Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

I don’t often write about blogging, or blogs. It’s not that I have no interest in it, it’s just that other people do it much better than me. But today I feel compelled to.

I also don’t pretend to know a lot about blogging, I just keep writing posts and get excited everytime more than 30 people visit me a day. Sad, isn’t it?

See, Google uses pagerank to show the authority of a site. Using their algorithm (I think that’s like a formula) and their rules. Break those rules, and Google will punish you by reducing your pagerank to 0, which has happened to a lot of people this week. So I’m joining Snoskred and saying goodbye to Google. It might take a while. Search engine is easy to change. Calendar? also easy (I mean I have Outlook here for a reason). Email and this blog may take some time, but rest assured the process has begun.

The article of Snoskred’s I’ve linked to above talks about other services similar to Google’s, and also has some great links to articles that explain better than I can what the hell’s going on. Snoskred is also running competition to celebrate her Page Rank drop.

As a mother of 2.5 children, a law student, and a participator in the
Australian Economy, the main area’s I look for as far as policy goes in an election campaign are:

• Health and Aged Care
• Education
• Economy
• Environment

As I contemplated what sort of election coverage to do on my blog, I immediately ruled out Environment and the Economy, because they are such highly specialised areas, I don’t have the understanding to rationalise policy, and there are plenty of other people who are, and are doing the hard work for me.

I read ABC News online, and was struck today by a story which hubby thinks, shows someone is bugging our bedroom.

Before I go any further I will disclaim my political leanings: I am a swinging voter, but swing more towards Nationals/Liberals at a federal level, and Labor at a state level. When given the opportunity, I invariably end up voting Democrat. Does that help at all? LOL. In other words, where possible I vote Democrat, with preferences to Libs/Nats at federal elections, and Labor at state elections. What it also means is that I can and do vote labor at a federal level, and libs/nats at a state level, but they need to work harder to earn my vote.

The article that piqued my interest today is this one. Not two weeks ago, Hubby and I had a vigorous debate (read: argument) about the cause of the problem in the health system. We are in Queensland, which has suffered some high profile failures in the system over the last few years (Jayant Patel, Mohamed Haneef, Mohammed Asif Ali ) mostly relating to overseas trained doctors. We are also in a regional area of Queensland. Apparently not quite rural, despite the difficulties with attracting doctors.

When we first moved to town 4.5 years ago, there were two doctors surgeries. One was made up entirely of overseas trained doctors. The other, was roughly half and half. In the last 4.5 years, one other surgery has opened, made entirely of overseas trained doctors. But it is not fully staffed. Our hospital in the next nearest town has 3 doctors: one head doctor, and two junior doctors there for rotations. Some junior doctors are also overseas trained.

But it appears we’ve reached our “limit” of overseas trained doctors. Which begs the question: if they’re the same standard as Australian trained doctors, which we all hope they are, since we’re placing our families health in their hands, why is there a limit at all? The obvious answer is our inherant belief that Australian trained doctors meet stricter standards than those trained overseas.

Don’t let that fool you, Hubby sees a Iranian doctor, my kids and I for routine jabs and illnesses see an American. But the trouble is there aren’t enough doctors to meet the demand of this booming shire. And judging by what we hear, it’s a common state of affairs. What’s also telling is I can get in to see any overseas trained doctor the same day, but to see an Australian trained doctor I usually have to wait 3-4 days. There is obviously at the very least, a perceived difference in standards.

So while Hubby and I argued the cause of the problems affecting our health system (him: states and federal government blaming each other, me: lack of training places for doctors) we also solved the problem: The federal government needs to suck it up and fund the health system properly, and stop blaming the states for ballsing it up, the states need to reform health and try to eliminate beaurocracy, and the federal government needs to fund more places at tertiary institutions to get more doctors graduating.

It appears that the federal government heard us, and decided to run with our policy:

Under the four-year plan Prime Minister John Howard says the number of
university medical graduates will more than double to 3,000 by 2012.

Well that’ll certainly help.

He has committed more than $100 million so that by 2011 there will be 900 GP
training places each year.

That’ll help too. What the flow on effects will be is anyone’s guess: small towns like mine having adequate access to GP’s, a fall in waiting times for surgeries, specialist appointments and who knows what else. Of course, this is 4 and 5 years away. What is also needed is a short term solution and reform.

And the waiting game begins for Labor’s counter offer. Although they have already pledged $600 million to cut waiting lists, part of a larger $2.5 billion plan to reform health and hospitals. Despite large promises and proposed outcomes, the policies are light on details, and don’t seem to address the fundamental failure, rather they are throwing more money at a system on the verge of collapse, and taking responsibility’s away from the Labor governed states that have failed to adequately meet the challenge, while ignoring the impact they can have constitutionally through funding educational places to increase the number of professionals.

Maybe I’m looking at it the wrong way, feel free to leave your views on the issue if you think I’m not looking at it the right way.

The Prime Minister has called the election, and it’s an vital part of democracy that we all vote. Recent changes mean you now have less than 48 hours to ensure you’re enrolled.

Neerav has written an excellent post urging you to check your enrolment details online, and a good description of how to enrol before it’s too late (and yes, it’s too late to post the form in!).

Meg has also written a post with some great links that will come in handy. Unlike Meg, however, this probably won’t end my eleciton coverage. We’ll see what happens. It will certainly be an interesting few weeks.

