Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Happy Boy
Don't want to jinx things BUT......
Old Chuckles here has slept through the night. Twice.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Old Chuckles here has slept through the night. Twice.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
If you're ever in town...
...be sure to:
http://www.gondolasontheswan.com/index.html
Dine with the Clydesdales.
Party on a pontoon.
Have a date on a gondola.
http://www.gondolasontheswan.com/index.html
Bloody great. Mate.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Honey, I froze the digits
Because we are responsible parents, not only did we take out a scholarship for Cameron's education when he was 3 months old, but we recently also attended a First Aid course (aimed at Infant First Aid). Are you impressed???!! We are!
We learned the basic Dr ABC (Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, CPR), how to perform CPR on babies (DO NOT TILT THEIR HEADS, 2 breaths over nose AND mouth and only 2 fingers just below nipples on chest for 30 VERY quick compressions and then start again) and also what to do if he chokes on some junk you've left lying around:
We learned the basic Dr ABC (Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, CPR), how to perform CPR on babies (DO NOT TILT THEIR HEADS, 2 breaths over nose AND mouth and only 2 fingers just below nipples on chest for 30 VERY quick compressions and then start again) and also what to do if he chokes on some junk you've left lying around:
Lay baby downwards on your forearm and using the heel of your hand, give her a firm back blow between the shoulder blades. Give up to five back blows and check between each blow to see if the blockage has relieved. Clear the blockage from baby’s mouth with your little finger.
If the blockage hasn’t cleared, lay baby on her back, place two fingers in the centre of her chest and give her up to five chest thrusts. Check to see if the blockage has cleared between each chest thrust.
If baby is still choking, check to see that 000 has been called and alternate five back blows and five chest thrusts until emergency help arrives. If at any point baby becomes unconscious, commence CPR.
Whacks on backs also recommended for adults choking. The Heimlich is not "endorsed" here. Apparently too much damage can be done to other organs in the process.
You should train your child to always come and tell you when they've hurt themselves (especially with bumps to the head!!). These BumpBuddy Cold Packs you get are cute. (Just make sure they're not filled with anti-freeze: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/second-recall-of-toxic-ice-packs-after-poisoning/2008/09/21/1221935450285.html ) They can be encouraged to come fetch their "bump buddy" as an incentive.
And, people...if your little darling slams his hand in the door and loses the tips of his fingers...scoop 'em up but DON'T put them on ice. Put them bits in a Zip Lock submerged in cold water coz apparently (God, don't sue me!) according to the guy who gave us the course(!) if they freeze the cells die/expand whatever and then they can't be reattached....
Snake/spider bites = tight bandage all the way up the extremity. Shake out clothes and bedlinen before use incase of red back or white tail spiders.
Not matter what country you're in, 112 on your mobile will work to dial the emergency switchboard. If you're in a Banana Republic, well that's your own fault. You can dial it even if your phone is flat.
And of course there was more (3 hours of a Saturday afternoon.. Let's hope we just have to deal with lots of skinned knees...touching wood, here.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pump of the Day
Here in Australia, petrol prices vary from garage to garage. Yip, you don't pay the same price at every petrol station. I think it's called "Competition".
They advertise the cheapest stations of the day on the radio and telly but now there's a new Gadget from Google that let's us search for the cheapest pump prices of the day. The Google "Petrol Price Tracker".
Now, if it's 12 km's away and you couldn't give a toss, you're not going to use it are you? But you can enter your postcode and search for the cheapest price in your vacinity.
Australia tops prosperity index
October 14, 2008 10:13pm
Article from: AAP
AUSTRALIA has topped the rankings in a prosperity index of more than 100 countries, with its quality of life and economic strength pushing it into number one spot.
The Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index of 104 nations measures the material health of a country, including wealth, quality of life and life satisfaction.
Australia has topped the 2008 index, ahead of Austria and Finland in that order.
The Dubai-based investment group said Australia bettered other countries because of its strong economic performance, governance and high quality of life.
''(Australia) has reinvented itself as a wealthy, service-oriented economy with good scores on liveability indicators, including health, charitable giving and effective governance,'' Legatum said.
