Karmic Better Late Than Never Post… Week??

Here is the Dalai Lama doing a bit of finger waving at naughty Capt. Savage

THE CHALLENGE. A man (Captain Savage – a very slack person). A woman (Rose). A quest. To earn enough karmic points by Christmas to be reincarnated as Something Nice. The way I am going at the moment I will be coming back as a 3 toed sloth…

So where the heck have you been Capt. Savage? Why no posts for ages?

To be honest I have been in a bit of a downer since my kids went home the other week, watching them fly back to Queensland really was gut wrenching. The kids had just stayed with me for a week in Canberra, and while it wasn’t the best holiday I’ve spent with the kids, I did feel torn up when I had to drop them off at the departure lounge and I watched my daughter run off to be with her mum and her new partner.

I shouldn’t feel sad, as I enjoyed my time with the kids and I know that their mother cares just as much as I do for the kids and they should be glad to see her and their stepfather, but logic doesn’t always triumph over emotions and your heart.

I took the kids to a few playgrounds, down to the Cotter River with Rose and her 3 dogs. The dogs didn’t care that the water was cold, they had a great time. Rose kindly took my daughter for a wander amongst the rocks, as I’d forgotten to bring my thongs (footwear for those unfamiliar, not the other sort).

So here are some photos from the week with the kids.

Here are the boys playing around by the Cotter River near Canberra, looks nice and warm but the water was freezing

Here is Rose, notice that the photo is suitably blurry, not sure what I was doing wrong that day, my expensive Nikon DSLR was taking terrible pictures (couldn’t be the operator??). It is a lovely spot really, as is Rose…

Here are the kids at an adventure playground about 15 minutes from home, Mr. J just wasn’t interested

Here is Mr. B going down the big slippery slide at the playground, and not too sure about it either

And here is Miss. J going down, more worried about her hat than the slide really

The even bigger slide that Mr. B just wouldn’t go down, no matter how many time Miss. J did it

Miss. J doing what she does best, showing off while balancing on one leg on a fake lizard

Mr. B on top of Canberra’s Telecom (Telstra) Tower, god it was windy that day, I’d just been running around trying to get Mr. B’s hat (I’m holding it while shooting this shot)

And here is Miss. J a.k.a. ‘Eskimo Girl’ trying to get out of the wind

Ok, so you have been feeling a bit low, but that’s no excuse for not doing your Karmic Post Capt!!!

Yep, I agree with Rose, who has been quietly able to do Karmic Posts while I have been acting like a bit like a hermit in my little cave (my unit). And actually doing a web post is kind of therapy rather than torture, although some of my attempts at poetry can be quite torturous I’m told.

So how did we fair Karmically (don’t think that’s actually a word Capt.) over the last few weeks?

Well Rose is so Karmic that she is already almost at her target of 500 points… and she still has nearly 3 months to go. So using the law of diminishing returns, I’ve decided to make it harder for you Rose, and also to allow me some faint hope of catching you before December. So I’ve given you a point for each week, generous I think. And for Me, well I used my weekly average up to now (15)… Creative accounting at its best I reckon Rose.

Week No.	Week Ending	Rose’s Weekly Tally	Rose’s Running Total	Capt’s Weekly Tally	Capt’s Running Total
15	4/07/2012	200	406	50	205
16	11/07/2012	10	416	15	220
17	18/07/2012	10	426	20	240
18	25/07/2012	5	431	25	265
19	1/08/2012	5	436	20	285
20	8/08/2012	10	446	25	310
21	15/08/2012	15	461	30	340
22	22/08/2012	1	462	15	355
23	29/08/2012	1	463	15	370
24	5/09/2012	1	464	15	385
25	12/09/2012	1	465	15	400
26	19/09/2012	1	466	15	415
27	26/09/2012	1	467	15	430
28	3/10/2012	1	468	15	445

 

ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SCORES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE HAND… AND IT AINT LISTENING…

One of my favourite silly movies, Sacha Baron Cohen at his best (or is that his worst)

And you really should keep yourselves abreast of Rose’s recent post, it was thrilling for good old Mr. L, who apparently needed oxygen afterwards, bring on summer I say… And no, wearing a similar outfit for me won’t give you any more points, although I’m not going to discourage you…

The Karmic Challenge: Week 27 – Wear a Low Cut Dress for Jesus! (great title Rose)

Plus I love the concept of Gucci the animal activist (only animals can be really, and yes I know Rose, we are animals too). Sorry that I let the wet weather keep me at home in my cave, but to be truthful I wasn’t the best of company recently.

