Smurfie's Weblogs and Forum Information

Mirror Test

2010-12-18T17:30:00.001+10:00

A Mirror or a 2-Way Glass???
How can you tell when you are in a room, restroom,
motel etc. with a mirror or a 2-way glass?

Here's how: I thought it was quite interesting! And I
know in about 30 seconds you're going to do what I did
and find the nearest mirror.

Do you know how to determine if a mirror is 2-way or
not? A policewoman who travels all over the US and
gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen passed
this on.

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms,
changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure
that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall
is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (i.e.,
they can see you, but you can't see them)? There have
been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in
female changing rooms . It is very difficult to
positively identify the surface by looking at it.

So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty
what type of mirror we are looking at?

Just conduct this simple test: Place the tip of your
fingernail against the reflective surface and if there
is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the
nail, then it is GENUINE mirror. However, if your
fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail,
then BEWARE! IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!

"No Space, Leave the Place" So remember, every time
you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't
cost you anything.

REMEMBER. No Space, Leave the Place:

Ladies: Share this with your girlfriends, sisters,
daughters, etc.

Men: Share this with your wives, daughters,
daughters-in-law, mothers, girlfriends and/or friends.

The Spoiled Under 30 Crowd

2008-01-20T14:05:00.000+10:00

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning...uphill BOTH ways … yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that...

I'm over the ripe old age of thirty , I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy!
I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

1. When I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

2. There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter...with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

3. There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

4. We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

5. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

6. We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like ' Space Invaders ' and 'asteroids' and the graphics were horrible! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

7. When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

8. Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no on screen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

And there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!

9. And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a fire ... imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid JiffyPop thing or a pan with HOT oil and Real popcorn kernels and shake it al l over the stove forever like an idiot.

10. When we were on the phone with our friends and our parents walked-in, we were stuck to the wall with a cord, a 7 foot cord that ran to the phone - not the phone base, the actual phone. We barely had enough length to sit on the floor and still be able to twirl the phone cord in our fingers. If you suddenly had to go to the bathroom - guess what we had to do.....hang up and talk to them later.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

Japan 'agrees to release anti-whaling hostages'

2008-01-16T09:22:00.000+10:00

* Japan has agreed to release anti-whaling hostages
* Earlier claim of tying to mast denied
* Multimedia special: Whale facts and figures

JAPAN has agreed to release two anti-whaling activists held on board a whaling ship in Antarctic waters, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.

Mr Smith said Japan had agreed to release Benjamin Potts, 28, of Sydney, and Giles Lane, 35, from Britain, after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and embassy officials in Tokyo spoke to the Japanese Government.

"Late last night I was advised the Japanese had agreed to this and they had instructed the relevant whaling ship to return the men to the Steve Irwin," Mer Smith said on ABC radio.

"The most important thing here is the safety and welfare of the two men concerned and we do as the Australian Government want their immediate release.

"My most recent advice, which is in the last hour, is that that transfer has not yet occurred and I'm calling upon both parties, both the Steve Irwin and Sea Shepherd and the Japanese whaling vessel, to effect immediately their safe return of the two men concerned."

The activists boarded the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru No 2 about 4pm (AEDT) yesterday to deliver a written plea to stop killing whales.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society international director Jonny Vasic said the two men were tied to a radar mast in freezing conditions for up to three hours after their capture, a claim denied by Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which is running the whale hunt.

The Japanese catcher ship was one of a fleet of five the Steve Irwin had tracked since January 1 but located in the Southern Ocean yesterday, Mr Vasic said.

Held hostage

“When they got on board and delivered the letter they were not allowed to leave,” Mr Vasic said.

“The letter basically stated that they (the Japanese crew) were breaking the international conservation law against whaling in the Antarctic sanctuary.”

Mr Vasic said the men were tied to a radar mast for up to three hours in icy conditions before they were taken below.

“We have a photo that shows that when they were held they were basically strapped by the arms with zip ties and tied with rope around their chests, and then they were held there for several hours in the cold, and then about two-and-a-half to three hours after that they were taken below,” he said.

Mr Lane is an engineer aboard the Steve Irwin and Mr Potts is a cook.

Mr Vasic said Sea Shepherd had contacted the British High Commission in Australia and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

ICR director-general Minoru Morimoto said the men had not been tied up and were taken to a secure room.

“Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue,” Mr Morimoto said.

“It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future.

“The two boarded the Yushin Maru No 2 after they made attempts to entangle the screw (propeller) of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid onto the decks.”

The incident occurred just inside the Australian Antarctic Sanctuary near the intersection of the coordinates 60 degrees south and 77 degrees east, a week's sail southwest of the Australian coast, Mr Vasic said.

The encounter came after the Australian Federal Court today outlawed whaling in Australian Antarctic waters in a ruling the government said it would not try to enforce.

Divorce Season is now Open

2008-01-13T10:12:00.000+10:00

FEUDING couples have inundated divorce lawyers after a surge in relationship breakdowns over the Christmas and New Year period.

