.
link
Delusional
Speaking
of greenie idiots, here's
another one.....
You've
heard the stories; you've seen the trailer, now demand to see it on
your local movie screen! Out-Foxed provides an in-depth look at the
dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's
right to know (<http://www.outfoxed.org>).
I
urge readers of Green Left Weekly to write to Hoyts, Village and other
smaller cinema chains demanding that Out-Foxed be shown. We live in
a democracy; we must not accept this blatant act of totalitarianism.
No matter what your political beliefs are, it is vital that our cinemas
remain open to diverse, informative movies including those which may
be considered controversial.
Together
we can make a difference.
Madeleine
Cahill
Dear
Madeline, the fact that a private company has no wish to lose money in
pandering to the minority viewing interests of a bunch of sad losers is
not "totalitarianism", it's called freedom of choice. Nobody
else has an obligation to spend their money on your loser-ass pastimes.
link
31
October 2004
Quote
of the day
"Fuck
you, Santa!"
-
The Sopranos
link
Unbelievable
There
are certain groups in the world which right now are working towards the
goal of wiping out a major American city with a nuclear bomb.
Given
this fact, isn't it a relief to see how the Department
of Homeland Security is spending its time?
Christ
almighty....
link
Happy
Happy, Joy Joy!!
A
happy birthday to my friend and uberchick Cantinera.
Cantinera
always wants lots of mail to tell her how much she rocks. Send some to
me at tex <at> whackingday.com and
I'll forward it to her.
link
Hamas
Me
and my transexual pigs (Ummah and Osama) were doing some quiet web-browsing
when we happened upon the friendly, helpful website of Hamas
Online. My weekend is complete.
I
was rather impressed with their collection of touching
poetry. I really liked the "Mohammed-al-Durra" effort...
Sitting
like captives in their own land,
Neither a stone nor a gun in their hand.
Barbaric zionist aimed and pleasure sought,
Pulling the trigger, aiming at the child, shot.
The
bullet hit the father’s protecting arm,
The blood poured forth, red and warm.
A zionist soldier with a heart of stone,
Fired, ripping the father’s pelvic bone.
The
next shot hit the child’s abdomen,
He slumped dying in arms of his dad.
‘Save me, save me, for love of Allah,’
‘They don’t’ shoot children,’ you said.
The
child lay splashed in blood, dead,
From his ripped guts he had bled.
‘From his blood will a new Nation rise and stand,’
The mother wailed, ‘My son’s death is life for our land.’
I
guess no one told them that Mohammed-al-Durra was actually murdered
by Palestinians. Not that truth and the Palestinian cause ever have
much to do with one another.
Anyway,
enough of that, let's go back to see what else the child-murdering Hamas
monkeys have to offer. Hey, how about a martyrdom
poem?
Dear
mothers, have courage as we hurl our stones!
Dear mothers, have patience when our bodies come home!”
With
rocks in their hands and Jihad on their lips,
Our youth are defending Al-Aqsa Masjid
With
their blood, and their lives as supreme sacrifice!
May Allah welcome them in the highest Paradise!
Nice.
Enough poetry, how about a look at the Hamas
Covenant?
The
Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an
Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement
Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part
of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all
Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and
presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian
or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf
land consecrated for Muslim generations until Judgement Day.
Well,
according to lots of enlightened leftists, this actually means that these
fellas want to co-exist with Jews. Oddly, the Hamas boys don't seem too
keen on peace conferences and such...
There
is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. The initiatives,
proposals and International Conferences are but a waste of time, an
exercise in futility.
And
there's a lot of Zionist conspiracies...
The
Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion. It does not refrain from resorting
to all methods, using all evil and despicable and repulsive ways to
achieve its desires. It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage
operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the
Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. All
these organizations, whether secret or open, work in the interest of
Zionism and according to its instructions. They aim at undermining societies,
destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and
annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all
its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion.
Mmmm...OK.
