22 Mar 2012 - It's possible to survive on the run for 7 years

Today I read in the newspaper about a criminal that has been on the run for seven years. His name is Malcom Naden, and he has spent most of his time in the bush land in northern New South Wales, apparently surviving on fruit, stolen food and whatever he could gain through his network of contacts. He has been credited with many break-ins over the seven years, and has been sighted many times. The bounty on his head has been raised from an initial $50,000 to $250,00 and today he was finally captured by police.

I didn't think that is would be possible for someone to survive on the run in this day and age in a country such as Australia. I know that we have many vast areas of bush land, but much of it is populated, if sparsely, or often visited, so avoiding people and having police hunt for you at the same time would be no easy feat. I wrote about a man that had survived on a remote island in the forest (see blog 24 Jan 2012), however very few people visited that forest, and nobody was looking for that man, so his story is quite different from that of Malcom Naden. Malcom survived on mainland Australia and managed to avoid capture for seven years, even though he had been moving between bush land and populated areas. So I guess what I learnt today is that it is not only possible to survive living on the run in Australia for 7 years, but also that eventually, you will get caught.

If you would like to read the timeline of Malcom Naden's 7 years on the run, check out The Age.

21 Mar 2012 - The precariat

Today I was reading The Age online on my way into work, when I read an article about the 'precariat', now I know what you are thinking and it is not some sort of sinister organisation that arranges shady international business ventures, although that is what I thought when I first heard the name. The precariat is a new name for the growing group of people in our society who have unstable employment. Those people have previously been known as, casual or contract workers, and work week to week for hours or on short term contracts. Most hospitality workers and many government employees are part of the precariat. I have been a member of the precariat since 2008, although I only learnt this morning that the group that I belong to is called the precariat. 

Since we have been given a new label in our society, I wonder, does this come with new superpowers? Or is it just a fancy new name for the group that we form, as part of an overall marketing strategy to give us a higher profile in the media. Maybe now that we have this new name, we can form some sort of organisation that can arrange some shady international business deals? I mean the name suggests as much, maybe that can be our new super power. I am concerned however, that if we do get a new super power as being part of the precariat, it will be similar to my existing super power, which is the ability to not yawn when I see other's yawn. 'Yawn Aversion Man' is the brand I was given by my friend, but unfortunately my super power is all but useless, and often ineffective. Hopefully the precariat branding will not suffer the same fate.

To read the original article, check out The Age online.

20 Mar 2012 - The third degree

Many times over the years I have heard people say that they have given someone the 'third degree,' which means they have put them through tough questioning. You often hear it in relation to fathers questioning their daughter's new boyfriends or dates. Until a friend emailed me the history of the term today, I had never known how it came about that to give someone the third degree, meant to question them intensely. This phrase was one that I had always defined as meaning to question someone, but without ever thinking about it might mean that.

After reading the definition my friend sent me, it turns out that the 'third degree' was originally used by the Masons. In Masonic Lodges, there are three degrees of membership, and in order to gain the highest level of membership, the third degree, candidates would have to be subjected to activities which included an interrogation, this degree was more physically challenging that the first two degrees. It was from this that the term was then applied to any type of intense questioning, as once the questioning was complete, the people being interrogated would say that, 'they felt like they had gone through the third degree.' So from people likening intense questioning to the third degree, people have then gone on to describe any type of intense questioning as being given the third degree. This revelation of the story behind the third degree has got me wondering what other phrases has stories behind them, such as, "I could eat a horse and chase the rider."

You can read the definition of the Third Degree on Phrases.

19 Mar 2012 - Jacques de Molay curses executors

Today I was looking at my book '365' and the fact for today was that the last Grand Master of the Templar Order of Knights, Jacques de Molay, was executed on the 19th of March 1314. I already knew that he had been executed, but have never known the date, because I played a game called 'Broken Sword' when I was younger and the storyline of the game was around the Knights Templar. The game was set in modern day Paris, however it followed the Knights through history and although the details of the game were all fiction, the foundation story was based on fact. One such fact being that the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake.

