Cold?

Yah reckon?

Well, it's finally decided to look like it feels here in Tatsuno. It was quite a lovely walk this morning, tramping through the slush in my nice Italian waterproof hiking boots. I'm glad I bought them!

We start three days of testing for our young students from today. It doesn't really count for anything - it's more about boosting their confidence and motivation.

It was Australia Day on the 26th, so I took a little quiz to see if I still qualify as a true Aussie. I reckon I passed well!

It's been a fine week for trekking through the internet, looking for spoils.

For a start, it appears that more of us could be psychic than we realised. It won't help me pick lotto numbers though, I bet...

One of my pet hates is the awful names people give their children. Here's a list from Georgia. I'd love to meet the girl who's called Chlorine - and laugh at her parents. I also have a soft spot for Nacho, Teriyaki, and of course, Vanilla.

I have to get this!

In other news, there's been a war going on in the Congo for the past ten years or so, and has killed about 5 million people so far. Didn't hear about that on the TV for the past..... ever? It's an absolute travesty. Any article that has lines like, "We are talking about new surgery to repair the women, because they’re completely destroyed," in it then you know something is very wrong and sad in the world. It's not pretty reading, but war isn't funny, really.

Also, there was a concise summary of what's happening economically and how the upcoming US meltdown is going to affect us all.

Thankfully, it looks like we really did elect someone with a brain last December.

And there is some justice in this world.

Peace.