Shamocracy

The new electoral roll laws coming into effect tomorrow are, I feel, dodgy. They are supposed to limit electoral fraud. In effect, they make it harder to participate in the democratic process. Also, there are some interesting riders accompanying these changes. Here are two amendments.

-Increase the threshold for donating anonymously to political parties from the old limit of $1,500 to $10,000. Donors and recipients will not have to identify the donor's name for donations under this amount.

-Increase the level of tax deductible contributions from old limit of $100 per year to $1500 per year.

This increase is huge!
Why the hell should there be tax relief donating to a political party? Which party's members may benefit from these changes the most, I wonder?
For an interesting read, have a look at the commentary by Norm Kelly, a politics teacher at ANU and former member of the Western Australian parliament. He makes an interesting point that a person could contribute to the same political party at the state level and the federal level, totalling $90,000, without having to disclose it.

Why is there so little scrutiny and critical analysis in the press about these changes? Just another example of how todays journalists no longer practise journalism. The job now involves just rehashing press releases.

Wrestle-tastic

I joined a-man at a Wrestlemania shindig and it was superb. I haven't watch pro-wrestling in a while and it was so good to see the crazy action again.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was at his finest and was wearing a t-shirt that sported a simple yet eloquent phrase.



I immediately wanted one of those t-shirts. Then I got to thinking (rare, I know). This idea can be adapted. Start with a plain version:



then customise it to suit the occasion. For example, a nerd may have:



and this one applies to some people at parties:



The possibilities are endless......

Whatareya....

Here are four reasons why I don't have a myspace...
Reason No 1.
Reason No 2.
Reason No 3.
Reason No 4.

Return of the D.F.F

I have decided to bring back the Door Film Festival. The theme for this one will be John Landis. The following three films were shortlisted:
The Kentucky Fried Movie
Animal House
Trading Places

The date: 6th or 7th Apr. Date depends on numbers. Let me know if you wish to attend.

It is going to be next saturday the 7th April.

This is a journey into sound..

Over the summer I built a couple of guitar effects. Here are some samples of the sounds created.

Phaser
Subtle setting.
Subtle setting used for short segment of Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss".
All dials cranked to 11.

Wha-Wha
Short segment of random notes.

I now just have to find housings for them because at the moment they are just sitting around like this: