Mixie

We said goodbye to our thirteen year-old blue heeler the other day.

She had lost the use of her hind quarters and was living a miserable existence.

so there wasn't a better option, but it was still a difficult decision.

She was actually my son's dog, but after he moved to big city accommodation, she was adopted by my bride and I because we have a big backyard, and time to provide plenty of stimulation.

She chummed up rapidly with our other dog (a Cardigan Coolie) once a clear pecking order had been established.

She was always top dog, and spent her time disciplining the other pup, and making her feelings about his delight in playing "fetch" abundantly clear. She could see no point in his fetching a ball, which would immediately be thrown again. To her it made no sense at all.

She would bark loudly, and if he wanted to play that pointless game, and the dogs had to be separated to maintain any sense of peace.

When a young dog, she showed an amazing capacity to climb. She would climb trees and fences, providing there was a purpose, usually, chasing possums or birds.

She also loved to walk, and after a short period of training became very manageable on a leash.

She also learned a few basic commands, but would ignore them if there was something interesting going on.

Heelers are loyal, but need a purpose, a job to do.

For Mixie, it was always disciplining the other dog, and making sure he wasn't wasting his time in silly games. Having said that, she always enjoyed play fighting, and even in her declining years, would always get the better of him.

She never hurt him, and would tumble him over, stand back until he's regained his feet, and repeat the exercise until one or both dogs would tire of the game.

Thinking about it, she was one of three Heelers we've owned, and those years of happy companionship became decades for our family.

She always needed a job to do, a characteristic of Heelers. 

She was the third Heeler. our family has owned.

 

The Stranger's Case

The immigration issue is front and centre in the Australian media, both social and legacy, at the moment.

There's an irony in the historical fact that our original settlers were outcasts, strangers, and people the British deported as criminals, at the same time as some are calling for deportation of "undesirables". Originally, the raison d'etre of our nation began with solving a problem of "undesirables".

Some of the posts on social media expose a deep seated fear of the "other", the "stranger". 

I look back on my lived experience, gentle reader, and remember how the presence of the "other", the stranger, influenced my attitudes and values.

I have an early memory of my mother giving a pair of my shoes to an aboriginal lad of my age when she was his teacher. The school was in central Queensland, and the bitumen road used to burn his feet when he walked to school. I wasn't happy, because they were my "good" shoes, and I was very proud of them, but understood in my child's mind, her motive.

Mum's values of compassion have been passed on to me and my five siblings.

When I was posted to an infantry unit (7 RAR) in 1969, I ended up in a rifle section which included a West Indian corporal who was our boss, and many of the platoon members  would be regarded by some as "others".

They included a bloke who was Polish, born in Berlin of refugee parents, a British migrant who was unlucky enough to be in Australia when he turned twenty, and was thus included in the national service lottery draw, a Sri Lankan with a Scottish name, a Murri from Central Australia, and a Bundjalung man from NSW. 

I remember at Canungra when we were practicing contact drills and shouting orders, that one of the Canungra staff observed "These blokes need an interpreter".

Nevertheless, we worked well as a unit, and were consequential in 5 platoon winning the best platoon competition.

During my working life I taught in special schools, and ran five of them at different stages. I remember a very effective Asian Occupational Therapist, and staff from all over the globe. 

Later, in a regional management position in remote North West Queensland, I was the only non-Aboriginal person on a NATSIEP* committee, and spent hours travelling and working with the committee, many of whom were members of then stolen generation.

So when I hear some of the bile directed at migrants ("others") it makes me wonder what these people fear.

Perhaps we have to go back to the immortal bard to understand where this bile is coming from. Sir Ian McKellen appeared on Stephen Colbert's Late show in February this year, and read a piece written by Shakespeare in 1593.

This 400 year-old piece puts it very clearly. It's worth a watch and a listen. 

*National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' Education Programme

Kerry O'Brien's Thea Astley Address

 

Image Courtesy The Echo

Kerry O'Brien's Thea Astley address at the Byron Bay's writer's festival on Saturday 15th August is a pretty good diagnosis of what ails our country in 2026.

His address is introduced by Richard Flanagan and is described ain the official programme thus  - "In lessons from history Kerry traces traces the two revolutions that have shaped the perfect storm we now find ourselves in - the digital tsunami and neoliberalism - that have seriously undermined the democracy we've taken for granted since federation". 

He's not wrong.

You can read extracts from the address here published in the Echo, but I'll take a few quotes to give you idea of what he's on about, in case you don't have the time to listen to the whole address which takes about an hour.

He covered both neoliberalism and digitisation, describing the first of these two as "The ideology that has driven and coerced government as we once knew it to make itself smaller, privatise its services, nobble the trade unions - which have been one of humanity's great civilising forces - and cede the dominant role in determining the kind of society we want to be to the free market and the alleged freedom of the individual, rather than the imperative of the common good".

He described the social media phenomenon that has developed on the back of digitisation as "rapid, personalised, global, more accessible, largely ungoverned, and is far more widely opened to toxic manipulation and the perpetration of evil".

