mike carey

Dylan Alcott won his quad singles wheelchair semi-final on Saturday, putting him one game match away from a golden slam in the event. Breath is being held and fingers crossed in this country for him.

Another data point on our journey towards being able to leave the country at will. The federal Tourism Minister, Dan Tehan, was on the Sunday morning show on Sky News, and told people to check their passports and renew them if they had expired. He suggested moving quickly, citing huge delays at US and UK passport offices. He said that international travel would be permitted when 80% of the eligible population (16 and over) was fully vaccinated. That's probably six to eight weeks off, and the supply of doses and rate of vaccination are both increasing (c 1.4% of the total population each day). (NSW and the ACT are both at about 75% first jab and 50% second, with fewer doses in the other jurisdictions.) Leaving and returning to the country are both federal decisions, but it's the states that set quarantine requirements for people entering them, including international arrivals, so they have the final say. I suspect NSW will have reduced or no quarantine for vaccinated arrivals, but our zero-case states and territories will not (and will continue to quarantine or prohibit arrivals from NSW).

I've seen editions of Russian novels that have similar lists, although they tend to be a crib sheet to remind you of who is related to whom rather than take you to places in the book where they are mentioned, so not quite the same thing as an index. A true index might be for works like those of Tolkien, as mentioned in the podcast, or the Harry Potter series where people want to go to specific parts of the sets of works.

I'm not sure I had either, but the 12, 144 and 20 were obvious, so it wasn't hard to figure out (and confirm with a search).

A dozen, a gross and a score Plus three times the square root of four Divided by seven plus five times eleven Is nine squared and not a bit more.

I tossed up whether to put this here or in 'Random.Random' but here won. The link below is to an interview with the author of the book (yes the title of this thread is the name of the book). How did they start (twice at about the same time in the 12th century, as it happens), what are they for, what do they do? Indexes allowed people to use books as references rather than something to read or meditate on. Can they be subversive, or are they simply utilitarian? The book cites two subversive indexes, so they can be both. The discussion becomes something of a meta-narrative on literature.. Novels don't usually have indexes because you tend to read them from start to finish, and once, then 'take them to the charity shop', but if a novel, or set of novels becomes canonical they come to need an index. And since it was commented on in another thread, the speaker uses the word 'metonymy': a human indexer will know that No 10 and Downing Street mean the same thing as prime minister, a computer indexing program will not. https://play.acast.com/s/the-bunker/daily-the-first-search-engine-in-praise-of-the-index

A British podcast I follow had an episode about the possibility of people eating insects as an environmental measure. What did they call it? Buzz Feed, of course. The joke in the title aside, it's an interesting discussion, https://play.acast.com/s/the-bunker/daily-buzz-feed-why-eating-insects-will-save-the-world

Twitter again, Dad's Freudian Lightbulb joke: How many Freudian analysts does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to change the bulb, the other to hold the penis. LADDER. I MEANT TO SAY “LADDER”.

Labour Day in Australia is a public holiday on dates which vary between states and territories. It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. In Victoria and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March (though the latter calls it Eight Hours Day). In Western Australia, Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In Queensland and the Northern Territory, Labour Day occurs on the first Monday in May (though the latter calls it May Day). It is on the fourth Monday of March in the territory of Christmas Island. The first march for an eight-hour day by the labour movement occurred in Melbourne on 21 April 1856. On this day stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organised workers in the world to achieve an 8-hour day, with no loss of pay. That's from a Wiki article. Like railway gauges, Australian states don't agree on dates for public holidays. A paid public holiday was proclaimed in the colony of Victoria in 1879.

Happy birthday!

Another stolen tweet: Dad's Polar Bear joke: A Polar bear walks into a bar and says "I'll have a scotch and... ... ... ...coke." Barman says, "No worries, but why the big pause?" The Polar bear says, "Oh, I've always had these."

Stolen from Twitter: Dad's American Chocolate Pronoun joke: What pronouns do chocolates use? Her/she...

I just checked my profile visits and it appears that they requested access to my private gallery without visiting my profile (unless the counter is adjusted down if the profile in question is deleted).

Bon anniversaire à tous!

It is hopeful news, the more so if they sent you an e-mail about it, although if you're a QF FF member it may have just been their routine comms with members. The Qantas announcement was what I referred to last Friday (on the previous page of this thread), with a link to the sceptical OMAAT article about it. Since I replied to you, the odds of opening up sooner rather than later, although not before Qantas' target date, have improved. Vaccination rates have accelerated, especially in NSW and the ACT, and to some extent in Victoria. Delta is also proving difficult to contain and today the Victorian government acknowledged that they are unlikely to be able to get that genie back in the bottle. They, and NSW are likely soon to conclude that keeping borders closed to vaccinated travellers won't have a material effect on the rates of cases or of hospitalisation. Vaccination rates are still to low for them to contemplate border easing but it's not too far off.

I've had three since I logged on this morning. I just denied them access to my non-existent private gallery.