But no fear, Hamas assures us their motives are benign:
Hamas
is a humane movement, which cares for human rights and is committed
to the tolerance inherent in Islam as regards attitudes towards other
religions. It is only hostile to those who are hostile towards it, or
stand in its way in order to disturb its moves or to frustrate its efforts.
Elsewhere,
there's an
interview with the late, unlamented, and thoroughly BBQ'd
Dr. Abdel Aziz Al Rantisi:
Firstly,
this is the custom of the Jews, for they are the killers of prophets,
and the killers of the preachers who enjoin justice. Their criminal
nature will never change.
How
dare the Israelis build a wall to seperate themselves from these people!
If
only those bastard Jews would let themselves be slaughtered by the pack
of homicidal chimpanzees, all the problems in the Middle East would be
solved.
(Update:
I wish to apologise for my language: I mean no insult against monkeys
and chimpanzees)
link
Scooter!
Yesterday,
for the first time, I rode the legendary Vespa Scooter. The GT200 four-stroke
model to be exact.
Jumping
from a regular motorcycle to an automatic scooter requires a considerable
mental adjustment. Bloody fun though. This sucker might be the perfect
urban commuter, and is a great machine for learners.
You
need to ride a scooter very differently to a regular bike.....
-
there's no clutch, so the bike never stalls and you never change gear.
You just twist the throttle and the bike moves.
-
there are no foot controls. The left handlebar lever used used to control
to rear brake instead of your right foot, and of course you no longer
change gears with your left foot.
-
the automatic transmission means there is little engine braking, which
requires a very different corner entry technique.
For
the first few minutes, I was all at sea. Going into corners, my right
foot kept moving to activate the non-existent foot brake. I kept thinking
the bike was going to stall as the revs dropped, and rather than kicking
down a few gears, rolling off the throttle, and using a bit of brake to
go around a corner, I had to use the brakes alone to slow me down.
Thankfully,
the little disc brakes are excellent and are more than up to the task.
Once I got used to it, the Vespa put a big smile on my face. It's very
comfy, the engine is terrific (easily up to the task of highway cruising),
it's very easy to steer and it looks fantastic. Ironically, a learner
would probably get to grips with a scooter quicker than an experienced
motorcyclist.
There
are few more practical city vehicles than the Vespa, despite its $8400
on-the-road pricetag. First, fuel economy is phenomenal (my guess would
be around 30km/l), registration and insurance costs are low, as are servicing
costs. The tyres will last until The Resurrection, you'll never, ever
have a problem finding a place to park, and the engine has enough grunt
to take a pillion passenger on the back.
Cost
of ownership and the fun factor aren't the only strengths of his great
little machine. There's tons of storage space under the seat and in the
glovebox underneath the handlebars, both of which are lockable. Which
means there's space to store the groceries, and there's a place to store
your riding jacket & gloves when you're off the bike, which is especially
a blessing during hot weather. Carrying riding gear & luggage around
during summer shopping duties is not fun.
The
one glaring flaw is that the under-seat storage will not take a full-face
helmet. You'll need to buy the optional accessory topbox for that, though
I'd advise doing that anyway as it's very handy.
When
it comes to cheap, enjoyable transport, the mighty Vespa is hard to beat.
link
Schadenfreude
I
love watching lefties agonize over the election results. Here's "Serge"
from aus.politics pining
for his Labor heroes. After posting bunch of reviews about the new
book on Paul Keating, he waxes lyrical...
(nostalgic
sigh!)
God!
How I miss him.
The
Luminous Intelligence, the Language, the Wit, the Vision, the Engagement.
A
time when our international standing was never higher. A time when our
Parliament was a joy to listen to.
What
have we got now?
The
very antithesis of the above. A joke. A man who continuous to be a source
of cringing embarrassment to this country.
God!
Why can't the Liberals ever find men with the stature of a Keating,
Hawke, or Whitlam. Names that strike a cord in the Australian psyche
whenever they are invoked.
