New suburb for Sydney

I was driving to Kurrajong today to check out the Scarecrow Festival.  Along the way, on Windsor Road, I passed by Rouse Hill.  Whilst stopping at the lights in Rouse Hill, on the radio, it was announced that the spot where I was waiting for the lights to turn, the State government has approved the rezoning of land to create 2500 new homes.  The area will also be serviced by the north west rail link.  It is definitely great news for the existing residents as the main transportation is by bus.
http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/government-creates-new-2500homes-sydney-suburb-20111022-1mdc7.html

The announcement is a step in the right direction for aspiring home owners and for people who can't afford living too close to the city.  The smallest lots is 250 sq m. but with good planning this lot size would be ample for the growing families.  The houses are anticipated to finish in 2 years ahead of the North West Rail link.  The suburb will be the last stop for the rail link.

The area, Rouse Hill is already poised for this growth.  The Rouse Hill Town Center if huge and is built on an environmentally friendly design.  It is not an "indoor" shopping center but the various blocks are linked by spacious corridors which is undercover providing the fresh air as opposed to merely air conditioning.

The same theme is also found in the market place a.k.a food court.  The food court itself is very spacious and has ample seats and tables.  All goes to cater for the growing population in this area.

The areas and suburbs surrounding Rouse Hill has also been growing steadily and most of the shops are relatively large.  What I mean is that the McDonalds and the KFC are usually larger outlets than you get at other suburbs.

It'll be interesting to see how this suburb evolves over the next couple of years.

Rouse Hill - Food marketplace

Annual Granny Smith Festival 2011

Last weekend was the Granny Smith Festival held annually in Eastwood.  This festival is a celebration of the life and legacy of Maria Ann Smith aka Granny Smith who accidentally grew the first batch of "green" apples which now bore her name.

The Granny Smith festival began in 1985 and has grown bigger and bigger each year turning the main streets in Eastwood into a carnival like celebration with food stalls, home wares, parades and rides with the festival finished off with a fireworks lighting up the sky.

This was the first year I went early enough to catch the parade which showcases some of the local businesses.  The sun was trying to come out but thankfully it came out eventually and it turned out to be a wonderful day.  The festival was very colourful, with lion dances, belly dancing... even the dogs were out for a walk.  There were entertainment, singing and dancing along the mall and the streets.  There were also performances from school children.

Cute dogs - they were all tangled up!

I must say the belly dancers were the highlight of the festival.  They were very colourful and well liked by the crowds.

Colourful costumes - a crowd favourite!

The other festival item that was in demand was an orange shopping bag... hmm... there was a queue outside this stall, people were seen asking where to get this orange bag and the stall had to push people off... hmm... not sure what was so special with this bag.

Very popular bag!

 

  

HUH??

It seems that under the new national history curriculum, high school students will not use the terms BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) when referencing dates.  Instead the neutral terms BCE (Before Common Era), BP (Before Present) and CE (Common Era) will be used instead.

It also appears that Centrelink call centre staff are now required to enter an individual identity code into the phone each time they want to use the bathroom.  If they are longer than 5 minutes, they have to give a reason  to management.  

Apparently the Indian government has asked the makers of the latest James Bond film to remove a stunt that shows people travelling on train roofs as it reflects the country "in poor light".

One in three Australians can't bake a cake without relying on a packet mix.

More than 80% of Australians don't know how long it takes to boil an egg and only 38% could recognise a coriander.

My response... Sign of the times... and the fact that Australia is indeed a lucky country!

9/11 10 years on - "We are not going to forget what happned, and we are not going to let it happen again."

We remember the events of September 11 last Sunday.  I can't believe 10 years has passed since the series of suicide attacks was launched on America.  I remember a feeling of disbelief as the images of the planes crashing into the World Trade Tower was splashed across our TV screens.  I thought it was a scene from a new movie being played over and over again..  Everyone in the office came to a standstill and the images and the news seemed surreal.

