Thought for the day. Courtesy of Leunig, the Age Wed 2 September 2015

Ha! I took a pic of that one to add to my collection. Here is a good follow up :)

....and this one may or may not apply to the coalition of the willingly stupid's foreign policy??




( ....tomorrow, this will probably make it on the list of silly things I did yesterday....)

Step 1
"The first step of Trollers Anonymous is to admit that you have a problem. Those who are not ready to admit to a problem may not be able to seek the help they need, and they may be more likely to return to trolling. Accepting that a problem exists and facing it may be difficult, but it makes the person aware of it. Admitting it to other people enforces the issue."

I was trolling the other day but not a single mackerel rose to the bait.

This is one of my favourites. Happened across it this morning at the law library.

Clancy Of The Overflow

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just `on spec', addressed as follows, `Clancy, of The Overflow'.

And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,
(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)
'Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
`Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are.'

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy
Gone a-droving `down the Cooper' where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover's life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wond'rous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
Of the tramways and the 'buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal --
But I doubt he'd suit the office, Clancy, of `The Overflow'.

Not sure what a maritime equivalent of Clancy would be.....perhaps having being been described as a Pirate will suffice. However my two days so far spent in the city watching the office workers bustle by sure makes me realise what insight Banjo Patterson had to the human condition some 150 years ago.

You may enjoy this updated version.


clancy@theoverflowI

it:I had written him a text
Which I'd sent, hoping the next
Time he came in mobile coverage
He'd have time to say hello.
But I'd heard he'd lost his iPhone,
So I emailed him from my phone,
Just addressed, on spec, as follows:
clancy@theoverflo

the answer – redirected –
Wasn't quite what I'd expected
And it wasn't from the shearing mate
Who'd answered once before.
His ISP provider wrote it
And verbatim I will quote it:
'This account has been suspended:
You won't hear from him no more.

'In my wild erratic fancy
Visions come to me of Clancy:
Out of reach of mobile coverage
Where the Western rivers flow.
Instead of tapping on the small screen,
He'd be camping by the tall green
River gums – a pleasure
That the town folk never know.

Well, the bush has friends to meet him
But the rest of us can't greet him:
Out there, even Telstra's network
Doesn't give you any bars.
He can't blog the vision splendid
Of the sunlit plains extended
Or tweet the wondrous glory
Of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting at the keyboard
And I'm too stressed out to be bored
As I answer all the emails
By the deadlines they contain
While my screen fills with promotions
For 'V1aggra' and strange potions
And announcements of the million-dollar
Prizes I can claim.

But the looming deadlines haunt me
And their harrying senders taunt me
That they need response this evening
For tomorrow is too late!
But their texts, too quickly ended,
Often can't be comprehended
For their writers have no time to think –
They have no time to wait.

And I sometimes rather fancy
That I'd like to trade with Clancy:
Just set up an email bouncer
Saying 'Sorry, had to go.'
While he faced in an inbox jamming
Up with deadlines and with spamming
As he signed off every message:
clancy@theoverflow

Great thread guys, I enjoyed every single one of these.
I might go down to the boat....

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Watermark said..
You may enjoy this updated version.


clancy@theoverflowI

it:I had written him a text
Which I'd sent, hoping the next
Time he came in mobile coverage
He'd have time to say hello.
But I'd heard he'd lost his iPhone,
So I emailed him from my phone,
Just addressed, on spec, as follows:
clancy@theoverflo

the answer – redirected –
Wasn't quite what I'd expected
And it wasn't from the shearing mate
Who'd answered once before.
His ISP provider wrote it
And verbatim I will quote it:
'This account has been suspended:
You won't hear from him no more.

'In my wild erratic fancy
Visions come to me of Clancy:
Out of reach of mobile coverage
Where the Western rivers flow.
Instead of tapping on the small screen,
He'd be camping by the tall green
River gums – a pleasure
That the town folk never know.

Well, the bush has friends to meet him
But the rest of us can't greet him:
Out there, even Telstra's network
Doesn't give you any bars.
He can't blog the vision splendid
Of the sunlit plains extended
Or tweet the wondrous glory
Of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting at the keyboard
And I'm too stressed out to be bored
As I answer all the emails
By the deadlines they contain
While my screen fills with promotions
For 'V1aggra' and strange potions
And announcements of the million-dollar
Prizes I can claim.