"Strong norms or civic participation, robust health, and plenty of leisure time contribute to the high liveability ranking.''
October 14, 2008 10:13pm
Article from: AAP
AUSTRALIA has topped the rankings in a prosperity index of more than 100 countries, with its quality of life and economic strength pushing it into number one spot.
The Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index of 104 nations measures the material health of a country, including wealth, quality of life and life satisfaction.
Australia has topped the 2008 index, ahead of Austria and Finland in that order.
The Dubai-based investment group said Australia bettered other countries because of its strong economic performance, governance and high quality of life.
''(Australia) has reinvented itself as a wealthy, service-oriented economy with good scores on liveability indicators, including health, charitable giving and effective governance,'' Legatum said.
"Strong norms or civic participation, robust health, and plenty of leisure time contribute to the high liveability ranking.''
While Asian powerhouses Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong scored well economically, their livability dragged down their performance.
Vice president of the institute, Dr William Inboden, said Australia had the fundamentals right.
"True prosperity consists of more than money - it also includes happiness, health and liberty,'' he said.
"The Prosperity Index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment.
"The Australian government earns high scores on corruption control and overall effectiveness, supporting the country's quality of life in many areas.
"Strong civic participation by Australian citizens furthermore contributes to the high levels of life satisfaction.''
Bottom of the list was Yemen, with Zambia and Zimbabwe not faring much better.
The financial crisis-racked United States was rated equal fourth, alongside Germany and Singapore.
Vice president of the institute, Dr William Inboden, said Australia had the fundamentals right.
"True prosperity consists of more than money - it also includes happiness, health and liberty,'' he said.
"The Prosperity Index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment.
"The Australian government earns high scores on corruption control and overall effectiveness, supporting the country's quality of life in many areas.
"Strong civic participation by Australian citizens furthermore contributes to the high levels of life satisfaction.''
Bottom of the list was Yemen, with Zambia and Zimbabwe not faring much better.
The financial crisis-racked United States was rated equal fourth, alongside Germany and Singapore.
Click here to see the list of countries. Remember: green = good, yellow = not so good and red = bad. South Africa = 38.
http://www.prosperity.com/ranking.aspx
http://www.prosperity.com/downloads/2008LegatumPItable.pdf
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Crazy Bird
Did I mention that the other day that, whilst out walking the mutts, I was dive bombed repeatedly by a crazy Magpie. It was bloody nerve wracking and must have been hilarious to watch Lady With Pram going in circles trying to escape the crazy bird. Luckily the baby was not aware of my panic and I found a branch on the pavement to beat it off with.Well turns out I had a lucky escape.
Magpie which attacked girl may be destroyed
ABC - October 15, 2008, 8:16 am
ABC ©
The Department of Environment and Conservation is considering destroying a magpie that attacked a six-year-old girl near Mandurah.
Maddison Hall was riding her bike at a park in Erskine when the magpie pecked one of her eyes.
She is being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital and may have lost her sight in that eye.
The Department's Peter Lambert says officers should be able to find the bird.
"If we go through with that, with the destruction of the bird, it would probably we would be relying on the animal control agent to do that and probably a senior member of the family involved to go down their and point out, or show him the location this attack took place," he said.
He says there are a number of things people can do to avoid being injured by magpies.
"People walking or cycling in that area wear a broad brimmed hat," he said.
"Wear eye protective equipment, don't look up, assume a confident stance."
The Department of Environment and Conservation is considering destroying a magpie that attacked a six-year-old girl near Mandurah.
Maddison Hall was riding her bike at a park in Erskine when the magpie pecked one of her eyes.
She is being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital and may have lost her sight in that eye.
The Department's Peter Lambert says officers should be able to find the bird.
"If we go through with that, with the destruction of the bird, it would probably we would be relying on the animal control agent to do that and probably a senior member of the family involved to go down their and point out, or show him the location this attack took place," he said.
He says there are a number of things people can do to avoid being injured by magpies.
"People walking or cycling in that area wear a broad brimmed hat," he said.
"Wear eye protective equipment, don't look up, assume a confident stance."
