I have a cup that was given to me with this (shown above) picture on it. Thanks Gary Larson (he didn’t give me the cup I just really like the picture). So I was leaving the tea room looking at the picture and laughing to myself when a person leaving the building did exactly the same thing as in on my cup! At first I laughed then I realised that the picture on the cup had taken the form of an Indian fellow having a school for the gifted moment. It was really weird. After that I worked on rejigging the study guide for my Business Informatics course. That was probably a lot more normal.

Holy crap!  This image comes courtesy of a blog I stumbled.  The other day I was getting out of the car and saw one of these buggers right near the drivers side.  I was like WHAT!  So I got my trusty can of fly spray out and 20 of the suckers came out of the bricks near the carport!

When I saw this picture I thought… the ones I killed WERE BIGGER! Add this to the mice plague I have and the cockroaches I have in my house and you see my fight with pests.  Why wouldn’t you live in Brisbane?  Perfect one day, deadly the next!

Don’t even get me started on the snakes!

I would like to think that people who cheat never win but it’s usually only when they get caught that we find out what they have been up to.  Cheating is indeed a what of life for some people.  When you are honest it pays fairly at least for a while… until you are exposed to corruption.  Would you take a bribe?  I would love to think that people who cut corners, take money, rip off people and stab people in the back would pay for it.  But ultimately it’s unfair to say that cheaters never prosper… they often do and wind up owning large corporations.  Those of us who have a sense of fair play don’t always wind up where we should.  Sometimes we wind up dead or in jail!  Life is pretty far from fair.   A sense of fairness and justice it’s a good thing but it’s a misconception to say that cheaters NEVER prosper.  They often do… with devastating results.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending a day and a bit at Armidale, New South Wales about five and a half hours drive from Brisbane. I was there to attend the graduation ceremony at the University of New England and I must say it was a very pretty town. So what was so good about it?

The food at Armidale

I am not a pub man by any stretch of the imagination. I did however, have the chance to sample the food at Armidale’s Grand Hotel in the centre of town. I had one of the best steaks I can remember in a long time. Maybe it’s because I have been living on a associate lecturers wage too long! It was fantastic.

The place I stayed

I had the pleasure of staying in a little bed and breakfast called ‘Creature Comforts‘. The rooms were immaculate, the hosts were friendly and the rooms were stocked with all the necessities I could imagine. We had fresh country bread for breakfast and took off to the University of New England for the ceremony.

The drive home

Although on paper 10 hours up and back in a small drive seems like a short journey. I can assure you it’s not! I stopped off at Stanthorpe to buy some excellent quality apples on the way home. What a country I have the privilege to live in. We also stopped along the way and checked out some hand crafted ugg boots. I couldn’t really afford it but I can say they are the best ugg boots I have ever seen. So well crafted! It’s no wonder the place was full of people.

What I wish could of happened

On the map this doesn’t look like anything special: View Larger Map But in real life it’s a really pretty drive. There are tons of poplar trees, rolling green (and brown unfortunately) hills, cows and a species of black kangaroo my mother’s boyfriend called a scrubber. We saw Tenterfield (Peter Allen’s birthplace), Glen Innes and a heap of other ‘Glens’. Come to think of it every town between Warwick and Armidale was probably ‘Glen’ something. The only thing I can find the time to complain about was the cold. I am from Brisbane where it rarely drops below 20 during the day and stays in the teens most of the night. I didn’t mind that however, the air was fresh, the food was great and the people were wonderful. I enjoyed the trip and if I was a rich man I wouldn’t hesitate to make more time to see more of the ‘Tablelands’. This article from the age says it all. I would recommend a trip if you get the chance.