But the looming deadlines haunt me
And their harrying senders taunt me
That they need response this evening
For tomorrow is too late!
But their texts, too quickly ended,
Often can't be comprehended
For their writers have no time to think –
They have no time to wait.

And I sometimes rather fancy
That I'd like to trade with Clancy:
Just set up an email bouncer
Saying 'Sorry, had to go.'
While he faced in an inbox jamming
Up with deadlines and with spamming
As he signed off every message:
clancy@theoverflow

Clancy's Reply
In 1897, years after he gave up droving, Thomas Gerald Clancy, better known as "Clancy of the Overflow", penned this verse



Neath the star-spangled dome

Of my Austral home,

When watching by the camp fire's ruddy glow,

Oft in the flickering blaze

Is presented to my gaze

The sun-drenched kindly faces

Of the men of Overflow.

Now, though years have passed forever

Since I used, with best endeavour

Clip the fleeces of the jumbucks

Down the Lachlan years ago,

Still in memory linger traces

Of many cheerful faces,

And the well-remembered visage

Of the Bulletin's "Banjo".

Tired of life upon the stations,

With their wretched, scanty rations,

I took a sudden notion

That a droving I would go;

Then a roving fancy took me,

Which has never since forsook me,

And decided me to travel,

And leave the Overflow.

So with maiden ewes from Tubbo,

I passed en route to Dubbo,

And across the Lig'num country

'where the Barwon waters flow;

Thence onward o'er the Narran,

By scrubby belts of Yarran,

To where the landscape changes

And the cotton bushes grow.

And my path I've often wended

Over drought-scourged plains extended,

where phantom lakes and forests

Forever come and go;

And the stock in hundreds dying,

Along the road are lying,

To count among the 'pleasures"

That townsfolk never know.

Over arid plains extended

My route has often tended,

Droving cattle to the Darling,

Or along the Warrego;

Oft with nightly rest impeded,

when the cattle had stampeded,

Save I sworn that droving pleasures

For the future I'd forego.

So of drinking liquid mire

I eventually did tire,

And gave droving up forever

As a life that was too slow.

Now, gold digging, in a measure,

Affords much greater pleasure

To your obedient servant,

"Clancy of the Overflow".


Clancy was actually a sellout and finished up sucked in by the lure of the dollar!

Thanks

Great posts guys..........Thanks

The planets in turmoil.
theres wars everywhere.
Displaced people everywhere
theres so much junk in the ocean
that fills a whales gut.
people are sleepwalking
staring at screens.
Things are different now
im 42 and seen so many changes in 20 years
I can Imagine what some of you older, wiser folk have seen.
I think we need to relax
Take a step back
think first and i hope that afterwards a kind word or deed follows.
Im sorry for any offence i may have caused anyone
I didnt think first and didnt offer a kind word or deed.
But im aware of that now and want to be friends with you all
because lifes too short,
and im grateful for all you have to offer.
X

Great then!
I'll put the billy on
and we'll have a cup of tea
when we meet again.

what a strange synchronisity exists in this world. Last Sunday was I understand "fathers day". For me every day is fathers day so nothing special there.
However my youngest son did pick up and give to me a copy of "The Old Man Of The Sea" by Earnest Hemingway.
He also left behind his iPod so I now have every classic rock song available for my listening pleasure.

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slammin said..

The "Anti Jetski" mentality is an interesting one on questions of tolerance and selfishness. (let me qualify firstly that I would happily see all jetskiers eaten by sharks). However, I do believe that this attitude actually highlights my own selfishness and lack of tolerances.
Who am I to say that the bogan on a jetski doesn't derive an individual pleasure that far outweighs the collective displeasure of us selfish pricks who would not share our beaches or the pleasure that being on the water can bring. Perhaps that is all they know and we should display a far greater collective tolerance towards others, particularly towards those that do not have the same gooodfortune as us.
Frant

One of my favourite places on the planet is the British Virgin Islands; not least of the reasons why is their almost total ban on Jetskis (there is one very small corner of one bay on one island where they are permitted).

Having said that, I'll also be the first to say they are a lot of fun to ride, too.

I think the best compromise for everyone to be able to have the petrochemical-driven-fun or the peaceful, relaxing quiet time they desire is the BVI solution wherein there are areas they are permitted and areas they are not. Of course, figuring out the boundaries of these areas (and policing them) is where the gnashing of teeth and angst begins in earnest!