In total nearly 3000 people perished.  New York had to be rebuilt.  10 years later, there is a memorial, which is inscribed with the names of all the nearly 3000 known victims.  It is worth while noting that there are some families who have not found closure as they do not have anything tangible by which they could identify their loved ones.

The series of attacks were marked by moments of stillness:

• The world remembers a day of horror with six moments of stillness.  The first minute's silence 8.46 am NY time will mark the moment American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston flew into the World Trade Center's north tower under the control of al-Qaeda terrorists.
• In Washington, the great funeral bell of the National Cathedral will begin tolling in memory of the 300 dead.  
• At 9.03am, we will remember the moment United Airlines flight 175 flew into the south tower and again at 9.59am and 10.29am, the moments the towers collapsed, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of firefighters and emergency personnel.
• In Washington, there will be a minute's silence at 9.37am to mark the time American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the defence building.
• Another pause will come at 10.03am, the moment United Airlines flight 93 was flown into the ground by hijackers, who could hear passengers trying to break into the cockpit to regain control. 

New York came to a standstill after the attacks.  It is said that a disaster brings out the best in people.  I think 9/11 affected New Yorkers in one way or another.  Life was brought back into perspective.

Mayor Giulani said that people should go back to living in the city as usual and as much as they could.  The city was deserted and downtown was only opened to foot traffic except for recovery operations.  One had to show ID to get in.  As the days went on, local businesses were suffering as no one wanted to be downtown.

Robert de Niro and his business partner, Jane Rosenthal, started a programme called Dinner Downtown with the aim of bringing people back to help revive the neighbourhoods.  He together with a few artists such as Meryl Streep later started a New York film festival which has now become a tradition.

"Everything was pulverised down there.  There was nothing left."  Most of the firefighters (some only in their 40s) had to opt for early retirement due to re-occuring lung problems.  Some have left New York, some are now ill, some shattered, some have broken marriages, some are still firefighters but are still affected.


On the flipside, there are some young firefighters or army recruits who do not have any recollection of the 9/11 events.

More than 100 search and rescue dogs were involved in the aftermath of 9/11.  Ten years on, only 12 are still alive.

According to estimates published in the New York Times on Sept 8 2011, the attacks in New York and Washington caused damage amounting to $55billion and an economic impact of a further $123 billion.  The Times also estimated that the increased spending for homeland security in America amounted to $590 billion while the immediate costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq amounted to around $1.65 trillion with a further $870 billion to come from future war costs and veterans care.  In Australia, it is estimated that the total cost in increased spending on homeland security over the past decade has been around $30billion.  A lot of money has been spent... have we made this world a safer place??

Sadam Hussein and Osama bin-Laden has been caught and met their fate.

The tenth anniversary of the attacks serves as a "timely reminder of the need to keep at bay complacency about the terror threat".  We must maintain "constant vigilance" but not to let fear get the better of us.

As the song goes..."Heal the world, make it a better place... for you and for me and the entire human race..."


A note on the memorial - the memorial plaza will feature 400 oak trees, a sign that life has returned to the site.  The site sits on a 3.2 ha piece of land and is expected to be completed by 2012.  Two tridents, part of the Twin Towers, will be seen from the memorial plaza through a glass atrium.  There is a memorial museum which will sit 20 m below ground.  The memorial museum will feature a wall of potraits allowing visitors to learn more about the 2.983 people who died on Sept 11.

Some thoughts for the months that have passed...

Well, Spring is just round the corner... where has the year been?

I think this year has been truly challenging for a number of people.  Thought I'd pen some thoughts and reminders on how this year is turning out to be thus far... not necessarily in any chronological order ...

Local news

I was away beginning of the year but we ended 2010 and heralded 2011 with news of flash flooding in south east Queensland and northern NSW.  One of them notably was the ravage floods in Toowoomba which resulted in a few lives lost.  The water levels rose very quickly and I think the residents themselves did not expect the severity of the floods.


While efforts to rebuild these cities were underway, next came Cyclone Yasi in February which was destined for Cairns.  The early warning and preparation meant that no lives were lost while the Cyclone came through the town and the town suffered relatively minimal damage.  Thank goodness for this but it meant that the price of bananas went up to about $15 / kg!

