Earl Hood

DC I do have a life that is quite varied and productive thanks. And I do gain energy from robust debates. My takes on Tony don't take up that much of my time because he is such a sitting target. I don't have to spend too much time researching data trying to analyse his decisions. I mean it is a matter of debating three word slogans, stereotypes and prejudices with our Tony. By the way at least I haven't got splinters up my arse from sitting on the fence on so many subjects, in let's wait and so the outcomes from Gonski etc! Come on DC where's your passion? What do YOU believe in? By the way one of my passions is tennis and Roger is on fire against Murray. Sublime stuff!

Tony is in good form in Davos basically telling Bang Bang to go jump, we will keep turning back the boats and potentially invading your waters. It's a matter of OZ sovereignty mate! Want a have a go? Strewth It's one thing to walk all over Timor Leste like jumped up bullies where ASIO is actually working on behalf of Woodside Petroleum but I would be very weary of bullying the Indonesians. They can hurt us if they wish too. I don't think international diplomacy is a strong point for Abbott, Morrison and co. Oh and I loved his call on Shorten as being very cocky for one so soon in the job as Opposition leader; this comment from the most aggressive, abusive upstart in opposition history. All three word slogans, personal abuse and no policy; As we are now discovering! Anyone for yet another review of something by LNP hacks?

Gee no one had taken the bait yet!

The Royal Mail at Dunfeld? Or somewhere closer to Melbourne?

Forget Dunn's missing mo what is going on with his tats on the chest? Is he sponsored by the Pancake Palour on his right ab? Not sure what to make of the other side. Maybe all is explained in the necklace wording? It is all too much for me who played with blokes who had the odd tatt on an arm here and there. It never crossed my mind to undergo the needle and thank God because the images wouldn't be looking too flash now days.

Ditto Yze Magic!

It is going to be hot. But I noted channel 7 sports news tonight had film of MFC training today at Gosch's according to Timmy Watson! Had film of Jonesy wrestling someone. Are they making it up?

Tomic has just pulled the pin against Nadal !! Groin issue apparently. He did something in the first game but this is not going to help his image. I have a feeling Hewitt with the same injury would have gone down like the black knight in Monty Python. They would carried him out horizontal. But that is not our Bernard. He was playing quite well I thought, maybe it was just bad luck but then Bernie needs to look at all these early retirements and losses due to injury.

Robbie thanks for your considered response. Yes I am warm and fuzzy tonight because my aircon has failed but not because of whatever you thought I meant in my post. So you ignored my main proposition about the characteristics of a good teacher and moved straight to the issue our falling standards agianst other countries. And then threw up one reason, process instead of content for the problem and then somehow managed to blame poor old Joan Kirner. that is a masterful effort in little more than a paragraph. Well done there. The Gonski report spent much time by many experts developing a response to the problem you have identified. On the eve of its implementation of course our old friend Mr Pyne intervened to basically undermine its requirements while throwing even more money at it but not enforcing any of the States to match the fundingand the required improvement actions. Now who would I back? A report by educational experts who have studied the declining educational standards issue and proposed solutions that entail extra funding to disadvantaged schools etc, etc amongst a variety of solutions or do I listen to someone from Brighton who has his opinions based on.....?

But we haven't any training reports on Wines. He may be really training the house down while burning up the training track at the same time!

I was talking about Dipper not Robbie.

Robbie as you can probably guess again I think you are on the wrong tram (or should I say tunnel). If I was interviewing teachers for a position I would be looking less at their academic scores and more at their rapport with children and their passion for their subject. Have they worked with kids previously, coaching sport part time, something that indicates their commitment and enthusiasm for teaching and working with kids? High IQ's and exceptional study scores are one thing but not necessarily an indicator of a great teacher. If they can inspire a child to be as good as they can be, the teacher has achieved much more than some highly intelligent graduate who cannot relate to their class. why do we need high IQ teachers who are teaching fairly basic level curriculum that anyone with a degree could understand. The real skill is being able to impart knowledge to others and Can inspire others. Our different opinions may stem from the emphasis on content versus process. I think the content, the curriculum is secondary. The process is all important. Teachings kids to analyse things, how to solve problems and think for themselves is important but not as important as building their self confidence and ability to communicate and work with others. You don't need Einsteins to deliver this.