The part of the story that I didn't know, and thus the thing that I learnt today, was that the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, requested that he be facing Notre Dame's Towers, which were far in the distance, whilst he was burned.  Also that he placed a curse on his executors, King Phillip the Fair of France and Pope Clement V. He said, 'God will avenge our death. Phillip, thy life is condemned. I await thee within a year at the Tribune of God." Pope Clement V died suddenly only 31 days after Jacques de Molay, and King Phillip the Fair died just over 8 months after, thus proving true, Jacques final words. I have never really believed in curses, but when a man about to die makes a declaration that comes true, it is hard to discount as fiction. Although having said that, as these events happened many thousands of years ago, stories do have a way of adapting themselves to fit events, rather than events dictating the stories. However given the long period of time that has passed, and the lack of people around today who can prove the story correct or false, we just have to accept the fact, that Jacques de Molay did curse his executors to death within a year of his own passing.

18 Mar 2012 - World's shortest commercial flight

Today I was watching 'QI' and I learnt that the shortest commercial flight in the world is between two of the islands in the Orkney Islands, off the north east coast of Scotland. The flight is between Westray and Papa Westray and covers less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) in the air. In fact the main airport runway in Edinburgh, in Scotland, which is 1.6 miles (2.56 kilometres) long is about the distance of this entire flight! The flight is completed in under 2 minutes, so you would spend much more time in the airport, than for the entire flight and apparently upon completion of the flight, tourists are presented with a certificate signed by the captain and a bottle of Orkney whiskey.

I found this fact fascinating because I have taken a few long haul flights before which have consisted of 20 plus hours in the air, which to put it in perspective is more than the time in the air for 600 flights between Westray and Papa Westray. It also begs that question, that if this flight only covers about 2 miles, couldn't they just build a bridge between the two islands. I suppose however, if they built a bridge, they would no longer be operating the shortest commercial flight in the world, and that is probably generating some tourist interest in the area. Additionally to the flight you can reach Papa Westray from Westray via a daily ferry service. However it appears that the ferry services takes much longer than the flight, so I can see why people would be opting for the two minutes in the air.

17 Mar 2012 - Pronation

Today I decided to go to a shoe shop, "Complete Feet," where they assess you walking and running style to determine the best type of shoe for you style. Whilst I was there I learnt what pronation meant, and no it is not what you would expect if you saw the word itself, it isn't a person who is in favour of their country. It actually means the way that you foot rolls inward when you are walking or running. It is normal for the foot to roll inward, or to pronate, about fifteen per cent, however if you are an over pronater, then you foot rolls inward more than fifteen per cent. Depending on how much you pronate when you are walking depends on what type of shoes you require in order to properly support your walking or running style.

For years I have only bought shoes based on price and whether they fit my feet, I have also based my purchases on looks. However now I have had this assessment I have decided that it is probably best for me in the long run to actually purchase shoes that support my running style. My style was determined to be normal or slightly pronated, which meant that I can purchase shoes that are suited to a normal running style, as this style supports runners who are also slight pronaters. I would recommend to anyone who exercises regularly to have their style observed and shoes recommended for their style, as this could reduce the likelihood of injury if you exercise regularly.

Read more about pronation on the Runners World website.

16 Mar 2012 - A new analogy for change

Today I had a training course and there was much discussion on change within the workplace, the discussion was around how different people in the workplace handle change. There are some people who are first on board with the change, and then there are others who do everything that they can to try and prevent the change from occurring. The facilitator shared a great analogy with us about people and change. "People will either be on board the bus, or in front of the bus, but either way they will move," I thought this was a great analogy, because I know many people who would be standing in front of the bus of change, and it is usually the case that those people get out of the way once the bus starts moving because they have no other option, or in some cases, chase after the bus and jump on board as to moves away.

After thinking about this analogy, I decided that although it is true in most cases, it is not always the case, that people are moving. One instance is where the change is not one that anybody wants, and if more people are in front of the bus, than on the bus, then often the bus doesn't move. One of these instances is where a community stands up and petitions not to have something built in their area. Mostly these petitions lead to the building happening anyway, but sometimes these petitions can lead to the change not occurring, or the bus not moving, as it were. This can be for many reasons, it might be that the petition represents too many people in front of the bus, or it might be that the organisers for the change forgot to arrange for a driver (an adequate reason for the change to occur) for the bus, so it is not able to move forward. Whatever the reason, I like the analogy of change being represented by a bus because you can twist it in many different ways to support whether the change does, or does not occur.