Mantas

"Run and you run to catch up with sun but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way but your older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death" Classic.

At least once a day to my kids. Often to my wife. That's about it. Important words, but they are only words though.

Dodged a bullet there. If it went through Cairns, just a 200km north, total destruction. The storm that hit here in 2007 and pushed a coal ship onto the beach had 120 km/h winds. 287 km/h winds at the centre. Can't imagine what that would be like!

Who the hell would live in Qld. It must have the crapiest weather on the planet!

Actually it's a term used mostly to describe Italians and Greeks. Unlike other ethnic groups in Oz, the Greeks and Italians were indifferent to being called wogs and therefore took the racist edge right out of the term. They even promoted themselves as wogs by making movies like The Wog Boy and such. I'm sure not all Greeks and Italians like being called wogs though. It's a bit of an outdated term used mostly back in the 70's and 80's when Football (soccer) was predominantly played by 'wogs'. Hence the name wog ball.

Originally Posted By: pie-eater There's only one World Cup and it's this one Couldn't agree more Pie Eater

Originally Posted By: blu Coincidently, the Queens Birthday holiday is the opening of the AU ski season each year - that could cause a problem when we become a Republic. Nah, we'll just get a new queen with the same birthday.

Right, right sorry. I thought they might've been stars from Neighbours.

Originally Posted By: Schneebored Pretty sure Wills and Kate will get it as a wedding pressie. So who are they then?

They sure stuffed up back in those days. They shoud've left all the convicts in England and bailed out to Australia. Now that would be punishment!

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver sorry, I reckon I ask every year, BUT why is it Australia day? Is it to celebrate the founding of the country or its Independence? Details, details...who cares about the details.

Boat, swim, eat, drink, swim, home, beach, surf, swim BBQ on the beach watching the sunset with friends of 25 years.

Originally Posted By: kokodoko I cant seem to get the youtube link working. i did what was said to do, but nada. ie, square brackets youtube code end square brackets. what am i doing wrong? yV7jD-jjW5c Just click the 5th button from the left and enter the whole youtube address.

Originally Posted By: snowhuntress Classic After Drinks at Wild Bills or Australia Day maybe!! Cant understand why he didn't do too well with the ladies.

Originally Posted By: kokodoko The Persimmon Tree by Bryce Courtney is a very interesting book about the japanese occupation of Java and a young Aussie's attempt to escape. Wasn't there a movie about a similar story? Brian Brown was in it. I'm on the third book of Stieg Larssons trilogy. A very popular best seller at the moment. I don't normally read fiction but this is very good. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it here yet.

Big clean up going on now. Still assessing the cost of it all. Needles to say it will be huge. More flooding in Victoria now. Jeez..

Little mantas started on a 5'10". He's now on a 5'8". Most of the groms he surfs with are a bit older and ride a 5'3". The 5'10" was too hard for him to duckdive. I still push him in while sitting on my board sometimes (quite an art actually). I told him I'd get him a custom when he can surf 100% by himself.

How's the young fella going Indo? I've created a monster here. All he wants to to is surf. He's confidence is a bit higher than his ability at the moment.

Originally Posted By: Chriselle Temperatures were way below zero and we'd go out for 30 minute sessions and then wade through the snow and warm up in the cars and then go out again. I'm way to old and soft for that now. That's hard core. I'd like to try that one day. The surf would want to be very good.

Originally Posted By: thursday I reckon he'd burn for about a week. And provide power to a small town.

Finally some swell. Solid ENE ground swell. Two great surfs today. I'm stuffed. Anyone else get any?

Originally Posted By: muikabochi It's always good to see people coming together when things like this happen. When we had our earthquake I was moved at how much the community got together. Yep, it brings out the best in human nature. After the 2004 boxing day tsunami, the fund raising concerts and such in Oz were inspiring.

Fly into CC and spend a week or two driving down to Queenstown or vise versa. Basically if you do the south island from top to bottom, you can't go wrong. I've never been to the north island so can't comment on that.

They say that the flood waters would have been over a meter higher than the 74 flood if that dam wasn't built.

True true. Gotta read the fine print.