Worked on a private yacht where jet skis were the go to toys for the guests. Learned to despise them real quick. Always need maintening , guzzle alot of fuel, loud and usually a magnet for morons.

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frant said..

Perhaps that is all they know and we should display a far greater collective tolerance towards others, particularly towards those that do not have the same gooodfortune as us.
Frant

What?? The good fortune to be born to parents who instilled a sense of consideration for others, or the good fortune to come from a genetic line one step removed from monkeys that ensures at least a grain of intelligence??

I would love to be able to ride a jetski at full stick and jump off without injury a millisecond before it crashes into a rock wall and explodes in a ball of flame!!!

I reckon I could get off on that one.

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cisco said..


What?? The good fortune to be born to parents who instilled a sense of consideration for others, or the good fortune to come from a genetic line one step removed from monkeys that ensures at least a grain of intelligence??

I would love to be able to ride a jetski at full stick and jump off without injury a millisecond before it crashes into a rock wall and explodes in a ball of flame!!!

I reckon I could get off on that one.

Empathy is the characteristic that separates humans as higher order beings over apes and the rest of the animal kingdom. So too in humans it is empathy that separates those blessed with a higher intelligence from those at the lower end of the spectrum (bogans, morons or whatever title you wish to give them).
Unfortunately it only operates top down so if one is unable to grasp this concept then you place yourself at the lower end of the human spectrum of intelligence. (and will probably red flag this post also).
I reckon your big grin Cisco suggests that yours is a comment made with such insight, is there a tongue in cheek icon anyway?

I am not sure what term to use (bogan, moron or???) for the person that may be less fortunate than one's self for whom you do a favour without expectation of reward but does reward you with a kick in the nuts.

Can you help me with that one??

Don't take this too seriously, or

This really pings me off, or

This is a ton of fun and I managed to find this for which the text version is :- J apparently.

Totaly agree with the sentiment expressed so eloquently by Mr Leunig especially when i'm fishing and a pair oj jet ski's zoom past the back of my yacht between the lure i'm trolling and the boat. This summer i will troll surface lures only in the hope of catching one!

There is always the exception to the rule though.....and in thes case it is when the use of a jet ski aids in the capture of this type of aquatic beast.....my son escaping the jaws of a monster somewhere west of Cape Otway on the Shipwreck Coast.
( brag bag confession) They also surf a huge wave off the Mornington Peninsula at "Number 16". They launch at Sorrento and travel through the heads in some nasty conditions. One recent trip they had to punch through about 100 yards of six foot closely spaced standing waves with the empty fuel warning flashing. They carry hand held radios and an epirb but I wasn't happy when he came home bragging about that one!

[URL= .html]

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cisco said..
I am not sure what term to use (bogan, moron or???) for the person that may be less fortunate than one's self for whom you do a favour without expectation of reward but does reward you with a kick in the nuts.

Can you help me with that one??

Don't take this too seriously, or

This really pings me off, or

This is a ton of fun and I managed to find this for which the text version is :- J apparently.

I think leunig got the phraseology correct.........he uses "********"

Sometimes, people call other people names in an attempt to convince those listening to them, that they themselves do not fall under the same category. Fail

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Guitz said..
Totaly agree with the sentiment expressed so eloquently by Mr Leunig especially when i'm fishing and a pair oj jet ski's zoom past the back of my yacht between the lure i'm trolling and the boat. This summer i will troll surface lures only in the hope of catching one!

There is always the exception to the rule though.....and in thes case it is when the use of a jet ski aids in the capture of this type of aquatic beast.....my son escaping the jaws of a monster somewhere west of Cape Otway on the Shipwreck Coast.
( brag bag confession) They also surf a huge wave off the Mornington Peninsula at "Number 16". They launch at Sorrento and travel through the heads in some nasty conditions. One recent trip they had to punch through about 100 yards of six foot closely spaced standing waves with the empty fuel warning flashing. They carry hand held radios and an epirb but I wasn't happy when he came home bragging about that one!

[URL= .html]

Chris, I will see you and raise you on bragging rights of sons. This is a video of his first day/shift on a new job.

I hope to put together a few father and son tours of duty next year. One being a sea cliff climbing tour of the Bass Strait Islands from my boat. The other a windsurfing/ surfing tour. Sounds like we might be able to hook up on the surf tour.

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frant said..

cisco said..


What?? The good fortune to be born to parents who instilled a sense of consideration for others, or the good fortune to come from a genetic line one step removed from monkeys that ensures at least a grain of intelligence??