Can
anyone recall any Liberal Party Prime Minister apart from that dull-witted
fool Menzies?
No!
of course not
Why
are their leaders always so damn grey, dull, inward looking and bloody
pathetic.
Ah!
To return to the halcyon days of Australian politics.
Serge.
Yeah.
Keating was so visionary and luminous he was voted out in a landslide.
With
true believers like this, is it any wonder Labor has lost 4 elections
in a row?
link
Dopey
as ever
As
I expected, my statement of fact
a few days ago has made serial dimwit Niall
Cook rather cranky:
Either
Smoking Too Much Or Simply Deluded
Here's
an absolute classic from that den of dumb-dumbs.....Canberra. One wonders.....has
Tex not heard of the Roman Empire, The Ottoman Empire, Pharonic Egypt,
The Soviet Union, The Third Reich, The Mongols, Huns, Franks.....ad
infinitum? I recall Adolph Hitler foretold his personal empire would
last 1000 years. Time to change your preferred weed, Tex.
One
could point out to Niall that none of those empires were free democratic
capitalist societies, but I doubt he'd understand the relevance of that.
Dictatorships, commie suckholes and absolute monarchies eventually decay,
but the capitalist-democratic engine makes the USA more powerful as time
goes on. Nor is the USA an "empire" - there are no vast spaces
America is trying to permanently hold.
It's
not going to be taken down from the inside, and there certainly isn't
anyone outside America capable of defeating them.
He's
right about one thing though: Canberra is a den of dumb-dumbs...
it's full of people like Niall Cook. No wonder it's a safe Labor seat.
link
There's
an exception to every rule....
I
have a theory which makes a lot of people very upset: old
movies suck.
The
actors sucked (sorry, but Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant and John Wayne couldn't
act their way out of a shithouse), the scripts sucked (modern daytime
soaps have better dialogue) and they had the most godawful musical scores
imaginable.
I
think the oldest movie I've ever liked was Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry
Men with Henry Fonda. Other than that, anything made before the sixties
is like a trip through hell for me.
So
it was a rather big suprise to see an old classic on DVD which I not only
enjoyed, but loved.
 Roman
Holiday, made in 1953 with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn is everything
50's movies aren't: well-written & well-acted, beautifully made, with
clever, economical dialogue and wonderful, restrained direction.
There
was no 50's histronic cheesy dialogue, very little of that excruciating
'old movie music', and it has one of the best bittersweet final scenes
I've yet seen.
The
plot: Anne (Hepburn), a spoiled Princess of some ficticious European country,
runs away from her entourage during a tour of Rome, and winds up crashing
at the home of second-rate journalist Joe Bradley (Peck), who only discovers
her identity when he sees her picture in a newspaper. They basically hang
out together in Rome with Joe's photogrpaher pal Irv (Eddie Albert), who
secretly takes pictures so that they both can get the press scoop of the
century.
Anyone
who has ever watched romantic comedies can probably guess how the rest
of this gem of a movie develops. It's sweet rather than sappy, often very
funny, has a few wonderful Italian character actors and the Roman locations
are terrific.
Oh,
it also has the best-ever appearance of a Vespa scooter in movie history.
Check
it out. This film got to me. It'll get to you too.
link
A
complete retraction
A
while back I raved about a small local Chinese restaurant, The Oriental
Express, saying it was the equal of any Chinese cuisine anywhere in the
world.
A
while later, I expressed my disappointment that the restaurant has changed
owners and chef, and their version of a particular dish wasn't as good
as before.
I
really must have had my head up my arse.
Subsequent
visits to The Oriental Express have seen me experience Chinese & Malaysian
cuisine as good as any food on earth. On the last visit I consumed a dish
of Sambal Chicken with Roti Cannai bread. I think I nearly creamed my
pants gulping this stuff down. It was food worthy of the gods. The Chili
Plum Beef ordered by my friend was equally sublime.