He's nailed it; as he always did as a working journalist.

Busting the Net Zero Myth

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Every day, gentle reader, we are bombarded through the media with stories about energy costs, and how they are entirely the fault of the current government.

It's worth looking at the recent history to try to understand the reasons for price increases and to attempt to analyse exactly what has happened.

Australian energy costs began to rise as far back as 2015 when the east coast gas market opened up for large scale international exports which tied local east coast prices to global markets. These global markets price gas much higher internationally, and hence the vast gap between east coast and west coast prices as illustrated below.

In 2022 the prices of electricity and gas spiked dramatically. Some reasons for this were developments in the international situation, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global supply chain issues. Locally, wholesale generation costs rose by as much as 140% in early 2022. Outages in aging local coal generators also contributed to costs. When a plant fails without warning, a large block of power can be removed from the grid, and the market reacts by pricing upwards accordingly.

Over 60% of Australia's coal fired generators are more than 40 years old. Metal pipes and turbines crack and wear out after 40 years.

The Coalition's claim that Net Zero is responsible for energy price rises is not substantiated by the facts. 

It has more likely had the opposite effect, as shown by recent CSIRO reports. Wind and solar are the cheapest forms of new power generation. 

But it's worth going back a little further in our history. Much of the energy generation and retailing industry was privatised in two waves, the first in the mid to late 1990s, and the second between 2010 and 2015.

Privatisation was supposed to provide greater efficiency, and the assumption that this would lead to cheaper electricity was made in the process of selling it to the voter. It hasn't. So what was the point of it in the first place?  

It hasn't had that effect in the UK.

The Difference Between Arson and a Barbecue

 

Pic courtesy Holocaust Encyclopedia

No doubt, gentle reader, if you are interested at all in local (Australian) politics, you're across the controversy about Pauline Hanson's appeal against her conviction for a breach of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975. That law makes it unlawful to act in public in a manner that is reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person or group based on their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.

There's no doubt that she is in breach of that law. It's only necessary to read what she posted on X (formerly Twitter) in September 2022 telling Senator Faruqi to "pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan".

That evidence is clear, as is the likelihood that those words were designed to offend, insult or humiliate migrants like Senator Faruqi. No court could find otherwise. Appealing that verdict in the High Court would be either an attempt to keep the issue in the news cycle or to keep lawyers in business.

Hanson's supporters claim that the senator was simply exercising free speech. The term "free speech" can be used to cover a multitude of sins, but it does not include a call to violence or hate. Telling a senator belonging to a religious group hated by a minority that she should leave her country of citizenship is precisely that - hate speech.

It resembles closely the kind of speech directed against minorities throughout the last century which invariably led to episodes of institutional violence towards that minority. That's simply history.

Calling what Hanson wrote in September 2022 "free speech" is the same as calling arson a barbecue.

The Details Matter

 

Note one chrome mirror - one black plastic.

Australian politics and international affairs have recently become something resembling a failing soap opera.

So, gentle reader, I'll post something less disagreeable.

My project to convert a Japanese domestic market Toyota Hiace into a camper is just about complete, so I'll outline the journey, and where I've ended up. 

The vehicle is a 2014 Hiace Commuter which was used as a dry cleaner's vehicle in Japan. Clothes aren't heavy, so I assumed that it hadn't had a hard life. It was showing about 140000 kms when I bought it from a Brisbane importer who furnished all the necessary documentation, including the auction report from its sale prior to import.

As I bought it with dry cleaner's clothes racks.

A mechanical inspection confirmed that the vehicle was in good condition, and had a number of useful features including an aftermarket audio installation with Apple Carplay. More about that later.

It also had a slightly upgraded trim and features list which included push button start, climate control AC which has an extra unit cooling the rear of the cabin. It is also 180mm wider than the local market vehicles. Again, that's a mixed blessing. More about that later.

Fitout side unit installed across the cabin. Note modem and fire alarm.

Tyres have plenty of tread, albeit a little older than ideal, and the van features chrome trim not seen on the local market. There was also a three person bench seat installed which I removed. I reckon the business was family owned, and that seat was used to drop family members/employees off each day before the vehicle went on daily delivery runs.

First step was to install a plywood floor, which was fairly straightforward. Then I used pre-glued vinyl planking to dress it. This also was cheap, as we had sufficient planking left over when we refloored our home a few years ago.

Initially, to construct a bed, I bought a door from Bunnings, attached legs to it, and attached it to the floor using metal brackets. I located an unused single bed mattress on Facebook and installed it on the bed. This provided accommodation for about a year, until I spent $1990 on a slide out bed from Boxed Fitouts. I'd also used a second hand baby change table (found at Vinnies) as a frame for storage until I replaced it with another Side box from Boxed Fitout ($990). 

Can be converted to a double.

To provide off-grid power, I bought a Bluetti AC70P, ($745) and had a inverter/charger installed so that it automatically charged as the vehicle is driven. For connection to mains power I spent $500 on an external plug.

