I suppose you all saw the article in this week’s Jimboomba Times headed: “Council refloats relocation of school.” The article goes on to ask if Jimboomba State School should remain where it is or be relocated to land in East Street to make way for an extended business centre. Now, I am aware that this idea has been around for a while but I still wonder if it was given additional impetus by the revelation on my old blog “Carthorse Cart”, that Bogan councillor Madigan Axeman was proposing the same thing.
This was the relevant passage:
When the proposed Bromelton in-land port was mooted, he was straight in with a plan to construct a dry dock at Jimboomba. His innovative design is for a huge facility capable of servicing a vast range of craft from tugboats to oil tankers.
“I have a bit of land behind the police station at Jimboomba,” Mad enthuses, “and if council can get the school and library shifted it will give us enough space to enjoy an amenity that this area sadly lacks at the moment.”
I am not for one moment suggesting that life imitates art, because I would not dream of implying that anything on a blog of mine is art, anymore than I would imply that Logan councillors even remotely resemble life. However, I do worry that someone on council may be taking my ideas a little too seriously and I am particularly suspicious of that reference to “refloating” in The Jimboomba Times article.
I also saw the write up about three new town plans for the Jimboomba area. We are expected to choose one of the three and presumably don’t have the option to mix and match. I’m always suspicious of those “pick one” choices given by any government body. Invariably the choices have been cleverly crafted to make us pick the one already decided on.
For example:
Pick One of the Following.
A) Would you like a new multi-million dollar shit processing plant built on one side of your property and a battery chook farm on the other?
OR
B) Would you like a massive communication tower erected in your back yard where it can cook your breakfast and microwave your kids at the same time?
OR
C) Would you like to sell your property to the council for 75% of its market value?
I haven’t seen the three proposals for Jimboomba but I know that one option is for Jimboomba to remain as a quiet semi-rural community. I would guess that this option might be the most popular because, in the main, it’s why we chose to live here. But I also know that it’s not what is wanted by council and their developer friends. So I fully expect the other options to include lots of good stuff like park and ride, rail transport, proper street lights and drains and so on, while the ‘rural option’ will include provision for a Taipan and Death Adder reserve around Henderson Creek, two more accident black spots and a paedophile rehabilitation half-way house next to the play school.
On the other hand, I might just be coming across as cynical and unfair, as usual.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Hey Ho the Hols
Just got back from the holiday and it was really nice, thank you very much. We took two cars because the grandchildren’s safety seats took up a complete back seat in one car. Son-in-law drove the lead car with me as passenger while Daughter drove the second car and Mrs.Yuteman refereed the kids.
I must tell you that son-in-law is a thoroughly decent chap. He is a brilliant Dad and my daughter could not wish for a better husband – but he is a technology nut. Show him a hideously complicated electronic way of doing something and he is straight in to it like a circus performer doing a high dive into a teacup. He demonstrated this admirably on our way up the coast.
I had noticed that he had something resembling a very old dog turd stuck across his ear and I just had to ask about it.
“Blue tooth.” He said, although it looked nothing like a tooth. I assumed it must be the dental equivalent of a copper bracelet and designed to relieve the pain of this ‘blue tooth’ thing he suffered from – but no. It was some communication method involving mobile phones and whatnot. He said he would demonstrate for the benefit of his pathetically ignorant Pa-in-law. Then he clearly spoke my daughters name and he winked confidently at me. Nothing happened so he spoke her name again, a little louder this time. Still nothing, and so it escalated. Eventually son-in-law was screaming my daughter’s name at the top of his voice and pounding the steering wheel with frustration. Finally, he had some sort of connection and began to say “Hello.”
The ‘hellos’ went on for a few kilometres until it became obvious he could hear daughter but she couldn’t hear him. He tried to tell her they would stop at the next ‘services’ for lunch but he was wasting his time. I could stand it no longer.
I leaned over the seat and waved to my daughter through the back window until I had her attention. I then gave the universal sign for eating and then held up two fingers followed by an exaggerated pointing motion off to the left. Daughter nodded. Two kilometres later, we turned off and had our lunch.
To be fair, by the end of the hols, they had the blue tooth thing sorted and it worked very well – most of the time.
I must tell you that son-in-law is a thoroughly decent chap. He is a brilliant Dad and my daughter could not wish for a better husband – but he is a technology nut. Show him a hideously complicated electronic way of doing something and he is straight in to it like a circus performer doing a high dive into a teacup. He demonstrated this admirably on our way up the coast.
I had noticed that he had something resembling a very old dog turd stuck across his ear and I just had to ask about it.
“Blue tooth.” He said, although it looked nothing like a tooth. I assumed it must be the dental equivalent of a copper bracelet and designed to relieve the pain of this ‘blue tooth’ thing he suffered from – but no. It was some communication method involving mobile phones and whatnot. He said he would demonstrate for the benefit of his pathetically ignorant Pa-in-law. Then he clearly spoke my daughters name and he winked confidently at me. Nothing happened so he spoke her name again, a little louder this time. Still nothing, and so it escalated. Eventually son-in-law was screaming my daughter’s name at the top of his voice and pounding the steering wheel with frustration. Finally, he had some sort of connection and began to say “Hello.”
The ‘hellos’ went on for a few kilometres until it became obvious he could hear daughter but she couldn’t hear him. He tried to tell her they would stop at the next ‘services’ for lunch but he was wasting his time. I could stand it no longer.
I leaned over the seat and waved to my daughter through the back window until I had her attention. I then gave the universal sign for eating and then held up two fingers followed by an exaggerated pointing motion off to the left. Daughter nodded. Two kilometres later, we turned off and had our lunch.
To be fair, by the end of the hols, they had the blue tooth thing sorted and it worked very well – most of the time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)