Thanks for that little message of hope! 😉 The thought that being a certain age as I am, travel abroad may never be possible again is there, but I remain optimistic, perhaps pollyanna-ish. My spell checker suggested I meant polyandry, but I digress. The messaging from our political leaders (with varying degrees of believability) and public health officials is hopeful. For a long time I had been looking at the accumulation of my FF and hotel reward points more to see what the various programs were doing to help preserve them and extend elite status rather than to see what I might do with them. At present I am in the ACT and can't leave, every other state has closed its borders to travellers from here, or requires a permit to go there. Even so, lately I have started to look at how flight availability is opening up and what prices are. I have been looking at premium economy and business class seats rather than start at economy. I guess that reflects a change in my attitude, from travelling economically to ensure I could continue to do so for longer, to 'use it while you can'. As I have mentioned before in other threads, my last planned travel was for the PS weekend last year, and I still have a QF credit for the cancelled airfare (validity now extended until 31 Dec 23). I had a flurry of trips to Sydney before the Delta outbreak happened in June (yes I did hire once) but that's a faint memory now. In all that, I haven't had an attack of ennui. I can walk around the suburb, shop easily within walking distance of my home and live a pleasant, if sequestered life. Today is the first day of spring, it's a brilliant cloud-free day and 23°, what's not to like. I remain optimistic that the new normal (or is that new abnormal?) will include travel. We've been shut, but I've seen (constrained) travel happening in Europe and North America, and the narrative here is shifting towards that. I actually bought some Amtrak miles to stop my small balance from expiring. Now, if you'll forgive me, I must be off to check on that cheap JAL business class ticket to Palm Springs I saw on Amex Travel, my new favourite, for next April. Not ready to buy it yet, but I now entertain the possibility I may be able to.

I seem to remember reading that in Vermont there are two seasons, winter and 15 August.

OK, I'll bite! With everything in the news and in private conversations now on the internet, everyone can read everyone else's mail. So if we complain about our lock downs or whatever else from our gilded cage, you get to read about it and understandably ask WTF. Victorians are in their sixth period of lock down and those of them in Melbourne have had 200 days of staying at home or within 5km, Sydneysiders are in about week nine of their first real lock down. Some are complaining but most are not, but all of us only have our own experience as a reference point. Sights on the television are abstract, even now, but we recognise that we are really lucky by comparison. That doesn't stop us from griping about whatever restrictions we face. I'm really sorry that you don't like to read about it, but we'll keep talking about it amongst ourselves. (I'm in Canberra, two weeks into a lock down, the first we've had, and still count myself lucky that I'm not in the same boat as my sister in Melbourne. I've been to the grocery shop twice and that's it, I've been at home for the rest of the time.) Of course it cuts both ways. Those of us paying any attention have been watching in hushed amazement at the whining of certain Americans about why they should face any restrictions or *shock horror* wear a mask when their compatriots are dropping like flies around them. A weekly program here on US politics is called 'Planet America', the validity of the title as a comment the whiners serve only to confirm.

A guy spitting into my mouth makes me gag. It's not my thing.

HI @ScottMichaelsgreat first post in the forum. Welcome aboard!

Qantas has announced its plan for resuming international flights from December. It's optimisiic, some would say unrealistic, but unlike previous plans that didn't happen, it is linked to government plans to reopen when certain vaccination milestones are reached. They relate to the percentages of the population that are fully vaccinated (and percentages of those 16 and over rather than of the whole population), so it's not based just on the airline's hopes about the easing of border restrictions. Qantas flew one of its A380s from LAX to Dresden a few days ago, and from all accounts that is to have the cabin refurbished, and today's announcement seems to confirm that, They are planning to bring five of these aircraft back into service next July, 12 months ahead of schedule, and use them for SYD-LAX and SYD-SIN-LHR. They will be bringing back 10 of their 12 A380s and retiring the other two. Qantas has written off the value of these aircraft in their losses over the last two fiscal years, so there are only the operational costs to fly them. My take on this is that they think the plan is feasible, but they are also putting pressure on the federal and state governments to carry through on the reopening schedule. Being vaccinated is part of the Qantas plan for the future of international air travel, and I think they are also signalling to the travelling public that they will need to have their jabs if they want to fly. The mood in some states is shifting, and by December most of them could be happy for the amount of opening that the Qantas plan involves, although WA and perhaps Qld may not. Ben at OMAAT is one of the 'unrealistic' voices out there, here's his take on it. https://onemileatatime.com/news/qantas-unrealistic-plan-restart-international-flights/

I haven't heard anything like that, but if she did, it wouldn't be in that sort of context. Most likely it would have bee avoid close contact with people outside your household, including your neighbours, not don't speak over your back fence.

It was a good exercise in marshalling my thoughts, and as you would have seen from my later comments on that podcast I continue to think about it. Zero Covid was always going to work until it didn't, and the hope was that the 'didn't' wouldn't happen until there was a vaccine or treatment. That plan worked, except we hadn't done enough of the vaccine roll out, but they are being rolled out quickly now. But we haven't caught that 8 ball yet. I don't think people think Covid isn't serious, it's more that they haven't thought that it was an urgent problem, although most do now. There remain sceptics, and 'we must open to save the economy' zealots but they are few. Twitter was brutal to the demonstrators and the police were inundated with the general public sending information and video to Crime Stoppers. I share your pain on not being able to make what had been a regular trip. I had started to travel regularly, mainly to the US, and today I can't even go to Sydney.

This tweet has a clip from last night's ACT version of the ABC news. It's a great video but the news reader should stop writing his own material. https://twitter.com/Dan_Bourchier/status/1430336168684494848?s=20