News Watch 2005-09-06

I've finally managed to get something going with my thesis. Cheer! Plus I didn't have to use any dodgy hacks - i'm quite proud of myself. As I haven't really been following the news headlines too much recently i'll make a few comments on what i've seen around the world - and some of it is reasonably interesting.

Chicks. I saw this little blurb on the news.com.au website saying that gentlemen no longer prefer blondes over brunettes as a result of gentlemen looking for brains and sophistication. Very interesting indeed - the blurb can be available here. I'd like to hear some comments on this one.

Weight loss. Those Americans, damn they get fat. What's happening in the US is that some people are turning to hypnosis to lose wait. Really... now i've heard everything.

RIP Kazaa. It looks like Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file sharing software application has been slammed. The Australian federal court ordered Kazaa to filter out copyrighted material from its network. The Guardian reports on it here. The claim by Kazaa and some others that this is a death blow to file-sharing is a bit of a joke. Everyone loves free stuff, I sure do. But sharing of illegal stuff isn't something that should be promoted. People work hard for their material, they shouldn't be rorted out of gaining the benefits. However, I'm not saying that i'm an angel that has done no wrong, just making a comment on this Kazaa issue.

Socceroos Victory. Well i'd hardly call it a victory. Australia beat the Solomon Islands in an away match 2 - 1. Hardly convincing. I expected more from the Aussies, consdering I was present at the 7 - 0 slaughter at Moore Park on Saturday.

The proverbial has hit the fan in America. It's a real tragedy what's happened in America and i'm talking about Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands suspected to be dead in and around the city of New Orleans - that's absolutely horrific. It looks like water is slowly being pumped out of the city but it'll take months for a full drainage. Very sad indeed. Read the article here. Hopefully the citizens that are still around the area get out and get out fast, because the situation really does not sound so good.

Petrol technology. The price of petrol sucks. Anyone with a car knows this. I mean just the other day I paid $50 bucks at $1.40/litre. WOMG. So anyway, felt like looking around for anything that would save me some money. I didn't find anything that could help me now but there seems to be several things around the corner which would reduce our dependance on oil, save us money and be better for the environment. What a deal. Read, read.

Tax. It turns out that many of the 'richest' in Australia avoid paying a substantial amount of tax - something in the order of 25%. Confused? Read this - quite interesting indeed. My opinion on tax is that the top rate should be reduced, as a percentage, and that the cut-in rate should also be higher. Why? 47c in tax, wtf? - half of everything you earn over the threshold goes to the government... what a bloody rort.

Telstra. It looks like Queensland Senator Barnaby Joyce is happy with the new Telstra bills as mentioned here, about bloody time. I agree with the full sale of Telstra as it sounds very dodgy to me how the government is both the industry regulator and the majority owner of the biggest player in the industry.

Ok that should be enough news for you to read. I guess i'll finish off with a bit of a brag - and it's hardly news. Played a set of tennis against my sister on Saturday. It was a close one! I won 6 - 5 after a tiebreaker (7 - 5). Close indeed. Plus, 2 aces for me, w00t.