Turns out they do this for 3-4 weeks out of the year when nesting. So, the crazy bird was only protecting her young. I suppose if hard pressed I'd "*clack my bills" to protect my young too.
* See here about Magpie Attacks
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
6 months old today.
Our darling Cameron came into the world weighing a very scrawny 2.8 kg's on April 14th, 2008. 6 months ago. Time has gone neither quickly, nor slowly. We just love every minute of every day we have our baby boy with us.
He's learning to eat, to sit and lately to fall asleep on is own...(SLOWLY!!) He's now about 9 kg's so has moved from the 10th weight percentile for his age group to the 90th!!
What he has mastered is being cute and wrapping us around his little chubby pinkies.
We love & adore him just to bits. (Incase you hadn't noticed!)
Can't wait for the next 6 months and the adventures he'll have growing into a big boy.
Happy 6 months baby boy.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
World's Most Livable Cities
Liveability ranking
The World's Most Livable Cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on a reputable annual survey of living conditions. The two best-known are the Mercer Quality of Living Survey and The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities.
With low crime, little threat from instability or terrorism and a highly developed transport and communications infrastructure, Canada and Australia are home to the most liveable destinations in the world. Four of the ten most liveable cities surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit are in Australia, and two of the top five are Canadian (see full report). Vancouver is the most attractive destination, with a liveability index of just 1.3% (see table).
Quality of Life Survey
Mercer's Quality of Life Survey is released annually, comparing 215 cities based on 39 criteria. New York is given a score of 100 and other cities are rated in comparison.
Important criteria are safety, education, hygiene, recreation, political-economic stability and public transportation. The importance of the list lies primarily in that internationally operating companies use it to determine where they will open offices or plants and how much they pay the employees.
In the 2008 list, the top is dominated by cities from Europe, with several entries from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Switzerland and Germany both have 3 cities in the top 10, which is especially striking for Switzerland, given the size of the country. The first entries from other countries are the USA at 28, Singapore at 32 and Japan at 35. In the top 50, there are no other countries listed. Bagdad was at the bottom of the list. Of the 25 countries at the bottom, 18 are from Africa. Compared to lists from previous years, countries from South Asia (mainly India), East Asia (mainly China), the Middle East and Eastern Europe are clearly on the rise.
Mercer also has a 'Personal Safety' list, which is also dominated by EU and Swiss cities, with the top 5 being Luxembourg, Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich.
In the 2007 Mercer Quality of Life Survey the top five places included Zurich on 108.1 points, Geneva (108.0), Vancouver and Vienna on 107.7 points, Auckland on 107.3 and Dusseldorf on 107.2. Cities particularly from Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada rated well. All of Australia's major capitals were rated highly with Sydney at 9, Melbourne at 17, Perth at 21, Adelaide at 30 and Brisbane at 31. New Zealand's capital Wellington ranked at 12 and it's largest city Auckland ranked at 5. Canada did equally as well with Vancouver at 3, Toronto at 15, Ottawa at 18, Montreal 22 and Calgary at 24. at The top-rated USA cities were Honolulu at 27 and San Francisco at 29.
World's Most Livable Cities
The Economist Intelligence Unit's livability shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria and Switzerland as the most ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The report placed Vancouver, Canada as the most livable city in the world, with Melbourne, Australia taking second place followed by Vienna. The survey said "In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism." [1]
Australia's other major cities (Perth at 4, Adelaide at 7 and Sydney at 9) claimed positions in the top ten. Other Canadian cities also ranked highly in the survey. In addition to Vancouver, the Canadian cities Toronto and Calgary were all placed within the top 10, with Ottawa and Edmonton ranked within the top 25. Vienna, Austria, and Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland also ranked within the top ten.
Harare, Zimbabwe was rated the worst city in the world to call home. African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern cities were generally the worst performing in the EIU's rankings.
Source=Wikipedia
The World's Most Livable Cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on a reputable annual survey of living conditions. The two best-known are the Mercer Quality of Living Survey and The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities.
