The insanity of Shared Zones in Warwick.

Once again our town planners and decision makers have shown they don't have an ounce of brain between them by inflicting us all with the use of Shared Zones.

Now, in a sensible world the Shared Zone is not a bad idea as long as people are sensible and use it correctly.

Unfortunately that's not what is happening in Warwick with it. After a small trial in the main CBD area, we found idiots would just walk out in front of oncoming cars then abuse the driver for not stopping quickly enough. We saw people not using the pedestrian crossings only 10 to 20 feet away from them because they can now walk out across the street at any time.. and car driver's MUST give way to them.

So council in it's apparent wisdom decided to extend the Zone all the way along the main street right up to the end of the high school where it then becomes a School Zone with an even higher speed limit!! Sheer madness.

My problem with Shared Zones in Warwick is the sad fact that now instead of low-IQ'ers having to learn to be responsible for their safety.. nay... use the Road Safety learning they had all through their primary school years... their safety is now MY responsibility!!

So the whole Shared Zone thing goes against the road rules in this state and it panders to the least intelligent so that they do not have to take responsibility for themselves.

We had this same problem for years at the high school, where kids would flood out into the busiest street at the busiest time of day.. and council had not even put Pedestrian Crossings in for them to use!! Next council allowed a bottleshop to go in across from the highschool.. and then an IGA across as well for good measure. All of which meant that the few carparks in the street available to pick up your kids were now used by people shopping and buying alcohol... the street was now filled to over-capacity with cars zooming into the bottleshop and IGA.

Instead of fixing the problems that already existed, council instead took the easy path.. save the dumbarses from themselves by making their safety the concern of everyone who drives a car in town.

Did I say the Shared Zone speed limit is only 25km/h ??

How stupid?? My bike struggles to chug along at 25km/h in 2nd gear.. first gear is far too low and revs the engine too high.. so I chug along around engine idle to stay in the speed limit while idiots walk out in front of me, left, right and centre.

If there is a God.. I hope he saves idiots from themselves coz I am fed up with this Nanny State taking self-direction and self-responsiblity off the agenda.

Bastards need to wake the hell up.

Heavenly Sounds Cathedral Tour... Cancelled!!!

After all these months of waiting to use my purchased ticket to see Karise Eden sing at St John's Cathedral in Brisvegas.. I find out late last night.. when the concert is this Tuesday.. that Karise has come down with a flu she got in Hobart, so all venues have been cancelled now.

Those thousands of people who got to see Karise in Melbourne and Sydney now have an experience they can call as a Life Highlight.

Those of us who are now missing out on such a unique performer in such a unique setting will never get to experience it exactly that way.. the sounds, the vibrations in a cathedral setting.

I feel a little cheated as I was looking forward to this as a real highlight.. something to savour for years afterwards.

A first time for everything....

Yesterday dawned, and I went back to bed in the hope of a good sleep in before heading to Brissy for a day trip.. then the phone rang. Grrr!!

A couple I know who ride bikes asked if I wanted to ride along to a bike rally called "Bikes Through a Bar".. it sounded like a bit of fun so I canned my plans and took on this new outlook for the day.

We arrived after a 20 minute ride and parked up at the end of a row of nice looking bikes, only tobe told that parking was for the Show and Shine competitors bikes.... so I rode away to park elsewhere.. then changed my mind and parked again for the competition. Paid the $10 for charity and walked away to see what else was around to keep my entertained.

Spent a fair bit of time around the historic bikes, and some of the trade exhibits (sellers) before grabbing some lunch and coffee. Did the ride through the bar ($15 for charity) and parked her up again in the Show and Shine.. went off to watch the piglet racing.. a bit of fun for charity which raised a few hundred dollars just on that little bit of entertainment.

My friend found me and said they were about to call out the winners for the show and shine.. so we wandered over there to see. And that's when I got a big surprise!!!

My bike WON the category for Best Jap Bike out of 30 or so jap bikes in the competition !!

So I happily took my new trophy, had my piccy taken with a cute girly and promptly placed the trophy on my bike to show it off.. hahahahhhahahhaha.

It's funny how the universe offers up something different at times.. little opportunities to meet neww people and enjoy the day.

RED "P" Platers; A Gen Z Rant

Seems like the kids my daughter went to high school with have gotten their driving licences and have begun to wreak havoc on the roads around Little Gumbieville. And I would have thought given how these kids are, something I came to know well, that anyone with authority would have said "No  driver's licence for you.. Yet."

A couple of these apparently Adult Red "P" Platers I've had the displeasure to encounter so far have ploughed into and through a roundabout while seeing me halfway across or already entering the same roundabout.... meaning they were supposed to give way to me, but despite seeing me they turn their head away and keep going.

It's kind of perfect really, as a description of Generation Z youth.. (Gen Z, born from 1990 onwards). Generation Y was the most visible with their "It's all about ME !" mindset.. but now along comes Generation Z.. who have perfected their Isolated "I" Behaviour Patterns, their Self-Righteousness, their lack of Common Knowledge and Common Sense to the extreme.

These are the 'adults' who cannot do simple math in their head, who go nuts if "Facebook" goes down or they lose phone service, or the power goes out, or a real adult tells them the truth... or anything else does not go how they want it to. Generation Z... yep that's them.

Okay, so I know many slightly older adults ( 20's to 40's) also do the same thing at roundabouts, possibly due to their mindset of "I'm in a hurry, got to go do...... ", and I should NOT EXPECT the new batch of Car Drivers to drive with more manners and sense when they didn't see the proper behaviours from their Parents.. but... but... Damn it pisses me off.

