Goodbye Chaser, Goodbye.

The Chaser finale was on Wednesday night. Sob.

I've been reading the obituary (comments) from the ABC website and I think this was my favorite because it managed to slam everyone under the age of 50 while acknowledging a slight flaw in their own reasoning:

Chris Theunissen:
30 Jul 2009 3:54:28pm
Good riddance. They symbolise all that is offensive about Generation Y even if they might be Gen X'ers.
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Nice.

Midwifes and Medicare

There was an interesting question posed on Q and A last night about midwives... apparently Nicola Roxon (the Australian Minister for Health and Aging) is suggesting that midwives who go about their midwif-ly duties in a hospital setting should be able to access the same sort of insurance and benefits to which doctors and nurses are currently entitled. This would not, however, extend to home births with no medical supervision.

Some women are visably distraught and upset about this - for some reason that I can't quite understand they seem to believe that their ability to choose how they have their baby is being taken away from them. I can appreciate that, if that was the case, it would cause distress to anyone facing such a big moment... but the arguement to me seems absolute rubbish. The choice is still open, and as with any choice there are consequences to take into account. These might be financial, health related or social but to expect that the repercussions of your choices should be equal is just ridiculous.

Personally I think the opportunity to choose a midwife rather than a doctor is a huge step forward. While I can appreciate the appeal of a world where giving birth at home and giving birth in a hospital carried the same amount of risk and was therefore a choice on preference rather than medical or financial reasons, that is a little unrealistic and places a huge burden on the rest of society to cater to the whims and fancies of every single individual. Of course, having never been pregnant or given birth, nor being a medical professional I have zero experience in professing my opinion... but I would like to think that one day it is a choice I would have to make and that I wouldn't expect the entire community to shoulder the risk and consequences of my own personal preferences. Just saying.

One small step

In 1969, the Beatles played their final concert on the roof of a shopping mall; the Brady Bunch premiered on TV; the Vietnam War protest stepped up a notch; 32 of the best musicians of the era played at Woodstock...

And man walked on the moon.

Time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Moonwalk (years before Micheal Jackson). It's happened again a few times since but now that we know we can do that, the focus has been on the international space station, designed as not only an outer space research station but a potential stepping stone towards journeys further into our solar system. Already pychological and physical tests are underway to simulate a journey to Mars, and as our understanding of space and time improve, there is the potential to go wider and further.

Which brings up an interesting debate on the value of space research and exploration - many people would argue that charity begins at home, that the resources spent on space exploration would be better invested in dealing with issues like poverty, climate change and famine.

I personally am a huge supporter of space research and exploration but wonder what reactions to another moon mission would be today in the face of the GFC and climate change...

Why we should all feel incredibly guilty for even reading this blog...

My favorite quote from an online article today:

"We are uninterested, verging on contemptuous, of the marketing strategies that were supposed to pay for us to enjoy online services for free. We've become totally unwilling to pay for them directly, either; we simply figure that someone, somehow, will pick up the tab."

Any guesses regarding context?

Apparently, our desire for free access to global networking sites that rely on content and participation from the community like YouTube is incredibly selfish, ignoring poor, hard-working companies like News Ltd who scrape an honest living out of selling us things like access to information.

Feeling guilty?

Here is the link in all it's 'young generation expect everything for free' glory: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/how-can-youtube-survive-1734267.html