One of the obvious implications of the bad weather was that there was a huge reconstruction bill (thus the Flood Levy this financial year), and disrupted crucial industries.

Last year the Australian economy looked to be on its way up.  The dark days of the global financial crisis seemed to have passed and consumer confidence was high and business conditions were strengthening.  Fast forward a few months and consumer confidence is at an all time low... there are hardly any people buying frantically at the shops and Myer and DJs seemed to have ongoing sales campaigns.  Sales in NSW have now contracted for four straight months and for five of the past six, with the exception of Zara which opened its first shop in Sydney Australia followed now by another outlet in Melbourne.  

People have not been spending but our savings rate have also been at an all time high - all due to job uncertainties and the inclement economic outlook.  Businesses are sullen and debt-laden consumers ultra-cautious.  

We saw the demise of Borders and Angus and Robertson stores falling prey to the online industry.

The Australian dollar continued to soar.  It reached parity last October but reached a historic high of 1.10 this year. 

NSW heralded a new change of guard - out with the Keneally Government and in O'Farrell after a period of wastage and mismangement and appropriation of public property.

Meanwhile, federally, Julia's one year in office was not celebrated with much fanfare.  Australians are seeing and suffering the effects of a hung parliament, there is a lack of direction from Julia, suffering from a backlash to her proposed Carbon Tax.    Is this the right time to introduce the carbon price?  The carbon tax is definitely affecting the confidence of the economy.

We have been advised that the price of electricity in NSW will increase by 17% this financial year.  This raises concerns among households about the rising cost of living.  It is no surprise that Sydney is the 7th most expensive city to live in.

It's been more than 10 years but Sydney is still waiting for an e-ticket system... sigh!

This month (August) also saw the passing of respected and much loved artist Margaret Olley.  Meanwhile Edmund Capon announced his retirement from the gallery after 33 years at the helm.  Edmund was appointed by Neville Wran and brought the highly successful First Emperor's collection to Sydney.

It was also time to undertake another Census.


The first Costco wholesale supermarket opened in Auburn, Sydney but the prices were apparently more expensive than Woolworths or Coles and most of the stuff had a shelf life of one day.  Cost of membership is $60 and you need to be a member to enter with another guest.

Sydney had a warm start to winter.  However, it was short lived as Sydney subsequently experienced about 10 days of wet weather... the wettest in 61 years!  The wellies came in handy!  Prior to that Sydney suffered from wild winds and rain.  The wind chill factor dropped the temperature a couple of notches.

I also read with dismay that a 14 year old girl had cut short her life after suffering from relentless bullying on the internet.  This makes me question what the parents are doing but more specifically the impact or "invasion" of the social media in our lives.  What would life be without our smart phones?  Is this a growing trend that will never be reverse but will only increase in intensity?  Are we being too concerned about missing something rather than having deeper and more meaningful exchanges and quality time spent?  What would life be without being "connected" 24/7?  I think this so-called "smart technology" is in danger of making us less smart and more frenetic, not to mention the amount of electromagnetic exposures we are exposing our bodies to... sigh!        

A note of tribute to Al who died suddenly (age 41) while out jogging on March 14 leaving behind his wife and 3 young girls.  You are missed, Al!

International arena

While Australia suffered from the floods, Christchurch was shattered by an earthquake.  In March, Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami which morphed into a terrifying nuclear crisis.

Problems in Greece, Portugal and Ireland reared its ugly head with the EU trying to find a suitable rescue package.  Italy and Spain have been drawn in.  Together these countries account for almost 30 per cent of euro zone activity and about one third of its debt.  While the rescue package is being worked out, stock markets around the world were in jitters, resulting in some volatile markets.

Fears about the overall health of the global economy and the prospect of a double-dip recession in the US, triggered a sharemarket fallout early August sparking further fears of economic turmoil.

I woke up one morning to the news of Amy Winehouse's passing at age 27... possibly from drug overdose.