Capt. Savage

(Finally out of his hermit cave and back blogging)

 

Another Savage Top 10 – My deadly residents of Canberra

Is Australia really a Dangerous Place?

Yes, Australia is an extremely scary place, isn’t it, how can you possibly expect to survive? Well, I have and I’ve been walking around Australia since 1961 (I really am that old), and the point is that I am still walking around.

And yes, I know we’ve got all kinds of venomous snakes and spiders, plus sharks, crocodiles, killer jellyfish and a whole host of other venomous things. But is the fear of Australia’s creatures really justified. Let’s look at the facts.

• Snakes: With 41 recorded deaths between 1980 and 2009, snake deaths in Australia average out at less than two per year.
• Spiders: Nobody in Australia has died from a spider bite since 1979 after the successful introduction of antivenom for all native species.
• Sharks: Accounted for 25 deaths between 2000 and (March) 2012 in Australia, about 2 a year.
• Crocodiles: Historically, crocodiles account for less than one death per year here in Australia, although that is increasing slightly as the crocodile population rises following the ban on crocodile hunting in 1971.
• Blue Ringed Octopus: Just 3 recorded deaths in the last century.
• Stonefish: One unconfirmed death by stonefish in 1915.
• Cone Snails: I could find no recorded deaths from cone snails in Australia whatsoever.
• Killer Jellyfish: Jellyfish account for (at time of writing) 66 deaths since records began in 1883. The box jellyfish was responsible for 64 deaths, and the Irukandji the other two. It sounds a lot, but still less than one death per year, more like just half a death per year.

So Australia’s dangerous creatures kill about five people a year.

So what are Australia’s worst killers!

• Here in Australia, about 20 people a year die from horse riding accidents.
• Around 10 people per year in Australia die from European Honey Bee stings after going into anaphylactic shock.
• And around 300 people a year drown.
• And in 2011 1,295 people died in road accidents

So the best advice I would give anyone about staying safe in Australia would be nothing to do with avoiding scary creatures. It would be “swim between the flags” if you are going to take a dip in the sea. Or better still, don’t hire a car here, travel by bus, train, taxi or air.

Does that put it into perspective?

Source: http://www.bobinoz.com/migration-advice/australias-killer-creatures-the-truth-about-deaths/

So what deadly creatures do infest Canberra Capt?

The Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus)

Funnel-web spider venom is highly toxic, and all species should be considered potentially dangerous. Males roam at night, especially during or after rain, and may enter houses. Bites by males of two large species, the Sydney funnel-web and northern tree funnel-web, have resulted in death.

So here is some good advice, if you are camping or out and about in Canberra:

• wear gloves when gardening
• know what a burrow looks like
• wear shoes when walking
• close tent flaps
• carefully shake out any footwear, clothes and sleeping bags left on the ground overnight, as the spiders hide during the day.

First aid if bitten:

• keep calm
• move only if necessary
• if a limb is bitten, apply pressure bandage to bite area and around limb towards heart
• immobilise limb with a splint
• collect spider specimen (even if squashed)
• seek medical aid as soon as possible.

Next are the slippery snakes…

Eastern Brown Snake or Common Brown Snake – Highly venomous

The Eastern Brown Snake is slender, but can grow to lengths of more than 2m. It has a small head. The snakes’ colouring ranges from tan, through brown to almost black. The underside is pale yellow, with small dark-orange blotches. Adults tend to be un-patterned. Juveniles have quite a different appearance to adults, with a black head, yellowish body and often narrow black bands across the body and tail.