Gee I think I remember that game. Early seventies, I guess, especially remember Ross Dillon marking everything that came his way. We had some players then, but never a team.

Yes I think there should have been a weighting score given to the various categories. If we look at the player histories of the likes of Dermie or Wayne Carey,even Arron Hamill, I think agression is a Hugh plus. How would Dermie have scored on this table, under sized, probably little endurance, speed? Not sure! What he did have was aggression, football smarts and the will to succeed. I am backing Hogan at this stage, he meets my criteria that should be a given for all our kids, he likes physical contact. Here is hoping that he can stop jarring his knees and that he re-signs at the end of the year.

Well thanks for that Robbie. I won't pass on your on your expert opinion and thoughts to my wife who has spent nearly 30 years teaching in schools for the disadvantaged in the northern suburbs, Greeks in Fawkner High, East Timorese at Richmond, battlers from Heidleberg, Olympic villiage, Sudenese, Somalies in Mcleod, you name it, she has had to deal with struggling kids from often dysfunctional families. But of course she doesn't get the results they manage over at Brighton Grammer but that must be a reflection on her abilities. As we know all kids are created equal and should be measured as such (and I blame Julia for this absurdity). Yes she may lean to the left but the last time I looked she was working at home after work hours developing the next days classes that concentrate on the process of learning and less on the content. She and the majority of her cohorts are not dodos, I can assure you. And as for the young ones coming through as teachers, when they can score a job, they are better trained and more prepared than our generation. But of course being on the public payroll I suppose they are all parasites in your mind. Would I be correct?

If we are talking about Abbott embarrassments we now have Christopher Pyne's review of our national curriculum! For heavens sake the agreed curriculum that has been developed laboriously with the states over the last four years has not yet been deployed. We have no data to measure yet but Pyne sees the need to review! The man is an ideological midget! His nominated reviewers are already talking about the need for more emphasis on religious studies. Good heavens are now going to be studying Creationism versus Evolution? And since when has curriculum content been of any real consequence? A child's education is more dependent on process, developing thinking skills, leadership skills, problem solving, working in teams, content is secondary I would have thought.

No I don't have the statistics but I do know there are several levels of car parks under every high rise office building in Melbourne's CBD and I assume they are full of cars every day, I know the ones I go to every now and then are full and have a few spaces for visitors, the rest are for regulars. That is telling me something, maybe a percentage of workers in every high rise building in the CBD are driving to work and then home. Maybe different policies could persuade them to get there by different means. But let's not go there Robbie, lets just be angry! $8 billion of your money on a tunnel I hope it is money well spent. PS yes you are right I don't know the answers to your questions. I don't know how many people live in Fitzroy, how many work or how many vote international socialists. Who does? And by the way who would care?

Gee you ask a lot of questions Robbie! By the way Tomic has just gone down to Del Potro. The Argentinenian is just too strong. I thought Bernie might have been able to soft ball him and upset his power and rhythm. But not to be. My point is we both drive around for work, so do many others but we are not causing gridlock on the eastern or Hoddle street between the hours of 7.30 to 9.30 each workday morning. The majority of cars lined up at those times have one person in them and they are headed to a head office car park in the CBD and the car will stay there all day. Is this computing with you? Do we spend $8 billion to build a tunnell for them or do we look at some alternative, innovative solutions? Just asking.

I drive for work to different places each day, not to a specific workplace as you will find a high % of those on the eastern fwy are doing each morning. I don't ride my bike on major roads because I worry about becoming a target for some grumpy bastard in a car who thinks he owns the road. Do you know anyone like that? I agree neither side of politics has any intention to build rail they are all under the spell of the road lobby and the votes they believe it brings. So lets just keep doing what we have been doing then! No innovative thinking required to ensure we get the best value for our investments.

