I recently read an article concerning the life cycle of a blog. The article is from 2005 and can be read here. The article talks about Justin Hall (considered by many to be the first blogger) and his decision to stop blogging.

The article has drawn my attention to my own efforts in maintaining a regular presence on this blog. How long will I be able to (or willing to) keep up with writing here. Like every blog, mine has a life cycle. It will have an ending, just like every other blog.

I started this blog up for a few reasons. I firstly wanted the experience of having my own website. Previously I had no experience with the technical aspect of publishing online or putting a website up.

I also wanted to share some thoughts of mine that I thought would be valuable. There had been many times when a particular thought would come to my mind, something that I thought was significant. Eventually that thought would be forgotten.

I suggested to myself that I simply write it down (we’re talking pen and paper). However this was inadequate as I frequently lose track of all these notes. And when I decide to clean my room, all the paper goes into the bin. The ‘pen and paper’ tactic was inadequate.

Naturally, the other alternative was something online (a blog). This would have the advantage of being available not only to myself but to anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world. It would also be available to my anywhere and any time (provided I also had an internet connection).

Has this worked?

I don’t think so. Sure there have been some thoughts I have put onto this blog. However I still have a problem with articulating my thoughts. I also have a problem with getting my thoughts onto the blog immediately (rather than forgetting them later on).

The context of this article was amazing. It was written in 2005. Just after blogging as a medium of communication had exploded on the net. Things only got bigger in the next couple of years. The article is written as if blogging is big in 2005, however it has been dwarfed by the standards of 2011 (which will no doubt be dwarfed in future years).

We truly do live in a world of instant and mass communication. A world which could only be dreamed of in years gone by.

The development of the web has taken place entirely in my lifetime. At the age of 21 (soon to turn 22) I am (as well as people my age) probably the youngest to remember the web being developed and becoming popular. I have also been a regular user of the internet.

Tracing the history of the internet and of blogs in particular is akin to looking back upon my own life. I hope to be able to contribute to this vast body of knowledge through this blog.

Regards

-Simon

On Saturday the 26th of March 2011 citizens of the Australian state of New South Wales will go to the poles. They are there to elect a state government.

In Australia there are 2 major parties that dominate all elections (state and federal). One is the Liberal party (more Ideologically aligned to the Republicans in the USA or the Tories in the UK). The other is the Labor party (more ideologically aligned with Labour in the UK and the Democrats in the USA).

The current government (a Labor government) are in a spot of bother. They are way behind in the opinion polls. They are extremely unlikely to win.

You can never say never in politics. You can also never write off any particular political party. No election is un-losable and no election is un win-able. All it takes is a massive sex scandal (or some similar event)  to hit the other side and you’re right back in it. A quick turn around could also be triggered by a monumental political gaff (saying the wrong thing) by the political side currently winning in the opinion polls.

An example:

This was an interview back in 1993. This is John Hewson who was the leader of the federal opposition. He was trying to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Up until this interview he was winning in the polls. It was called ‘the un-losable election.’

He lost.

His opponent Paul Keating (after that interview) went on to win the 1993 election and become Prime Minister of Australia.

The same thing could happen in this election. For the current state opposition (Liberals) it is simply a job of avoiding as many minefields as are thrown at them.

For the current government (who have almost no chance of winning) it is about promising as much as possible knowing they will never have to deliver. If they do manage to fluke a victory, they will simply break the promises (they cannot get any more unpopular).

That is what is currently happening now. The government has pledged $913 million in rebates and restrictions on public transport prices.

Unfortunately with games like this, the opposition is usually forced to match (or at least partly match) some of the ridiculous promises. This can cause harm to an economy. We still have 54 days to go til the election. We will see how these games play out.

Regards

-Simon

Today here in Sydney Australia, me and my team mates played cricket. Cricket is a sport played during the summer months. However today, we played through the 40 degree heat.

The day ended up being quite eventful.

Here is how it went.

We got to the ground (me and my team) knowing we were a very good chance of winning outright (winning after 2 innings instead of 1).

Things got off to a decent start. However one of our batsmen managed to hit the ball straight into the face of one of their players. His sun glasses smashed into quite a few pieces. We needed to wait for an ambulance to come pick him up.

The ambulance soon disappeared and we got on with the game. Remember this was in 40 degree Celsius heat. It was the hottest day of summer for us here in Sydney Australia.