Meanwhile in Oslo, a wealthy right wing Christian extremist dressed as a police officer gunned down at least 85 teenagers hours after detonating a bomb on government offices in a shocking twin terror attack in Norway. 

China has been having a good growth run for the past few years.  The growth has been crucial for our Australian economy  There are however lingering concerns that the need for Beijing to deal with soaring asset prices, especially housing, could result in a hard landing for the Chinese economy.  Whoever scoffed at the Look East policy has had to eat their words.  The number of Chinese migrants has now surpassed Britain and one wonders what the demographic landscape would look like in another 10 years time.

The share price for Apple shares soared about reporting record profits on the sales of their iPhones and iPads.  “The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $28.57 billion and record quarterly net profit of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share.  Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones in the quarter, a record for any quarter, and up 142 percent from the same quarter a year ago.  Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a record for any quarter, and up 183 percent from the same quarter a year ago.  Read more of this success story:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apples_q3_earnings_report_digging_through_the_details/?utm_campaign=feature2

On the back of this record profits, Steve Jobs' announced that he would step down - and this resulted in a 7% drop in the Apple share price before news came that he would remain as Chairman.
 
And... Google shares also jumped 10% after their 36% increase in quarterly profits.

Mind you... all these happened before the world stockmarket tumbled... early August.

As I write this, residents of NY, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia has been asked to brace themselves for Hurricane Irene which has the potential to cause billions of dollars in damage.  At least 65 million people could be affected.  This was the first hurricane warning issued for New York City in more than two decades.  The airlines have cancelled more than 2000 weekend flights.

Amidst all this bad news, we also joined Britain in celebrating the union of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on Friday 29 April 2011 http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

Have we had enough bad news for one year??

Let's pray for more good news and good tidings in the months ahead.  May the grace of God abound in the coming months.

Minister for the Status of Women... huh?

I was invited to join a few women to Canberra for a meeting with the Hon Kate Ellis, Minister for the Status of Women.  The aim of the meeting was to discuss how we as part of The Womens' Investment Club could help empower women in the areas of wealth and finance.

We unfortunately arrived late for our meeting with the Minister due to the Carbon Tax Rally outside Parliament House which caused road closures thereby making us go round and round to find a parking spot.  We were however fortunate in the sense that Julie Owens, MP's advisor was escorting us through the various buildings.

After signing in, he led the five of us through the myriad of passages and stairs to get to the Minister's office.  As we were walking towards her office, Kate Ellis happened to pass by on her way to a Parliamentary sitting which started earlier.  Meena Wahi, the founder of The Women's Investment Club managed to say a few words to her about our intended meeting and what her aim was.  Kate Ellis then suggested we speak to her advisor to arrange a follow up meeting.

Not going to be deterred, we went into her office to see if we could arrange an alternate time.  We then managed to spend some time with her policy advisor, Amy.  Amy told us that currently about 60% of women are going into retirement without much savings.  I thought this was sad... but there is much we can do and contribute.  We came out feeling that all was not lost but we had achieved a little something...  Also, the Minister for the Status for Women seeks to improve the status of women as well as to increase the participation of women in the workforce... I think this is by no means a small portfolio for someone who is only 24 years old!

The corridors exuded a feeling of power and one could imagine the brokering that was going round the rooms when Julia Gillard was planning to overthrow Kevin Rudd... hmm...

Meandering through the corridors, it was like we were in a scene from the drama the "West Wing".  There were a couple of buildings and one would need to get up to the right floor to interconnect to the other building.  Amidst all the power mongering and brokering, there was a sense of tranquility in the garden settings surrounding the buildings.  Walking through the MPs offices, one could also sense their "humour" about current issues facing the government such as the photo with the two bottles of wines.

Anyway, it was a great day and very memorable to have been able to get an inside view into Parliament House.  Thanks Meena for extending the invitation and including us!

The corridor leading to press conferences

 "in case of emergency BREAK GLASS"

Our Democracy is Dead... part of the rally