More than 10,000 Australian couples, including 3000 from NSW, are expected to start divorce proceedings this month, making it the busiest time of year for family lawyers.

About 20 per cent of all divorces are instigated in January, according to Barry Frakes, a partner with Sydney family law specialists Watts McCray Lawyers.

"If people are going through hard times in their relationships, Christmas is a time when things can become strained and arguments happen because expectations are high and things don't happen the way they want,'' Mr Frakes said.

"Therefore we see a lot of people having fights or breakdowns and coming to our doors as soon as our offices re-open.

"In a large firm like ours there are a lot of new clients booking in appointments now.''

Crisis counselling services such as Mensline have also been flooded with calls from people suffering stress and depression as a result of family breakdowns.

Statistics show New Year's Day is the single most turbulent day of the year among families, with a 157 per cent increase in domestic violence in NSW.

Australian Family Association spokeswoman Angela Conway said couples should work at trying to repair their relationships rather than start divorce proceedings in the heat of the moment.

"The Christmas and New Year period is a big danger zone and relationships difficulties and tensions do come to a head at this time of year,'' she said.

"We would certainly encourage couples to look more closely at their options because there is a growing amount of research showing that divorce rarely solves long-term problems or brings the peace and happiness that people think it will.

"It may look hopeless and it may feel terrible but it's worth sticking to your marriage and trying to make it work.''

Mr Frakes, who is also a mediator, arbitrator and former emergency court hotline operator over Christmas, also encouraged families to negotiate matters out of court whenever possible.

"People have expectations that Christmas will be perfect like it is on TV shows and in advertising,'' he added.

"People are confronted when they see their own life doesn't fit that stereotype and they feel sad about what they don't have. That's when they decide to take (legal) action.''

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal there were 51,375 divorces granted in 2006, of which 14,482 were in NSW.

While the highest proportion are lodged in January, divorces usually take months to be completed, meaning they are finalised later in the year.

Couples have to be separated for 12 months and prove their marriage is irretrievably broken before they can get a divorce.

2000 abuse victims apply for cash

2008-01-10T09:57:00.000+10:00

NEARLY 2000 people have applied for ex-gratia payments of up to $40,000 for their childhood abuse and neglect last century in Queensland government and church-run institutions.

But advocates yesterday warned many more might be unaware of the $100 million redress scheme, while others might lack the emotional or intellectual capacity to apply.

"Significant numbers, including people who are indigenous, who, due to their mental health, lack of education, the fact they've never disclosed their abuse before, will need support in getting their application organised – particularly those applying for the second level payment for serious abuse," said Karyn Walsh, spokeswoman for Lotus Place, which provides support services to the victims of institutional abuse.

"Our concern and our challenge is how we're going to reach the whole state," she said.

The State Government announced the $100 million scheme in June, finally implementing – at least in part – a key recommendation of the 1999 Forde inquiry into the abuse of children in Queensland institutions.

The type of institutions included orphanages, industrial schools, youth detention centres and reform schools.

Communities Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said there had been a broad advertising campaign, with another planned before the scheme's closing date.

Ms Nelson-Carr said people could get help with their applications from Lotus Place and from approved service providers in their regions.

She said that of 1936 applications so far received, 1257 were for both the level one $7000 payment and the level two extra $33,000 payment.

To date, 28 letters of offer had been sent out.

"Level one payments will be made progressively to eligible applicants, with priority being given to people 70 years and older or those who have a life-threatening illness," she said.

"Level two payments of up to $33,000 will be finalised after the June 30, 2008 closing date.

"The payments will be made from within the $100 million allocation for the scheme."

Ms Nelson-Carr said applications were being processed as fast as possible, though delays could occur if forms were not completed correctly or if there was insufficient supporting documentation provided.

Redress Scheme information line 1300 769 291.

The potentially harmful new toy

2008-01-04T18:55:00.000+10:00

Broadcast Date: January 04, 2008
We are being pelted with poison. There are foods that could be killing us slowly and now a toy on sale in one of our big department stores is at best dangerous and at worst, deadly.

The latest Chinese import is called 'Sweet Girl' it's a strawberry flavoured make-up kit aimed at girls 10-years-old or younger. Some ingredients have been banned elsewhere.

Peter Taubert is a lecturer on dangerous chemicals and author of four books on the subject. He says this latest dolled up product should never have been allowed into the country.

"Some of the products as ingredients in it are banned completely in the European Union, some of them, the main preservatives they are using in all four of the products, are banned for being cancer causers in Japan, and yet they're available here to put them on a child's skin," Peter said.

"There's millions of dollars spent on telling us don't smoke, but nothing is being spent on don't eat petro-chemical colours, don't eat things that have four preservatives in it when they could be using one or none."

Some of the products Peter has in the cross hairs will surprise you, like the old favourite sweet, Smarties. At least six of those pretty colours come from somewhere not so pretty.

"They're basically petro-chemicals," Peter said.

Australia's biggest selling biscuit Tim Tam also gets a thumbs down from Peter for colours derived from coal tar.

"In the Tim Tam there are four petro-chemicals," Peter said.