We declared around 150 ahead. We needed to bowl them out for less than that to win outright (or chase any small total set).

While coming off the field, one of the opposition players suffered from heat stroke. He lost consciousness in the middle of the field.

He was attended to almost straight away by all the other players. However it shows how hot it actually was (he didn’t actually remember the incident where he passed out).

An eventful (and hot) day by any stretch of the imagination. However it was not over yet.

We set about trying to bowl St Ives (opposition) out. We were successful in doing this, but only after some stiff resistance from the St Ives batsmen. In the end it went down very close to the wire. Kissing point (my cricket team) won by an innings and 5 runs. They had 3 overs to spare.

In the end, a glorious day (as we came away with the points). Not so glorious for our opposition, especially the guy who got hit in the face with a cricket ball or the guy who suffered heat stroke.

Regards

-Simon

It’s a Friday night and there is nothing pressing on my mind which I particularly wish to share. So instead, we are going to go through a few things making the news, and I am going to quickly share my opinion on them.

Fair warning, none of this is going to be particularly deep or meaningful.

Push to ban kids in business class.

There’s a push to ban kids from the business class section on flights.

Although I have never (and probably will never) fly business class, I have to agree with those calling for the ban.

There is nothing more annoying than having some kid near you screaming at the top of his or her lungs. The parents of these kids also seem to have no desire to make these kids shut up either.

Now I don’t suggest that these kids should be banned from the plane entirely. Economy class is the way to go for them. However if someone pays premium for business class, they should be allowed to fly disturbance free.

I don’t hate kids whatsoever. In fact I love them. But they can get loud on planes (especially when the parent acts as if nothing is wrong).

Missing man found after cyclone Yasi.

A man has been found after being feared dead. He was thought to have been swept away in Cyclone Yasi.

A few days ago I blogged about cyclone Yasi. It was a huge cyclone that blew over much of the Australian state of Queensland. At the time I (and many others) thought there would be a death toll from this natural disaster.

Nobody was killed.

I believe this was a miracle and one I (and many Australians) are grateful for.

Modern day marriage seems to be a joke.

So after less than a year of marriage, Kate Price is filing for divorce after she fell out of love with her husband.

Why did she fall out of love with her husband?

Because he lost a cage fight. Apparently he didn’t live up to her expectations.

This just shows how much of a joke modern marriage is. People do not regard marriage as a permanent thing. ‘For better or worse’ means absolutely nothing these days.

It’s disgusting.

That’s all for today folks. Hope you are well and I’ll catch you all later.

Regards

-Simon

What is moral hazard? Economics (it is an economic term) describe moral hazard as occurring when a party insulated from risk behaves differently than it would behave if it were fully exposed to risk.

In layman terms, it is someone messing about in a risky situation when they know someone else will be footing the bill.

I find situations of moral hazard highly annoying as they manage to happen all the time. Governments in particular are stupid enough to allow individuals and firms to get away with idiotic behavior without having to face the consequences.

For example take the global financial crisis. Many banks and the bankers who run them took huge financial risks. These actions were high reward and high risk.

Why did they undertake them?

Simple. They knew that if things went well, they would keep all the profits. However if things turned sour (as they inevitably did) then the government would step in like a white knight to save the day.

None of the people who caused the financial crisis were taught a lesson. These mistakes are destined to be made over and over again (as with all moral hazard situations).

A similar situation has just occurred here in Australia today.

Recently there have been 2 large natural disasters occur in the Australian state of Queensland. A massive flood and a category 5 cyclone (fortunately the cyclone did not take any lives).

As it turns out, the Queensland government couldn’t be bothered purchasing insurance against natural disasters because it thought ‘it wasn’t good value’.

Of course, this means that the Australian tax payer has to foot 75% of the bill.

Great value there.

The other states in Australia have insurance from disasters. But not the state with the most (and most devastating) disasters.

The Australian federal government is showing no signs of changing this. This is a moral hazard. Queensland know they can get away with not paying for insurance because they know it’ll be too politically costly for a federal government to not pay up.

They are essentially holding the Australian government (as well as the tax payer) to ransom.

It’s the same thing with people who do not insure their homes for natural disasters. Rather than spending the money on insurance, they decide to spend it on something else (perhaps beer, cigarettes, entertainment) but not on insurance.