And lookout, there are loads of similar species

There are a number of other snakes which occur in the Canberra region which can be confused with the Eastern Brown Snake. Confusion is especially common between juvenile Eastern Brown Snakes and other species. The Black-headed Snake (Suta spectabilis dwyer) has a much darker body and tail than the juvenile Eastern Brown. Juvenile Eastern Brown Snakes are also mistaken for Highland Copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi), however, the copperhead doesn’t occur in the Canberra urban area. The Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) is another snake which can be confused with the juvenile Eastern Brown, although like the Highland Copperhead, Mainland Tiger Snakes do not inhabit the urban areas of Canberra. The head of the Mainland Tiger Snake is bigger than the Eastern Brown, and when threatened, tiger snakes will hiss loudly, and flatten their head and neck.

(Source ACT Urban Services)

Red-Bellied Black Snake – Highly venomous

Tiger Snake – Highly venomous

Curl Snake – Highly venomous

Death Adder – Extremely venomous (seriously dangerous if this sucker bites you)

Death adders are mainly active at night and unlike most other snakes, death adders will not necessarily retreat when approached. This makes them more easily trodden upon or disturbed by the unwary. However, they are often less likely than other venomous snakes to strike unless actually touched, but great caution is still advised.

Southern Copperhead Snake – Highly venomous

The Red-Back Spider

Redback spiders, Latrodectus hasselti, are almost too familiar to need description. Mature female redbacks are jet black spiders with a variable red stripe on the back of their spherical abdomen. Immature females are smaller, usually brown with whitish markings. Their tough, untidy webs are usually near the ground with the spider hiding in a shelter tucked in a corner, often guarding her round woolly egg sacs. Male redback spiders are rarely seen. They are small and brown with red and white markings. Redback spiders are found throughout Australia, in drier habitats and built-up areas. They are common in dry places around buildings, outdoor furniture, machinery and stacked materials.

In the bush, redback spiders nest under logs and rocks. There is some evidence to suggest that redbacks are not native to Australia. Redback spider bites usually occur when part of the body comes in direct contact with the spider or its web.

And yes you should check around the toilet seat in case of Red-Backs, you just never know…

And here is one for the girls – after mating – the tiny male redbacks are eaten by the much larger female.

Redback spiders are not aggressive, and rarely leave the web. But they are still seriously venomous, you should note that after a bite, the onset of pain may be delayed for five minutes then increase in intensity. Subsequent symptoms vary but have included: nausea; vomiting; abdominal or generalised pain; sweating; restlessness; palpitations; weakness; muscle spasm; fever (Sounds like me before and during a date). But seriously, anyone bitten by a redback spider should seek medical attention.

Eastern or Common Bearded Dragon

These guys aren’t really venomous, but they do have a nasty bite which often causes problems from infection (bacteria). The Bearded Dragon is a large lizard, sometimes growing to over 50cm, averaging around 40cm. The most obvious feature is its extendable throat which looks like a beard. They are grey to brown in colour with only faint markings (except on juveniles which have pale blotches on each side of the back). The interior of the mouth is yellow. The dragon has spines on the back of the head, on the beard and running down the side of the body. The body is short, while the tail is very long.

The Eastern Water Dragon

These guys are also non-venomous, but do have a nasty bite. They are grey to olive-brown, with black bars running across the body and tail. Adults can reach around 90cm total length, with an average of around 60cm. A row of spines runs from the back of the head down the body and tail.

Capt. Savage

(And yes I always check under the toilet seat, especially as the females eat the males…)

Toilet Humour? Or is it Art?

 

Celebrities drop their pants in protest

A surreal human sculpture has been installed by artist Andrew Baines at Henley Beach in Adelaide to protest a lack of public toilets at the beach.

Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 7pm TV News NSW

Had to laugh at the ‘Only in Adelaide’ story. Now I’m not sure if this story is ‘Art’ or just a comment of what one person thinks is ‘Art’. But the message is relevant as today we seem to have a distinct shortage of toilets in Australian parks sometimes, even in places so well planned as Canberra. And you think that we would have heaps considering the place is infested with politicians speak nothing but crap…

Here is Tony Abbott, possibly the next Australian Prime Minister, standing in front of crap

I had a similar experience on the weekend, went for a walk with a friend and found that I needed to use the loo (toilet, karzi, thunderbox, dunny, whatever). And do you think I could find a public toilet that wasn’t broken? And at my delicate age my toilet endurance is not what it used to be. Maybe I need to start walking with an astronaut’s equipment, there were some useful inventions from the space program you know, like this one…