Hasn't this been much of our problems over the last decade or two, our inability to recruit elite talent. When we talk elite I don't include the development variable, I believe largely that real elite talents will develop themselves no matter where they are, MFC or GFC. And to a large degree it is still a lottery to pick the one or two elites who may be sitting in each draft in or around say the top 20. We have been awful at it and Hawthorn have been exceptional and hit the jackpot every 4 or 5 years that has set them up for success. Starting with Hodge and Mitchell then Buddy, Roughead and Lewis then top up with Cyril and they all stay fit and playing. That is the recipe for sustained success. The definition used by Champion data is a bit loose I think; I don't regard Gunston as elite, he is good but you have to take into account the team around him that makes him look very good indeed. Put him our forward line and how does he fare? Put Wayne Carey there and he stars, no matter who he plays with.

RobbieYes I do have a car, I need it for work but otherwise I ride a bike or walk, sometimes catch a tram but that is a previledge of living inner city I know. But we can keep building billion dollar freeways that just encourage people to get in their cars and drive I suppose but it is not very smart. We could spend $8 billion on public transport I suppose, getting rid of level crossings, new signalling that would speed up both trains and cars but that doesn't seem to attract votes, especially from uppity, professional types who would rather sit lonely in a car than be seen dead amongst the unwashed on public transport. I mean think about it for a second, the eastern freeway doesn't work well for 2 or 3 hours in the morning at Hoddle Street, the rest of the time it works reasonably well. It doesn't work at morning peak because 98% of the cars have one person in them all trying to go to the same place at the same time! Is the only solution more lanes and tunnels? Especially when our politicians keep saying Memlbourne will double its population in 20 years or so. Good heavens surely there are other more cost effective solutions and I suspect many of them are written on the protest placards you can see at the drilling sites in Fitzroy. It is called public transport, buses, trains, trams and can I throw in time of use tolling of all the major freeways into Melbourne. If you put a large enough cost on driving into the city at peak hour you might find people who don't really need to be on the road at that time find alternatives very quickly and that those who do are willing to pay a bit more to get there quicker. Anyway none of that will happen it is too complex for the Herald Sun editors and the RACV to get their small minds around.

Robbie Yes I do work and pay my taxes. Got down to the Fitzroy pool early for a swim then hopped over to the picket line across the road for 30 minutes of solidarity, then off to work. It was good to catch up with a couple of local fitzroyals who have been around for years and manned the barricades to save the Fitzroy pool from oberfuhier Kennett and his henchmen. It seems Fitzroy, Collingwood and Clifton Hill are full of rent a crowd protesters, if you go by the anti freeway signs on every second or third house in these suburbs. I am sure there are a few bludgers over in Carlton and Parkville to boot. I thought you living over in Brighton might not be too happy for $8 billion or so of tax payers money going to a tunnel you will never use. It's purpose is to allow the citizens of the leafy eastern suburbs to continue to drive one person to a car to the city and some even to the airport. And of course there is no guarantee that it will solve congestion on Hoddle street.

Myth I just got back from the East West picket, finished my shift. There are about 50 protesters and 100 police, most of whom are sitting around having lattes from their own mobile police catering trucks. It is quite a bizarre sight on the Alexandra Pde median strip. I thought it was Hollywood film crew setting up when I first saw them yesterday. Anyway we need help over here, maybe you and RobbieF could sign up for morning shift next week? Protest placards are provided free.

Hmmm. I think I am guilty of starting this latest tedious [censored] for tat discussion on parental influence on children, sorry it started with what I thought was a good Jesus/Cory Bernardi joke back in post 833! Can we get back to slamming Tony or maybe Scott "I can't talk about operational matters" Morrison?

Gee this thread is running out of steam, should I mention Cory Bernardi's latest diatribes? He has a problem with families that don't meet the accepted standard and that the children invariably end up in trouble if they come from failed relationships, single parents or same sex partners. A letter writer to the Age today pointed out that Joseph was a step father and look at the problems Jesus got himself into! Good point I thought. Maybe Cory's onto something.