But chocolate coated Scotch Finger biscuits get the thumbs up. "The only colouring used in that chocolate is caramel," he said.

Despite bringing all of these crazy chemicals to light, Peter says no-one in authority, it seems, is prepared to do anything about it, all of these products have been approved and are legal.

Peter says more chemical testing needs to be done and bans brought in where necessary.

"We're poisoning ourselves and we're poisoning our children, at a massive rate," Peter said.

"We're seeing massive rises in kidney disease, in cancer, hyperactivity, asthma. All of these things are on the increase all the time and yet these sorts of products are laced, literally laced, with these chemicals that are implicated in causing those very diseases," Peter said.

Despite the science, we really don't know what these chemicals are doing to our bodies and what the safe levels of intake are, especially with repeated use or what happens when certain chemicals are mixed together.

And that brings us back to the 'Sweet Girl' make-up kit which was brought to our attention by Today Tonight viewer and grandfather, Tony Gilling.

His four-year-old granddaughter was given the make-up kit as a gift, but Tony soon realised something was very wrong with this terrible toy.

"I came in from work one evening and she was playing with it. I could smell it outside, because I'm a painter by trade, I knew the ingredients and I immediately took it off her. I said it was too dangerous," Tony said.

Our chemical expert has carried out a detailed examination of the make-up kit and Peter was shocked by what he found.

He looked at the four products individually, firstly the lipstick that contains something called BHT, pretty innocuous you'd think.

"If you saw the words Butylated hydroxytoluene, would it not alarm you a little bit more?" Peter asked.

"Its one of the nastiest. It's linked with cancer, it's linked with kidney problems, it's linked with pregnancy problems, with damage to sperm, it just goes on and on and on," Peter said.

Next, the lip gloss and some of the ingredients here are almost unpronounceable.

"Isopropyl myristate â�� now, it's as nasty as you can get," Peter said.

The cream eye shadow has the same chemical crud.

"Isopropyl myristate is listed at five out of five for causing acne," Peter said.

"Most of the colours that are in this, almost all of them, are Asodyes. Asodyes are known human carcinogens. They're outlawed in Japan, many places in the European Union but we allow them," Peter said.

And finally the nail polish which you'll remember drove granddad Tony Gilling to give the make-up kit the flick.

"The nail polish is the worst of all of them. The number one ingredient in this is Ethel acetate. It's a narcotic. Now to breath a narcotic we can have hallucinations, there is kidney damage, there is heart damage, there's damage to the brain," Peter said.

And what makes this a bigger slap in the face for parents, is the cardboard tag on the kids kit. In the finest of print it says "keep out of reach of children".

This year toy giants Mattel and Fisher Price were forced to recall millions of toys made in China because they contained lead, which was also found in many show bags sold in Australia that were later withdrawn from sale.

"The job of business is to make money, make money for their shareholders. The job of people is to make sure that what you buy, especially for our children, isn't harmful to them," Peter said.

Ending year 2007

2007-12-31T17:42:00.000+10:00

Well for 2007 we have had an eventual year so far,we have had drought after drought and finally we look like breaking that drought after 7 years with no rains at all with many town and city's running dry and having to use methods like we never had before to conserve water,By making all houses use water Levels,no hoses to be used outside and showers under limits of how much you can use when having showers like 130 mg liters per day. we moved house again during the year and no share a large house with son and daughter in-law with 3 grandkids,saving $$$$ we share all costs incurred ,this is only way to live today with housing cost soaring beyond our control.There have one tragedy's in the family for this year it was my father who passed away 4th March at age 82 after having a massive heart attack we was informed 4 days before he died,he was hospitalized 24th Dec 2006 so we did not have time to say good bye to him as he was not awake at any time.I am fighting the Australian Government at this time of year for compensation for all the year of child abuse in orphanages I was in during the 1950/60's,so far I have had an offer so far but not what I think is reasonable,still fighting them for more.My Santa job is going well as I was visited by over 5000 children during my 30 days at shopping centers around Brisbane.I am also involved with Clan ,Australia and holding a meeting this year at Goodna we hope to have around 20 people attend the day.Also I have a Reunion for Riverview Boys Home in August and we hope to have many of the boys who were there at that time attend as we have T.Shirts made for special occasion.

Thought for the Day

2007-12-31T10:46:00.000+10:00

Learn to forget about the people in your past, they didn't make it to your future for a reason! Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there for some sort of purpose; teach you a lesson, help you figure out who you are or who you want to become You never know who these people may be but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way Everything happens for a reason.

Thank you Kenn

Australian Cockatoos

2007-01-19T09:32:00.000+10:00

The cockatoos see first hand how people care for our native birds with many good pictures and also the story along with the pictures ,I am shure you will love this story.

See all 4 pages..

A great story There are 4 pages in all, so keep going to the next page.

http://www.juliusbergh.com:80/cocky/

East Coast Mariners

2007-01-04T19:49:00.000+10:00

This is a story about life at sea in the Maritime service I was in for many years and many other story's of interest to anyone who was in the maritime service.
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