The
owner & chef - Robert Wong - may be the friendliest restauranteur
in the Southern Hemisphere. We always get a enthusiastic greeting and
he'll happily talk for ages about various kinds of dishes.
If
you're in Canberra and you want some seriously kickin' cuisine in a small,
quiet establishment, you simply must give this place a try.
link
29
October 2004
...and
the Julius Streicher Award goes to...
.....Daily
Mirror columnist and George Galloway wannabe Paul
Routledge:
 YASSER
Arafat, the Palestinian president, appears to be at death's door. Not
surprising, really. He's 75 and he has been under house arrest for the
past two years. If he stepped outside his front door, an Israeli sniper
would shoot him.
A
lesser man would have given up the ghost long ago. Something must keep
him going. That something is the great wrong done to his people, and
his lifelong mission to put it right.
I
salute the courage of Yasser Arafat and the dogged determination of
his people. They will outlive the hatred of the Israelis and the criminal
indifference of their Yankee paymasters.
Hmmmm,
maybe we can ask these
people to testify to Yasser's great 'courage'.
You
can help Paul in his hour of gloom by sending him an e-mail here
or here. Here's the one I just
wrote to the fat cunt:
Dear
Paul,
Thank
you for your touching tribute to mass-murderer and psychopath Yasser
Arafat.
Perhaps
you can elaborate on some of his more "courageous" acts. Such
as his
brave massacre of 21 filthy Zionist children at Maalot High School.
This
brilliant approach continues to this day, where young arab men are sent
to blow themselves up so that the world may be rid of stinky Jewish
restaurant patrons, bus passengers, schoolchildren, babies and university
students.
Why,
there's no end to the fun variety of ways old Yasser has helped to "right
the wrongs" against his people....
Hey,
didya hear the funny story about the lads who fired an artillery shell
into a schoolbus at Gush Katif. Good thing too, they were probably on
their way to collect cheques from their 'American Paymasters'.
...or
the great bloke who steered a bus into a crowd of Jews at Azor junction?
That got eight of the bastards!
....or
that party animal who went out with a bang at a Tel Aviv discotheque,
disposing of 21 young future Zionist oppressors?
We
have one man to thank for all this joyous mayhem. Where would we be
without Yasser to take the fight to those big-nosed bastards?
You
have ignored many of Yasser's achievments though, especially in the
educational field, where international aid money has been spent to translate
'Mein Kampf' and 'Protocols Of The Elders of Zion' into the local lingo.
All to
aid child literacy rates you understand.
Maybe
he can get the kiddies to read the PLO charter. There's some dynamite
stuff in there about the destruction of Israel and exterminating the
Jews.
I
wish you goodday sir. Keep your chin up. Yasser will surely not yet
abandon a world so clearly overrun with Zionists.
Regards,
Tex
Please
send him your regards as well. Poor fellow must be so glum right now.
link
Self-praise
I'm
on a roll right now. I'm the best fuckin' blogger in the world, and I'll
kick your sorry monkey-bitch ass if you say otherwise.
link
I'm
sure you've all been waiting for this one
Extreme
Pumpkins!!
Thanks
to DC Jensen for the link.
link
A
very brief movie review
Easy
Rider was a piece of shit. The only people who like it are commies,
ageing druggies and film-school students. Bunch of fucking cock-knocker
losers. Go watch some real movies you sad bastards.
link
Very
brief blogverse opinion
Who
bloody cares who Andrew Sullivan endorses?
link
A
message to all my lefty readers
The
existence of the United States of America is the greatest thing
to happen to the human race since the Magna Carta got signed.
It
is a simple, unarguable fact. Period.
That
nation will never be conquered or beaten.
They
will destroy their enemies.
They
will forever be the world's dominant superpower.
There
will be no worldwide socialist revolution.
American
democratic capitalism is here to stay.
You
know it's true.
And
there is nothing you can do about it.
Good
night.
link
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