Now logically (i.e. not in the real world) these people are taking a risk. They are choosing to forgo insurance in order to enjoy the benefits of their income now.

Nothing wrong with this, good on them.

However when the shit hits the fan, they should have to pay for the entire mess themselves (if they didn’t purchase that insurance).

This does not happen in the real world. In the real world, they would forgo insurance and then have their hand out to the government expecting other people to pay for the mess they created.

Governments fold to these demands due to political pressure.

The person living next door, who did get insurance is effectively being ripped off.

In order to prevent a situation of moral hazard, you must make sure that those who partake of risky behaviour are punished when that risk does not pay off.

Regards

-Simon

Today was an eventful day both here in Australia and in the world in general.

Personally, my day was spent moving most of my belongings out of my room into a room downstairs. This was to make room for some English relatives of mine that are staying with us here for a while. It was boiling today.

The Australian cricket team successfully chased down 334 to win their one-dayer against England. They currently lead the series 5-1 with a game to play. A great result before the world cup but hardly enough to make up for an Ashes defeat.

Up north in the Australian state of Queensland, Cyclone Yasi is threatening to batter much of the north of that state. It is a category 5 cyclone (the highest possible category). It is set to be the biggest cyclone to hit Australia in almost a century (since 1918).

This cyclone is going to take some lives. Especially because some people decided to stay. I’d have thought that after the recent floods (that also hit much of Queensland), many people would be weary of staying behind.

It has been an unfortunate summer for the people of Queensland.

To give my American readers some perspective, this cyclone (which is the same as a ‘Hurricane’ or a ‘Typhoon,’ just given a different name) is expected to be around the same as hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans.

Making world news, following the overthrow of Tunisian president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali last month, Egyptians took to the street to demand the end of Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year presidency of their country.

Organizers (before the mass protests today) estimated there would be a million people hit the street. There weren’t quite that many, however hundreds of thousands of people did so.

Mubarak responded by stating that he would not stand for reelection this September. On the surface, this may seem like a victory to the protesters. It is not.

It is a stalling tactic.

Emotions are currently high in Egypt. The army is on the side of the protesters. More than 200 people have been killed in the protests. The momentum is with the protesters.

Mubarak is attempting to buy himself time. To hold out until September when things will have quietened down. He will then surely refuse to stand down.

By then it will be too late. The momentum from the protests will have dissipated. Where as there were hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets in the last couple of days, you’d be lucky to get a thousand in September.

Mubarak is playing politics and the protesters must not fall for this.

By that time there will be retributions for those who led and organized the protests. Others will be too scared to protests.

It remains to be seen whether or not the protesters fall for this. It also remains to be seen whether (if they do fall for it) Mubarak honors his promise or finds a convenient excuse to stay in power (or install a puppet).

Time will tell.

Regards

-Simon

How to get rich by Felix Dennis is not your typical book on how to get rich. In fact the first thing Felix tells his readers is that:

1) Making you rich wont make you happy

and

2) You have a very small chance of getting rich.

Dennis is worth somewhere between $400-$900 million US. At least that is what he claims at the start of his book. While you may doubt the validity of this figure, one thing is beyond doubt. He is very rich.

This makes him qualified to write on how to get rich (as opposed to many other books on the topic which are not written by rich people. It also means that he does not have to write the book (since he already has enough money).

Felix set out to write an ‘anti-self help’ book or so he claims in the beginning of the book. I have to say that he succeeded in this quest.

While the book will tell you certain mindsets on how to get rich, it also spends a lot of time discouraging the reader from attempting to do so.

This book touches the darker side of becoming rich. How you will change and how those around you will change. He talks about the arrogance most newly rich people gain and why it eventually costs them.

At the end of the book, he almost begs the reader not to try and become rich like he did. He asks that you treasure your most valuable resource (time) more than the resource of money.

However with that aside, Felix provides many essential mindset shifts if you are to become rich. He shows you the pitfalls to avoid and the methods by which you should grab at opportunity. Here are a few things you’ll find in the book:

• how to handle fear
• why desire is insufficient to be rich
• eliminating negative influences
• why execution is more important than great ideas
• hiring of talent
• dealing with employees
• why ownership is important
• and secrets to negotiating.