Capt. Savage
(Adult Diapers, bring them on…)

Related articles

• Beachgoers drop pants in the name of art (abc.net.au)
• Australians Drop Their Pants to Protest Lack of Toilets (abcnews.go.com)
• Protesters bring own toilets, drop pants on Australian beach without restrooms (grindtv.com)
• Toilet Protest Puts Privys On Australian Beach (eagleradio97.wordpress.com)

 

Blown away in Canberra… the Captain gone all arty

The outside of the Canberra Glassworks

The art of blowing glass

This Sunday I went for a leisurely stroll around one of Canberra artistic landmarks, the Canberra Glassworks. The Glassworks were built on the site of Canberra’s first power station and are funded by the ACT Government. They are apparently Australia’s only cultural centre that is wholly dedicated to contemporary glass art. Now enough of that, no more free advertising for the ACT Government…

So what did I think of the Glassworks…

Pretty impressive really, they have done a great job of doing up what was once an eyesore, a rundown piece of former industrial wasteland, which is now a great addition to Canberra, at least I think so. The outside isn’t really that impressive, but the space they have created inside for the visitors and the artists is pretty impressive. So maybe I should let pictures tell the story…

Here is the workshop area with artists (or is that glassblowers) at work (the HotShop)

Close-up of the action in the HotShop artists area

Even closer view of a glass worker or artist in action

Best part of this for me?

I can actually have a go at making my own masterpiece. As I found out on Saturday and Sunday we, the public, can have a go in the Glasswork’s “Off The Street” program. All you have to do if you’d like to have a go (like me) is contact the centre during the week to book in. The sessions run for around 20 minutes each and can be booked between 10-4 each day. I am going to book in and have a go real soon as it looked fun.

Here is a victim (or is that a participant) learning glass blowing at one of the “Off The Street” sessions

Examples what you can create at a learner session, glass birthday balloons.

Another fun thing I saw on this Sunday was a “Sunday Gather” session. This is where the artist talks about what they are doing over the PA as they are creating. I got a kick out of this and could get quite up close and personal, watch and get an understanding of the techniques and skills that the artist was using. In addition to the Hotshop, it is also possible to view artists working in The Engine Room – artists use this area for kiln working, flame working and finishing techniques such as grinding and polishing, known as cold working.

Another view of a HotShop session with the audience seating on display at the back.

Anyway, it was an interesting and fun way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, and it was warm inside, unlike the rest of Canberra. You can find out more at http://www.canberraglassworks.com.

Capt. Savage

(Soon to be fully blown, at least in a glass making sense)

More animals from Tuggeranong, another of the Captain’s top 10’s

Here is Part 2 of my poor attempt to document the wildlife that infest the area around Tuggeranong Office Park. Unfortunately it isn’t all native, but they are all animals…

1. Here are some sheep near Kambah in Tuggeranong… Their wool is a little bit wire-like however… We have lots and lots of street art sculptures in Canberra, you either love it or hate it…

2. These you will definitely see around my office building early in the morning and late in the afternoon, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, they are very common in Canberra

3. You’ll find these hairy nosed fellows (wombats) in the evenings coming down to munch on people’s gardens. Cute but unfortunately often the victims of car hit and runs as they try to cross roads and are also unfortunately very slow-moving and quite short-sighted (kind of like me nowadays).

4. There are more and more of these little fellows hopping around out the back of my workplace, the European Rabbit, return to almost plague numbers in some parts of Australia. Cute but not really supposed to be in the Australian bush.

5. The Eastern Brown Snake (or just brown snake) is one of the most dangerous snakes in the Australia. Often seen sunning itself around on concrete paths and on rocks near the offices I work at. But like most snakes, they will only bite if you get too close or maybe step on them.

6. There are lots of these noisy little fellows in the artificial watercourse that runs between the office blocks where I work. A good indicator that the environment is ok.

7. There are a few of these around too, the common Shingleback lizard, it has an ugly big blue tongue and not the friendliest of critters.