It's not as if getting around on my bike or in my car was a whole lot safer before the new batch arrived, but it sure as hell just got a lot more dangerous for me on my bike.

For anyone confused about what Gen Z is.. or Gen Y.. and Gen X.. click on this linky..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Z

Half the Gap Year is GONE

I struggle to understand it.. 6 months of my gap year has already passed.

Was supposed to buy a motorcycle... yep, did that and paying it off nicely.

Was supposed to get out on the road to meet more people and spend enough time camping along the way that I would come to know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.... sort of done some of that.

My longest ride was only to Gympie for a few days and then back home via Brisvegas.. only about 1,000k's. And so far I have clocked up almost 10,000km's on the motorcycle.. so that's 9,000k's of just bumming around on the bike.. and still no idea of what to do.

So if nothing comes to me in the next 6 months I may have to take another Gap Year to fulfill what I wanted to do with this one.

I do know I want to tour around the country some time next year.. if possible. Meaning, if the Shit doesn't hit the fan big time then I could go on this journey.. could leave my kept belongings with family, and give up my rental accomodation of the past 5 or so years.. the girly would have to take the two cats.. well, they are supposed to be her cats after all.

That's a big step though.. maybe my worrying about whether I should do that or not is what is keeping me stuck still at the moment (?) I know it would feel weird having no fixed address.. never not had a place to call home in the past.. never not had my own place to rest my head at the end of the day. So giving my accomodation up is a BIG step.. then trying to live on the pension while on the road is also a BIG step.

Not sure what to do about the next full year on my Telstra contract if I decide to journey away for a few months.. would still have to pay for it even though I would not be using the internet or home phone portions of the already expensive monthly bill ($138 per month just for Internet and Phone).

Oh well... I still  think we are in a timeframe for major changes in our lives.. and I know I do not want to sit around this house every day doing nothing much at all really.. just want to get out and ride.. and not have to come back to Gumbieville each time.

So excited and also scared of doing what I want to do.. how silly is that ?

Great Wall and Chery Brand Cars and Utes.

See the stupid ads on TV for these Chinese made vehicles ?

So you are in the bad books with your missus for buying a reputable brand of vehicle instead of buying a newcomer .. untried... manufacturer to the market ?

Oh, and if you do a little research you will find that both Brands are from one manufacturer.. The Chinese Government Onwed ones that is.

If you look a bit harder you will also find that Australia is the TEST MARKET for the rest of the world with these brands of vehicles... that's right, we still get all the shyte dumped here, we still pay overpriced costs for everything we get here, etc.

Another OH... I wonder how long we have to wait for health problems to arise with owners of these Chinese vehicles ?

I'm seriously asking that question. We know for fact that much of what comes out of China is produced from recycled toxic substances.. so you should expect that the plastics and vinyls in these vehicles will be tainted in some way that will have negative health aspects down the track.

But don't listen to me... just stay in the brainwasher and do what the TV ads tells you to do okay?

Yep. Don't think for yourself.. let TV do all the thinking for you.

Freedom.. it's not real anymore.

Yep, you read that correctly. There is no such thing as Freedom.

Sure you are told you have Personal Freedoms, but they are extremely limited aren't they ? Think about it...... before saying I am full of shyte.

1/ You are free to work 5 to 6 days a week... but you HAVE TO ANYWAY if you want to live like the Jones's and have all that nice Stuff, and pay off an unfairly-inflated-price and Loan System for the House you might be able to leave to your kids when you die.

"But", you may ask, "When do I get to LIVE MY LIFE if I work so much of my life away ?" Oh, and you are free to ask that, just don't expect a sensible answer that isn't along the lines of.. somewhere in the 8 hours assigned for you to sleep and the 8 hours assigned for you to "recreate" in this Modern Slavery System... despite the fact that a BIG chunk of that daily "recreation time" are actually spent in preparation for/recovery after and travelling to/from Work.

2/ You are free to go where you want when you want... but you are monitored every step of the way via Cameras and Phone Service Providers. Oh and you can only move about the place if you can afford to buy petrol, pay Registrations Fees repeatedly.. so see section 1/

3/ You are free to drink as much water as you feel the need for. Oh, but be sure you PAY for it, and please ignore the FACT that OUR State government is still POISONING you despite the Truth being said aloud by Health and Scientific Researchers the world over.

4/ You are free to Educate yourself in order to try and find a better paying JOB with nicer conditions. Oh, but then you will accrue a massive Debt that will need to be repaid if you can get employment that pays more than a burger-joint does.

This education system is very much like America in that it really is NOT FREE AT ALL. And it will force you into Debt Slavery.. what a great way to begin a fresh young adult life huh ?

"But", you may say, "My family is wealthy and can afford to put me through University, provide for my after-Uni world jaunt before offering me an executive position in the family business." Well, aren't you just one of the truly lucky ones then ?

5/ You are free to be heard by your Government... damn.. NO YOU'RE NOT. They do not want to hear what you have to say at all. Government will ignore you at all times unless you have the money from pressure groups to pass into some Politician's Hand to BUY THEIR EAR.

Government will also tell you that you can be Heard by VOTING.

Is that really enough ? Your vote changes NOTHING.. except which BRAND OF GOVERNMENT is in POWER. Each brand is not a lot different to the other, they are all occupied by LIFESTYLE POLITICIANS.. and supported by the very same Lifestyle Public Servants each successive government, are they not ?

And, the Agenda keeps you scurrying around for more dollars to buy more stuff, to have more brain-sapping entertainment fluff so that you DO NOT START TO THINK FOR YOURSELF... because you do not have the spare time to think for yourself about anything really important.

That'll do for now, I am sure some of you could think this through even further and come up with a few more points of interest.