I enjoyed reading this book and believe I got a lot out of it. At the beginning and at the end of the book, Felix asks you to ask yourself whether or not you truly desire to be rich.

I asked myself that question and I have to say that I do not have the inclination. So this book has saved me a lot of time in that regard.

Overall this was a very good book. It teaches you why you shouldn’t try to be rich and then shows you how to be rich anyways (in a very entertaining fashion).

I give this book an 8 out of 10.

Regards

-Simon

After dominating the entire match, Australia lost the Asian cup final going down 1-0 after extra time. While many will put Japan’s win down to ‘luck’ I am going to look at this in a very different light.

Japan win because their will to win was greater than the will of Australia. When your will to win is greater than your opponents, only an act of God can prevent you from winning.

Japan went out there and was willing to die in order to win. Australia were not. It is the person or team that is willing to die that has the greatest will and is therefore the winner.

I traveled into the city to watch this game. Went to an establishment called ‘Cheers.’ A great place to go if you are in Sydney and are a soccer fan.

I got in and started cheering and chanting with all the other soccer fans there (both Australian and Japanese, although I didn’t cheer along with the Japanese chants).

I was in a buoyant mood. Australia had the form and the better team going into the final. A few hours before I wrote on this blog my prediction a few hours before (2-0 win to Australia).

However after the national anthems my cheering ground to an immediate halt.

If you have ever witnessed the singing of the national anthems on TV you will know that the camera pans across a team as their national anthem is being played (or sung). If you pay close enough attention, you will almost always be able to determine who the winner will be before the game has even started.

During Australia’s national anthem, the Australian team were going through the motions. They had placating looks on their faces.

In comparison, Japan had steely and determined looks on their faces. Particularly that of their goal keeper Eiji Kawashima.

And, despite Australia creating the vastly superior chances in the game, they eventually went down. Japan were willing to put their whole self in while Australia were not.

It is my belief that Australia did not care much about this tournament. Sure, they may have told you how much it meant to them, but it truly did not mean as much as it meant to Japan. Australia had been playing with that attitude all tournament, it cost them in the final.

Had Australia wanted it bad, Harry Kewell would not have squandered 2 one on one chances with the keeper as well as 2 shots right in front of goal. Carney would not have left his opponent unmarked in the middle of the box as the ball was crossed in.

This loss is painful for any Australian soccer fan. I find it particularly painful as we lost to Japan, a team that I like the least out of any national team.

However there is hope for Australia. The Australian team and their fans do not know how close they are to being the winners of the 2014 world cup. They have the talent and now they need the tactics and desire.

Another positive is Australia’s tournament intelligence. While superseded by Japan’s on this occasion, Australia are headed in the right direction. Australia has been managing to come away with the result over the last 6 years. We have come a long way from the days when Australia were not even able to qualify for the world cup.

While it is disappointing that we lost this final, there are too many positives to come out of this tournament for an Aussie fan (like myself) to avoid looking forward to 2014.

Regards

-Simon

In a few hours (from me typing this blog post) Australia are playing Japan in the Asian cup final. The Asian cup is a tournament held every 4 years that determines who the best soccer team in Asia is (or at least its champion).

I am an Australian soccer fan (the Australian soccer team are called ‘the Socceroos) however my dislike for the Japanese team gives this match up added significance in my mind.

Here are 3 reasons why Japan will win followed by 3 reasons Australia will win. I’ll then give what will be my actual prediction.

3 Reasons Japan Will Win

1) Their ability to hold possession.

Usually, Australia’s ability to hold possession would be equal if not superior to that of Japan. However during this tournament Australia has shown a lack of ability to hold the ball. They have been passing the ball around amongst their defenders but then pump a useless long ball to their attackers every time pressure from the opposition becomes too much (which it inevitably does).

This has been enough to defeat the lesser teams that Australia have played so far in this tournament (South Korea excluded) but it will not help us against Japan. Uzbekistan dominated possession against Australia in the semi final. At one stage Uzbekistan had 68% possession (Australia went on to win 6-0). We will not win like that if Japan have 68% (or similar) possession.

2) Their road to the final.

Japan had a much harder semi final than Australia did. While it is desirable to have the road to the final to be as easy as possible, if you can look in hindsight, it is always best to have had the hardest possible journey to the final. So in other words, they wouldn’t have been too happy to have had to have played South Korea (before the semi final took place) but after emerging victors, they would have been grateful for the preparation.