I would love to be able to ride a jetski at full stick and jump off without injury a millisecond before it crashes into a rock wall and explodes in a ball of flame!!!

I reckon I could get off on that one.

Empathy is the characteristic that separates humans as higher order beings over apes and the rest of the animal kingdom. So too in humans it is empathy that separates those blessed with a higher intelligence from those at the lower end of the spectrum (bogans, morons or whatever title you wish to give them).
Unfortunately it only operates top down so if one is unable to grasp this concept then you place yourself at the lower end of the human spectrum of intelligence. (and will probably red flag this post also).
I reckon your big grin Cisco suggests that yours is a comment made with such insight, is there a tongue in cheek icon anyway?

There are studies that suggest Apes are more empathetic than humans, particularly beyond the immediate family group. Not surprising really!

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frant said..

Guitz said..
Totaly agree with the sentiment expressed so eloquently by Mr Leunig especially when i'm fishing and a pair oj jet ski's zoom past the back of my yacht between the lure i'm trolling and the boat. This summer i will troll surface lures only in the hope of catching one!

There is always the exception to the rule though.....and in thes case it is when the use of a jet ski aids in the capture of this type of aquatic beast.....my son escaping the jaws of a monster somewhere west of Cape Otway on the Shipwreck Coast.
( brag bag confession) They also surf a huge wave off the Mornington Peninsula at "Number 16". They launch at Sorrento and travel through the heads in some nasty conditions. One recent trip they had to punch through about 100 yards of six foot closely spaced standing waves with the empty fuel warning flashing. They carry hand held radios and an epirb but I wasn't happy when he came home bragging about that one!

[URL= .html]

Chris, I will see you and raise you on bragging rights of sons. This is a video of his first day/shift on a new job.

">Mt Fortescue Shift #10</a>


I hope to put together a few father and son tours of duty next year. One being a sea cliff climbing tour of the Bass Strait Islands from my boat. The other a windsurfing/ surfing tour. Sounds like we might be able to hook up on the surf tour.

Now that's a great outdoors job on the tip of the South East coast. If that was the recent snow, we where there just a few days after! And a surfing tour would be great!
It would be good it we could make that happen.

I'll throw another in....... this one has a comercial angle, being a promo for Penny Skateboards. A south west coast tour of vic that involved three of the tribe. It's not often you get a wage for doing what you love.

">SOUTH by Penny Skateboards Australia</a>

Tongue in cheek... Precisely what leunig was doing. I don't understand how such a pacifist socialist loving human can be so misunderstood over a simple joke cartoon that so many people get up in arms about. He's the sort who would be the 1st to help a hurt jetskier. The cartoon is a joke because they are annoying and sometimes you would like to think a bit of hurty would help them learn. No sane person wants to actually have them eaten by sharks.

I don't direct this at you Frant but on the web and other sites this cartoon has caused a stir about what a callous guy Leunig is.

My bonus though is I'm not sane so would love to see them get a bit of ouchy because I can be going point a to b and they will always just have to go out of their way just to zoom past very close. I don't know really if they want me to look at them or they are coming to look at me because they are bored.

BTW : J I am completely insane.

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slammin said..
Tongue in cheek... Precisely what leunig was doing. I don't understand how such a pacifist socialist loving human can be so misunderstood over a simple joke cartoon that so many people get up in arms about. He's the sort who would be the 1st to help a hurt jetskier. The cartoon is a joke because they are annoying and sometimes you would like to think a bit of hurty would help them learn. No sane person wants to actually have them eaten by sharks.

I don't direct this at you Frant but on the web and other sites this cartoon has caused a stir about what a callous guy Leunig is.

My bonus though is I'm not sane so would love to see them get a bit of ouchy because I can be going point a to b and they will always just have to go out of their way just to zoom past very close. I don't know really if they want me to look at them or they are coming to look at me because they are bored.

BTW : J I am completely insane.

Interesting! I guess that on a forum that would be defined as trolling.

No, here is a fairly standard definition of trolling. This one is fro the Urban Dictionary. Slammin's post isn't trolling.

A forum troll is someone who actively watches a forum. Not to be confused with a lurker, or just a forum frequenter, the troll annoys, pesters, and generally insults any thread they open.

-- Forum Troll : "I've become dumber just by reading this. Removing you from the genepool would not only be helpful to society, but would be praised in songs for generations."