Earl Hood

Gee quiet on here tonight! Just got back from a get together with some old footy club mates at the Great Northern in Carlton. Great night but gee we are not the men we once were. Several guys called it quits by 10 claiming they were a bit tired! Would not have happened in our halcyon days. Half the table were Hawks fans, one involved with the Dawks was adamant they had Dangerfield lined up, been working on him for two years. At which point I said if you bastards get Dangermouse, that is it I am giving up AFL to follow the local footy.

OD have you ever tried bananas instead? They can do wonders. Just ask Deefrog.

Jazza I understand that there is this new Jurassic World on this island full of recreated dinosaurs acting for people's entertainment. Apparently the company has created a hybrid dinosaur more energetic than your run of the mill T Rex. But all the controls are in place. So what could possibly go wrong? Can't see how they kept the story going really to produce yet another movie. Next thing you will tell me is that somehow, something got loose. Hard to believe.

Thank you for your thoughts BBO. I have heard very little from those who I once counted as so called friends. Of course one does not seek higher honours nor does one necessarily expect that one's exhausting works on behalf of the less privileged would be recognised at least in the form of a so called Gong! Oh no there is no recognition for my tireless promotion on behalf of local, grass roots communities of the benefits of brown coal, coal seam gas and the dangers of wind turbine syndrome and don't start me on fluoridation and its affects on our precious bodily fluids for that matter. I know one ought not complain about one's station in life but when you have for example a Professor Abbott OAM (any relation I wonder) recognised by HRM for his works for dentistry well I rest my case. Where I ask is the justice?

No Dobbie Brothers?

DC I understand where you are coming from. The whole coffee thing is a overdone these days. There is a pretentiousness going on especially with the take away cardboard coffee cup fashion accessory that goes on the CBD every morning it is ridiculous and it all has to be kept in perspective. And this new filtered thing is beyond me. But Nescafé does not cut it for me. They have that at work but I don't bother I drink tea instead. I lived in Italy 25 years ago for a period so came to love their caffe culture and so moved back to inner Melbourne to replicate that If I buy a coffee it is just part of a ritual, I am either having a discussion at work or I am relaxing and reading the paper in the morning or after work on the way home. Now if I buy a coffee as part of this ritual and pay $4 these days I do expect it to be strong and correctly made. Gee I have had a lot of slop delivered over the years which is OK except they are asking me to pay for it.

Bj it is at 282 Sydney Road Coburg and its name is actually the Wild Timor Coffeehouse. Detail has never been my strong suit.

Now come on DC the bar is not as low as Borewood surely. That said I am tending to drink coffee outside Fitzroy these days quite often. Brunetti's in Carlton after work and several places in Abbottsford on the weekend, Admiral Cheng Ho stands out for good coffee and the total hipster experience. And the bakery at the Convent is worth a visit

Well yes calorie neutral perhaps Maple. It still cost me $40 for two but some of the proceeds go to Timor Leste. This place has a great story, some Australian peace keepers who went to East Timor to secure the peace after the Indonesian withdrawal in the early 2000's were travelling up in the highlands and stumbled across locals in a valley full of centuries old coffee plantations being paid zilch or their crops. The Aussies decided to purchase a few hundred kilos of beans for a fair market price and sent them back home to start the East Timor Coffee House. Since then they have paid fair prices and put money back into the local community. Highly recommend a visit and the coffee is as good as it gets, better than anything in Fitzroy by the way.

Bj how many kilometres on this bike ride? BoxHill to Collingwood is enough but then out to Ashburton? Is this on bike trails? I did the Merri Creek bike trail to Coburg Lake then back down the Upfield line and home this morning myself. Stopped in at the East Timor Coffee House in Brunswick for breakfast on the way. Great coffee and food and undid all the exercise of course.

Cartagena RL? Great place the old city that is.

Yes the Buddyator has gone but I have been doing some user acceptance testing on the Dermietron and it is very real. I am in hospital tonight after I did some simulations today without the proper PPE and Take 4 risk assessments. I stupidly started the Dermietron, then punched in Dean Chiron and found myself in a realistic 3D visual of the old Waverley ground with the umpire about to do the first bounce. There were plenty of Demon and Hawthorn jumpers around but I don't remember much more than that. The ball was bounced, then I caught a glimpse of Dermie and his elbow just before the collision, just before I passed out I was told I had given away a free to Dermie. But that's Hawksworld, they always win!

On another issue Relating to the Hawks new training centre at Dingley, my wife who is a Hawk tragic is not happy with my vision for their new headquarters. Yes the Hawks Nest will have an admin centre, state of the art training facilities and about ten ovals to replicate the MCG, Etihad, the SCG, Subiaco, Adelaide Oval etc. but then there will be the RACV like supporters experience. A 10 storey hotel, an 18 hole golf course for use by the punters but only when the Dorks players aren't playing. Then there would be Hawksworld for the kids to visit where you can buy tickets for the Dippertron where you enter a 3D light and sound space not unlike the old ghost train experience but instead you have a Dipper coming at you at 100 km/hr with his elbow up with only a second to react. After that you buy tickets for the Dermietron and then the lethaltron. The Lethaltron has great visuals, you really feel like you are there on the ground playing fullback and then all of a sudden your lights go out. It is an amazing game I mean at no time do you ever see Lethal lining you up for a king hit. It just happens, bang, you are out cold and no one ever sees it. Great game. Oh the wife is not talking to me by the way.

BBO I feel for you after such a dilemma but I can't provide much personal advice on these matters as my man Hudson deals with these type of "downstairs issues" as I label them.

Maple can we get back to kiwi berries or Let's talk bananas Deefrog, anything but this animal talk?

That case concerned some horses who were asking for it I understand Moons, no mention of alpacas or cows in the case for the prosecution as I read it.

Forever playing "the Gentleman from Romsey" BBO when there is a lady around but I think Maple may have worked you out some time ago!

Que Deefrog!

Moons, Surry Hills played in Demon jumpers didn't they?

Good idea Maple. I know my quinoa crop has been a failure so far. I thought living on the fifth floor and facing north near the Fitzroy Swimming Pool was a pretty good approximation for the climate conditions around Lake Titicaca in Bolivia but I could have miscalculated this one. It might be time to move onto these kiwi berries.

Played cricket there a few times against East Box Hill CC if I remember correctly BBO. The ground surface had more silt than grass sometimes. I grew up in the area and can remember when the flood retarding basin was built in the mid 60's.

DC not sure I want to know about the monster! Where abouts in BoxHill South is your son? Which street? I remember most of them as I used to sought mail at the Box Hill Post Office pre Christmas when I was very young on school holidays. This may come as s shock I grew up in that humble working class suburb before I later was informed that I was related to a long lost member of the British aristocracy and became the towering figure I am today.

BJ do you mean Box Hill? And was the cover band still playing the Dobbie Brothers?

Absolute Shyte day at the club, I have had enough. Can't we talk about bananas for a change? By the way the cluster of banana trees next door to my beach shack down on the Surf Coast is coming along nicely. The old guy owner has no idea who much they are worth. Could be a big harvest coming up. Of course I have offered to manage the whole process for him. I can make better use of the proceeds.

What are they?