With low crime, little threat from instability or terrorism and a highly developed transport and communications infrastructure, Canada and Australia are home to the most liveable destinations in the world. Four of the ten most liveable cities surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit are in Australia, and two of the top five are Canadian (see full report). Vancouver is the most attractive destination, with a liveability index of just 1.3% (see table).
Quality of Life Survey
Mercer's Quality of Life Survey is released annually, comparing 215 cities based on 39 criteria. New York is given a score of 100 and other cities are rated in comparison.
Important criteria are safety, education, hygiene, recreation, political-economic stability and public transportation. The importance of the list lies primarily in that internationally operating companies use it to determine where they will open offices or plants and how much they pay the employees.
In the 2008 list, the top is dominated by cities from Europe, with several entries from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Switzerland and Germany both have 3 cities in the top 10, which is especially striking for Switzerland, given the size of the country. The first entries from other countries are the USA at 28, Singapore at 32 and Japan at 35. In the top 50, there are no other countries listed. Bagdad was at the bottom of the list. Of the 25 countries at the bottom, 18 are from Africa. Compared to lists from previous years, countries from South Asia (mainly India), East Asia (mainly China), the Middle East and Eastern Europe are clearly on the rise.
Mercer also has a 'Personal Safety' list, which is also dominated by EU and Swiss cities, with the top 5 being Luxembourg, Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich.
In the 2007 Mercer Quality of Life Survey the top five places included Zurich on 108.1 points, Geneva (108.0), Vancouver and Vienna on 107.7 points, Auckland on 107.3 and Dusseldorf on 107.2. Cities particularly from Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada rated well. All of Australia's major capitals were rated highly with Sydney at 9, Melbourne at 17, Perth at 21, Adelaide at 30 and Brisbane at 31. New Zealand's capital Wellington ranked at 12 and it's largest city Auckland ranked at 5. Canada did equally as well with Vancouver at 3, Toronto at 15, Ottawa at 18, Montreal 22 and Calgary at 24. at The top-rated USA cities were Honolulu at 27 and San Francisco at 29.
World's Most Livable Cities
The Economist Intelligence Unit's livability shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria and Switzerland as the most ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The report placed Vancouver, Canada as the most livable city in the world, with Melbourne, Australia taking second place followed by Vienna. The survey said "In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism." [1]
Australia's other major cities (Perth at 4, Adelaide at 7 and Sydney at 9) claimed positions in the top ten. Other Canadian cities also ranked highly in the survey. In addition to Vancouver, the Canadian cities Toronto and Calgary were all placed within the top 10, with Ottawa and Edmonton ranked within the top 25. Vienna, Austria, and Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland also ranked within the top ten.
Harare, Zimbabwe was rated the worst city in the world to call home. African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern cities were generally the worst performing in the EIU's rankings.
Source=Wikipedia
The Inaugural Grand Mascot Race
"The race that stopped creation
Close your eyes for a moment and just imagine all of Perth's best known and most loved mascots, each one in their own lane, ready to race.
Well, no need to imagine anymore, as Mix 94.5 brought you the race that stopped creation and brought the city to a stand still. Make sure to watch the race and let us know what you thought of the big day."
Close your eyes for a moment and just imagine all of Perth's best known and most loved mascots, each one in their own lane, ready to race.
Well, no need to imagine anymore, as Mix 94.5 brought you the race that stopped creation and brought the city to a stand still. Make sure to watch the race and let us know what you thought of the big day."
Friday, October 3, 2008
The neighbourhood Bunny passing by.
(Which does so excite the neighbourhood Scottish Terriers who escaped this week and gave their owners heartattacks and aged them by about 20 years.)
And the neighbourhood cherub. Who gives his owners nothing but joy and delight! (And the sleepness nights are probably aging them too, but they don't mind!!)
And the neighbourhood Tigger.
(Which does so excite the neighbourhood Scottish Terriers who escaped this week and gave their owners heartattacks and aged them by about 20 years.)
And the neighbourhood cherub. Who gives his owners nothing but joy and delight! (And the sleepness nights are probably aging them too, but they don't mind!!)
And the neighbourhood Tigger.
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