Despite appearances, it's securely anchored.

What I've finished up with is a van that remains fairly light, is easy to drive, and comfortable both for road trips and extended stays off grid. The Bluetti is good for about three days to keep the Kings 75 lit fridge running, but requires only about 50 kms of driving to be fully charged. I've also bought a small folding Rovin solar kit ($250) for extended stays. I haven't had an opportunity to personally trial it off grid yet, although my daughter has at a four day outdoor festival. It works OK to maintain charge for light use (fridge and charging devices).

Senior's handle & camping sink. The sink is not a total success - unwieldy.

As mentioned above, the van came with a CarKit_blink Japanese audio kit, which is fine, except it's designed for use in metropolitan Japan, and is next to useless in the Australian bush, where streaming through Apple Carplay works providing you're within coverage.

The van's extra width is handy in providing living space, but can be a challenge when parking in narrow bays at shopping centres. It is not too wide to be unwieldy, but a great deal of care is needed if you want to avoid inconveniencing fellow parkers. Having said that, it takes up a lot less space than a Dodge Ram, or a Chevrolet Silverado, and people park them in supermarket car parks. The van is 2280mm tall, so that precludes using most underground parks which average between 2100mm and 2200mm.

Slide out storage. Porta-Potti for contingencies. Not used so far.

In summary, the vehicle cost $24000, and I've added about $5000 worth of kit to make it habitable across twelve months of ownership. 

At that outlay, it's a totally competent camper, and the chassis is sound and looks like being reliable and cheap to maintain. It's not exactly fun to drive, especially in comparison with my previously owned Mazda MX5s. It's a bit like driving a block of flats. 

It is, however, quiet and comfortable when cruising, and the elevated seating position means you have a great view of traffic and surroundings.

The Fourth of July

The pool is stained. (Pic courtesy the Guardian)

 

Yesterday was the fourth of July, gentle reader, so we're bombarded via the media with stories about the 250th Anniversary of the adoption of the USA's declaration of Independence.

It can also be called a semiquincentennial, if you're keen to impress with your vocabulary.

To be frank, the celebrations leave me more than a little unimpressed, as they're characterised by vulgar expressions of American exceptionalism.

In fact, down through the years, much of what happens on the other side of the Pacific has left me unimpressed, but unfortunately it can't be ignored. Decisions made in Washington, and the vicissitudes of American culture and history have affected my life and experience.

I remember being shaken awake by my father on 22nd November 1963 to tell me of John Kennedy's assassination. He was succeeded by Lyndon Johnson, whose cynical use of the Gulf of Tonkin incident on 4th August 1964 to gain congressional approval to wage war in Vietnam had a major influence on my future.

Australia's commitment to send troops to Vietnam in April1965 was largely triggered by American policy, and it was only one month later that our defence act was amended to allow conscripts to be deployed overseas.

Then in 1967 my birthdate was drawn in the national service ballot, and after deferment for eighteen months whilst I graduated as a teacher and worked for twelve months to discharge my bond, I was enlisted in January 1969.

Vietnam followed in 1970, and it was then that I had my first encounter with American GIs. They also left me unimpressed. They were very poor soldiers, and our unit gave them a wide berth, as they attracted unwanted attention from the VC.

There were also two occasions when they went very close to causing us real harm. The first was when we encountered a bunker system in April, and USAF F105s dropped napalm closer to our position than the bunkers. The second was a few months later when an American artillery detachment based at the Horsehoe lobbed a couple of salvoes of 155mm rounds on a track junction we were ambushing because they neglected to check for friendlies prior to the fire mission

We discovered that the reason for their carelessness was their practice of using marijuana during fire missions to escape their apparent boredom.

We had a couple of phrases describing the Yanks. The first was "They draw the crabs" and the second "You can tell them anything; sell them anything".

The second aphorism helps to explain the "election" of Donald Trump. I put "election" in quotes, because you look at the turnout figures in the 2024 presidential election, and examine his slim majority, you understand that he was supported by about one third of American voters. Trump's 77.2 million votes  equate to roughly one-third of all eligible American adults. 

When the financial crisis arrived in 2008, like many other Australians I lost a large chunk of my superannuation balance because of regularity failure across the Pacific, and most recently, American foreign policy pushed fuel prices higher and contributed to inflation in Australia.

Today I read a post by an American on social media telling Australians how grateful we should be because they saved us from the Japanese in World War Two. 

This same American is no doubt ignorant of a number of salient facts of history. The first is that the US didn't enter hostilities until two years after the rest of the free world, and only then after their Pacific feet was blown out of the water on December 7th 1941.

The second is that Australian troops were the first to stop the Japanese on land in New Guinea.

And the third was that they supported us out of pure self interest. Australia was, after all, an unsinkable aircraft carrier.

You'll just have to forgive me for remaining unimpressed with the USA after the impacts it has had on my life since 1970. They continue to tell us how wonderful their republican experiment is.

Frankly, it's still very much a work in progress.