8. The Tony Abbott, feral politician and would be Prime Minister, often seen pandering to minority groups and less frequently these days, clad only in lycra (either budgee smugglers or cycling gear). The Abbott has very distinctive markings around his mouth (stains) caused by years of talking crap…

9. Legless Lizards are reasonably common in Canberra, and sometimes seen around Tuggeranong

10. The common Canberra Bogan, often found after paydays, near a bottleshop, often drive utes (known as pickups in the US). Have some redeeming features, they are often owners of pets, although it’s hard to tell which is the hairiest or smelliest, the dog or the owner…

Next week I move onto insects… Should be interesting, and maybe then plants…

Plus Tomorrow is the Karmic Challenge roundup… I think Rose has maybe had a less frustrating week, I hope so, and will I continue my slow chase of her massive lead? Last weeks post from me is here https://captsavage.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/20-weeks-of-karma-yippee-or-is-that-gold-gold-gold/ and from Rose (not her best week of Karmic collecting) http://butimbeautiful.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/the-karmic-challenge-week-20-is-completely-stupid/

Capt. Savage

(Always educational, even sometimes factual)

12 weeks in Karma, or in search of it anyway!

Great song (at least I think so), not sure what it has to do with Karma, but nothing I am doing lately seems too Karmic, but some of its fun so who cares!!!

Boy George was one of my favourite singers when I was a young bloke going to discos. Not that it’s a particularly good disco dancing song, but I was a young bloke growing up in the country and I was still making the transition from Olivia Newton John and John Denver, so pop music sounded pretty good to me back then.

Also I was so naive that I thought Boy George was actually a girl, well until one of mates started laughing at me and asked me why I had his (I thought her) picture on my bedroom wall. What troubles me the most about that is that Boy George wasn’t really a very attractive woman, well if you look at him as being a woman?

Boy George, come on he’s a bit girlish… Or maybe I need stronger glasses

But this post is supposed to be about Karma gathering, so I suppose I had better get back on message. This week has been as busy as all heck so far, my life at the moment seems to be one long string of panicky crisis strung together by moments of fear (of the next crisis). No hang on, that’s just my work life at the moment, the rest of my life is in a slightly better place. But of late the work-life balance has been a bit more like the WORK–life balance, which is or has been a bit of a pain in the butt.

Someone else with a pain in the butt, wish I had a set of teeth like those…

So I can almost hear some of you shouting at me (yes that’s you Rose), if my job sucks so much why don’t I just get another one!!! Well I did a bit of research and maybe I have a case of eleutherophobia, of what? Yep I had nothing better to do but look up fears, and it’s the fear of freedom, cause at the moment I am feeling a bit like a galley-slave tied to an oar, with my boss above me whipping me to go faster…

Now if I was going to be a galley-slave, please let me look like Charlton…

The worst part about my job is that everyone (include my mum) thinks I get it way too easy anyway, and that a bit of a good old whipping across my back couldn’t do much harm, the curse of being a public servant. Actually being a ‘public servant’ in Australia is pretty much akin to being one of the untouchable in India. Except where I live (Canberra) where it’s kind of like a leper colony for public servants, nowhere else in Australia can we gather in numbers without the fear of persecution.

Oops Sorry, seem to have got stuck on a Hollywood theme somehow! But didn’t Sean Connery play a great part in this movie!

Damn, I was talking about my week in Karma wasn’t I, so I suppose I had better get back to the theme. It actually wasn’t too bad a week for me and Karma, well ignoring the fact that work is like being tied up on a rotisserie and being slowly barbecued that is.

Now here is a man on a spit, now don’t ask why… I don’t get it either, but for more you can watch the home movie http://www.iskratv.com/home_videos/6208b_023/

SO Karma

This week I finally managed to get to talk to my mother, she has new hearing aids and actually could hear me.

I did a good deed as well for an old woman who was blind, or at least badly visually impaired. I was at the supermarket doing a bit of late shopping on my way from slaving on the galley (i.e. work). As I was checking my shopping through the self-service area, and by the way I really hate self-service check-out, but that’s another story.

The dreaded self-service checkout, they are spreading across Australia like a plague just as ATM/Cash Machines did in the 1980’s.

