HA HA!!!

[luckycanuck]

I was on Facebook this morning and came across the group for Pineridge Elementary School which I attended for seven years.  In the process I saw a photo of the guy who tormented me during my walk home when I was seven (and small for my age) and he was nine.  I can recall afternoons and evenings spent at home dedicated to acting out revenge fantasies that mostly involved me knocking him into next week.

Well I got my revenge after all.

 

As it turns out, he has gotten a little bit fat, and more than a little bit ugly.
 

I could totally take him out now.

The first vote in the House of Representatives of the new Parliament was held today, and for the first time since WWII, the Government lost a vote on the floor of the chamber.  It was on an issue relating to the standing orders that determine the rules of Parliament, and the Government lost 73-72.  For many MPs on my side, it was the first time they had been on the winning side.  There will be more like this, as things will be very unpredictable.

Among other things, the new standing orders limit the amount of time that can be taken up answering questions during Question time.  In the previos Parliament, the former PM often droned on and on for up to fifteen minutes of speechifying in response to questions asked by his supporters.

Backbench MP: Mr Speaker, would the Prime Minister tell the House how clever he is and how he is singlehandedly saving the Australian economy from recession?

Rudd:  I thank the member for his excellent question... blahblahblahblahblah... (ten minutes pass) blahblahblahblahblah programmatic specificty... blahblahblahblahblah.

Now answers are capped at four minutes.  They got through 20 questions in 90 minutes, which  is nearly doubnle what they often got through before.  I would prefer if they cut out the "Dorothy Dix" questions from the Government backbench, but I suspect that will be tougher to change.

New MPs are now making their maiden speeches.  Today Ken Wyatt, the first aboriginal member of the House of Reps made his maiden speech, clad in a kangaroo skin cloak whihc he also wore yesterday for the opening of Parliament.



It was a good speech, but I wondered if he was going to raise the ire of the animal rights brigade.  I also wondered if some of them might also be part of the indigenous rights brigade and if so whether they would feel conflicted.

TW: Ring pullups, burpee pullups, upside down hang turns, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of kettlebell swings and ring pullups, 50 medicine ball crunch throws.  Also, on Monday I successfully did 63 situps in one minute and therefore got myself up to 100% on the fitness test courtesy of yurusumaji