In comparison, Australia thrashed Uzbekistan 6-0. Great for the confidence but no good when you consider that Japan will be more mentally prepared for a tough battle than Australia.

3) Japan’s superior experience and performance in tournaments.

Japan, despite not being as good a team as Australia always seems to to better than them in tournaments (at least recently). A classic example was the 2007 Asian cup. Japan defeated Australia in penalty shootout (despite Australia dominating the match). Tournament intelligence is a strength that should be looked upon with as much respect as fitness or the skill level of a team.

Reasons Australia will win

1) Increasing tournament intelligence.

Australia’s team in the 2010 world cup was vastly superior to this current team. However the world cup team didn’t manage to make it past the first round where as this current Asian cup team has made it through the final while playing well below their potential. I just spoke about Japan’s superior tournament intelligence. However it may be the case that Australia’s tournament intelligence is beginning to surpass that of Japan.

Tournament intelligence (or game intelligence for that matter) is the difference between a team that plays well but somehow manages to lose and a team that plays rubbish but sneaks away with a win. Australia have been slowly gaining both match intelligence and tournament intelligence. This increased capacity has not only seen it make it to the final of an Asian cup but also will see it do very well next world cup.

2) Australia is the number 1 team in Asia.

Australia are the best. The tournament giants. Australia were tournament favorites and deservedly so. To qualify for last years world cup, Australia had to play Japan twice. Once home and once away.

Australia first went to Japan and drew 0-0. This draw was crucial in the context of qualifying and especially as it was an away draw. They then played in Australia (after both teams had secured qualification) and Australia came from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

3) Mark Schwartzer

Australia’s goalkeeper, the best goal keeper.

Mark has kept Australia in this tournament. He has only conceded one goal (despite a defense that was lacking). If both teams go to penalty shootout, Australia will surely feel confident with Mark between the sticks.

Mark Schwartzer will become the most capped Australian player when he faces Japan in a few hours. If Australia win, it will be in no small part due to his work.

My Prediciton

Australia win. They are simply the better side. While I’m not a fan of giving a scoreline, I’ll give a prediction of 2-0. We will see how my prediction pans out.

Regards

-Simon

For Australians, January 26th is Australia day. January 26th signals the anniversary of the first fleet landing on Australian shores. Australians choose to celebrate this day in many different ways.

We honor those Australians who have provided good for the community and we welcome new Australians (those who take a pledge of allegiance and who officially become citizens).

I said it exactly a year ago and I will say it again. For me, every day is Australia day. There is not a day that goes by where I am not appreciative of the fact that I live here.

Today is however a time for reflection. A time to ask myself what I contributed to this country and what I can contribute in the year to come.

Today the Australian of the year award took place (takes place on this day every year). Congratulations to these people:

Australian of the year: Simon McKeon.

Investment banker who is involved with quite a few charities. Simon used this oppotunity to push for Australia to become a republic. This is something I disagree with.

Young Australian of the year: Jessica Watson.

Sailed around the world non stop and unassisted. She did this at the age of 16 (if it were not for a technicality and a miscalculation, she would have been the youngest person to do so). Jessica used this opportunity to push for the voting age in Australia to be reduced to 16. I have to say I strongly disagree on this point and will be speaking more about it later on.

Senior Australian of the year: Professor Ron McCallum

Equal rights campaigner. Was the first blind full professor at an Australian university. He used his opportunity to outline his struggle for equal rights for all Australians, especially older Australians. I certainly agree with him on that point.

Australia’s Local Hero: Donald Ritchie

Recognized for his service in suicide prevention. Don lives near ‘the gap’ in Sydney (a notorious suicide spot). He has saved more than 160 lives but coaxing potential suicide victims away from the cliffs edge. Don used his opportunity to encourage Australians to smile at each other as they pass by. Obviously I agree with him on this.

There was also talk this year of changing Australia’s flag. These calls have come about because one quarter of Australia’s flag is taken up by the Union Jack (Britain’s flag). It’s true, having another nations flag on our own flag is disgusting. However I am yet to see a decent alternative. Until such time as a decent alternative has been settled upon, we should stick with the same flag.

Regards

-Simon