Back to the old woman, I noticed the woman with a white stick pushing a trolley towards the doors. She kept banging into things, and looked totally frustrated. But nobody did anything to help her, and plenty of people including me could see she was in trouble. So I thought, why don’t I just lend her a hand. It was so easy to just help her push the trolley back to the trolley collection bay outside and then off she went with lots of ‘thanks sonny’ etc. Man she must have been blind to think I was young enough to be called ‘sonny’, but I felt good for doing very little. The rest of the selfish lot continued to ignore each other in at the checkout, I suppose that’s part of the new internet driven human condition.

So Rose maybe I should get 10 points for that?

Then there was our epic trip to the snow fields, where I heroically offered to drive down and act as the token male. It was such a torment being outnumbered 3 to 1 by females, all vegetarians, all intelligent, I felt like the man on the skewer. I stoically tolerated all that happened to me, including being dragged kicking and screaming up into the snowy heights of Mt Kosciusko (and yes I know it now is spelled with a Z).

Here is a picture of my chief tormentor, doing her impression of a human statue (impressive)

Actually I had a really good time down at the snow, nice and relaxing, lots of good healthy discussions and time out in the fresh air. Plus the unit we stayed in was fantastic and I’d love to stay there again if the opportunity presents itself. Also the scenery down at Thredbo was lovely, in fact the whole resort is really picturesque.

The lounge room at Billies

The outside of Billies

So seeing as I had a great time, perhaps I should be thanking the three ladies for allowing me to accompany them (too right they’d say). It was a relaxing and pleasant weekend really, even being the taxi driver for the girls was pretty easy actually. Plus I now know how to fit snow chains to my car (not that I actually needed them).

Maybe Zero points, because I’d have to give them to Rose for letting me tag along. Thanks Rose!!!

The Eskimo bride, an interesting concept!

By the way there was an Eskimo, or maybe I think Japanese, wedding party up at the top of the mountain in the snow, just out of sight the groom was getting out of his ski gear which revealed his tuxedo, very cool both metaphorically and physically I thought. The poor bride however sat patiently freezing to death while the photographer took photos.

This is where Rose and I had coffee and scones, and witness the Eskimo wedding party, yes we were slumming it at the highest restaurant in Australia… (great views, good coffee, not bad scones)

There wasn’t nearly this much snow there last weekend by the way

Rose also forced me to watch a Sacha Baron Cohen film, yes she dragged me upstairs, practically tied me to the chair, shoved match sticks in place to hold my eyes open, and then made me watch Ali G Indahouse… Actually if you are game you REALLY should watch it as it’s a real HOOT (embarrassing really)

Promo clip for Ali G Indahouse… Thanks Rose I loved it…

Now I’m not going to claim many points this week, but on Friday I disappear to Queensland to visit my kids for the week. I am planning to collect Karma like Lance Armstrong full of performance enhancing drugs, which won’t be much of an effort because I love my kids. Rose will also be collecting heaps of Karma points as well, but I’ll let her describe her experiences.

I’ll be posting the points up after Rose does her post, which maybe be delayed this week as she is feeling as sick as a dog with the flu, hope she get better soon!!!

Capt. Savage

(BTW I don’t think Lance used performance enhancing drugs)

Related articles

• Karma Karma Karma, maybe if I say it enough, it will come? (captsavage.wordpress.com)

Karma Karma Karma, maybe if I say it enough, it will come?

Maybe my quest for Karma is a mad as the plot in this Kevin Costner film? 

Costner’s character builds a baseball field in the middle of a corn fields, his character’s corn field, all the while he is being visited by the ghosts of long dead American baseball heroes (note Rose, they were all males). The tag line from the movie was ‘if you build it they will come’. So now I’m wondering, if Rose and I do good deeds will the Karma actually come???

A Week 11 Poem (why not)

So Rose, to reinvigorate our aims

Here’s my week 11 state of the game

Now according to the Dalai Lama

There are rules to follow to gather Karma

Not that I’ve always followed rules

Not even when I went to school

My mum and dad used to despair

You see I wasn’t always a cuddly bear

My friends they also thought me a pain

Or maybe just a bit insane

But never mind what they all thought

I really wasn’t too bad a sort

But lately I have realised my bad

It’s made me feel a little sad

So Karma gathering, now that’s my aim

Just maybe I’ll never be the same

So thank you Rose, for this fine quest

Let’s see which one of us does the best

But just to clarify our aims

The score points, well it’s not the game

You see self-improvement, now that’s the goal

To do otherwise won’t help our souls!!!