Today is Blog Action Day, (previously mentioned here).

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single
important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post
about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim
is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

Lots happening this week!

Lightening and her family started their electricity challenge. I’m waiting with bated breath for the first update. Lightening (full of good advice this week) listed 10 frugal things her family do. Also on the frugal bandwagon, JD at Get Rich Slowly posted Deiko’s article entitled “How to feed yourself for $15 a week“. And Kez posted about her Debt Journey.

Ali at Our Patch posted an important reminder about NOT pouring oil down the drain.

Snos posted an update on her move! And some awesome pictures. She also discovered a tasty cereal (I might have to try it!)

Kez’s son Billy had his first homeschool project! It looks like great fun and I can’t wait to do something like that with my girls. I don’t think it’ll be too long before we’re ready either.

Meg wrote about losing your groove when blogging and Facebook’s Boob-oo by removing pictures of women breastfeeding.

Phew, I think that’s all. Hope you’re all enjoying the weekend! And feel free to add any great posts you’ve read this week

Since Hubby finally convinced me to move my blog reading from plain old favourited sites to Google Reader, not only have I found about 5 hours a day, but I have this handy little gadget that allows me to mark my favourite posts, thus making an end of week wrap up easy to manage!

And what a busy week it’s been on the blogs I read. Snos is moving house, and had the lovely
River write a guest post that left me hanging for more!

Meg’s son posted a very articulate critique of Christian Indoctrination at his school. The responses so far have left me in no doubt I wasn’t the only one to think so.

Polly shared some lovely marmelade recipes I’m hoping I’ll get to try one day, as well as a lemon butter recipe my Hubby is hanging out for me to make.

Lightening and her family are embarking on an electricity challenge, which I am sure will have me digging for my electricity bill before the month is out.

Meg’s been very busy this week, also hosting the Carnival of Australia (featuring yours truly).

So thanks everyone for the informative and sometimes thought provoking posts. It’s definitely inspired some thoughts of my own, and discussion in the household (always a good thing). So here’s looking forward to another great week of posts.

And if you’re wondering what I’m doing posting at this hour? Well, I have just 3 words for you. Father’s Day Presents.

Once in a while you meet a special person. Someone you can sit up all night with talking (either in person, on the phone, or on the net). Someone you talk about philosophy with. Someone who you solve the worlds problems with. Yes, I do that a lot.

I was very blessed to meet such a special person many years ago. Her name is Tania Major, and she is the Young Australian of the Year. At 25 she has achieved WAY more than I ever could dream at her age. She finished school at one of the toughest schools in the state, went on to university and studied criminology, and is now working in that field, and at 22 was elected to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and now advocating the issues facing Aboriginal communities. What makes this more special is she was raised in an Aboriginal Community in Far (far) North Queensland.

I am saddened that I haven’t kept in contact with Tania. She was a very special person to me, and through some of my rather dark teenage years forced me to come out of my bubble and consider the world around me. I often talk about her to Hubby, and wondered what she was up to, hoping that she made it, and did something that she could be proud of.

When I heard she was named Young Australian of the Year I shed a few happy tears. What an amazing achievement for someone so young.

Last night she was interviewed on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope (you can view video of her interview on the website). An amazing, articulate woman who had my Hubby trying to hide a few tears. He could hear the echos of my education in hers, and her passion and drive impressed us no end. He finally understood how she could have made such an impression on me at such a young age.

I have been blessed by some amazing friendships in my life, some wonderful people who will always hold a special place in my heart. Tania is one of them. She challenged my thinking and challenged me. I hope now she can challenge more people and create some of the change her community so desperately needs.

I’m proud to be participating in Blog Action Day on October 15th.

I watched a rather interesting documentary last night, called “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”. Even a cursory Internet search shows it to be one of the more controversial documentaries in recent times. Although I found it fascinating to watch, Hubby, an avid documentary watcher, found it boring. I likened the style to “reality archeology”, following a bunch of boring scientists around on their search.

The articles related to the documentary are mostly negative, pointing out flaws in the documataries claims, and although the documentary never specifically claims the tomb belonged to Jesus’s family, it is definitely a possibility that should not immediately be discounted. As with anything archeological, it is difficult to prove anything. All that remains in the tombs are “body boxes” or ossuaries and all that remains in them is the dust of bones buried 2000 years ago.

Dan Brown would probably appreciate the documents used to support the theory that the tomb did house the remains of Jesus and his family for nearly 2000 years (including the gospel of Mary Magdaline, and the Acts of Phillip, her brother) and further claiming if it WAS in fact the tomb of Jesus, that he and Mary Magdaline were married, and he did father a child (there was a child’s ossuary found bearing the inscription “Judah, son of Jesus”).

The most interesting thing I found was the acceptance by people that other tombs and ossuaries belonged to other people named in the New Testament, and yet the reluctance to entertain the possibility in this case. While the evidence was indeed compelling, there is no way to prove it either way, and as expected the most feverent disbelief came from various religions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it is the tomb of Jesus, or that it isn’t, but it does raise some interesting questions, doesn’t it? If it is, in fact, Jesus’s tomb, how was he resurected, among others. I guess this is one of these things that we’ll never know the answer too, and one side will continue to gather evidence to support the claim, while the other will try and discredit any evidence. The fact is we really know so little that it is impossible to know either way.