 

Here are the Dalai Lama’s rules for Karma gathering

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s: – Respect for self, – Respect for others and – Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

(Refer to http://www.spiritualnow.com/articles/25/1/20-Ways-to-Get-Good-Karma/Page1.html/)

Plus apparently you can ask the Dalai Lama questions using the link below, just in case the totally insightful advice from Rose and I just isn’t enough for you! (go figure Rose)

Ask The Dalai Lama a Question (go on I dare you)

Now where was I?

Oh that’s right, week 11 and the score…

The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur, I’ve been busy doing everything EXCEPT focussing on gathering Karma. I’ve also neglected my blogs, my Facebook page, my Twitter account, my life has kind of been full of well, LIFE, you know, that physical stuff that happens OUTSIDE of my apartment/flat/unit/appartamento/appartement (relevant word depends on where in the world you live). So last week I went out with my bestie Rose to listen to a guitarist/songwriter, this is my Facebook post (and no I won’t put in the link, I’m trying to stay anonymous)

My Facebook post…

“I went to a new venue in Canberra I’ve never been to before, Smiths Alternative Bookshop in the city with my best friend Rose, it was an interesting night with dinner at a little bar/restaurant in Alinga St (can’t even remember its name) and then to the bookshop for a session with a guitarist/singer/songwriter called Brendan Gallagher, you can check him out at http://www.brendangallagher.com.au/fr_home.cfm, was a pretty laid back night, not what I had planned, but great guitar work and Brendan did 2 sets filled in with a running conversational style about himself and his music. Not a bad way to spend the evening.

Yes Rose and I were (TaDa) — at Smiths Alternative Bookshop

And here is a picture of Brendan (he looked a lot rougher on the night)

The interesting coincidence in picking this show was that Brendan also fronts a band called Karma County, now that’s a Karmic coincidence, and he played a few of his Karma County songs on the night. So we, Rose and I, ended up collecting Karma (musically) without even knowing it. If you visit the website you can opt to listen to some of Brendan’s songs as they play in an endless loop while you are visiting his website.

Actually the weekend was spent gathering Karma, I took two women out (very nice of me) apart from enjoying the company of the blogoliscuous Rose, that’s got to be worth points (them putting up with me).

So it was a good weekend overall? Well yes it was, I spoke to my daughter, that always cheers me up no end. I would have spoken to my mum as well, but she has managed to break her hearing aids, and here I was thinking how rude of mum not answering her phone on the weekend.

 

Maybe mum needs a set of these?

Now Rose and I are about to disappear to visit the snow fields, which is quite a quest for Australia (not a very snowy country). And I must point out it’s not for our own benefit, but for her daughter and her friend. We of course won’t enjoy it one bit (not half)… Rose I believe, intends to stay indoors, stay warm, read, lay about and generally do a human interpretation of a vegetable (couldn’t be a cow, cause she doesn’t eat meat, plus, well she just isn’t one).

Me? Well I’m tempted to wander outside and see the wildlife at the ski resort (mostly women wrapped in layers of furry stuff I think). Plus there is talk that the two of us may venture out one night and continue our quest for dating mediocrity or our endless search for rejection.

 

Yep, I know, it’s such an easy quest, I just ask a question of a girl and chances are…

So how in Karma did we do???

 

Note that on Week 8, I gave Rose bonus points because she spoiled me rotten for my birthday (and I loved it). Me, well I think I’ve reach 100 (is that fair Rose?). Some may say, a sweet guy like me should get points just for breathing, but maybe I’ve been looking in the mirror too much (ego is not a dirty word).

(Ego is not a dirty word, classic Aussie band Skyhooks from 1975)

And Yes Rose, I have turned the page, back to weekly Karma posts, back to chasing Rejections, back to the blogosphere and my virtual existence…

Capt. Savage (Been out in the real world and it scared the bejesus out of me)