Cook and Tasman

 Not the founder of Australia,  James Cook was a celebrated English captain funded by the English crown to sail around the world. 

Cook did command three extensive sailings around the world but met his untimely end in Hawaii, where he was killed by the natives there after getting involved in a misunderstanding with the community there.

James Cook never set foot in Australia or New Zealand.  He sailed around the Aussie coast, even passing by the Wollongong coast, and watched things from afar but in the safety of his well furnished ships. 

Cook had Joseph Banks on board - this was the botanist who later recorded much of the flora and fauna in Australia and drew detailed drawings of plants or animals.

James Cook had his underlings come ashore at Botany Bay NSW, near Sydney Airport today. These underlings are celebrated today as landing on 26 January 1788.  To the many Indigenious people around Australia today, that was Invasion Day for them. 

The British colonials denied the existence of around 200 Indigenious nations in Australia when they arrived - and constitutionally declared the land as empty - Terra Nullius or " land legally not belonging to anyone".

The Australian continent was exploited by Britain in the 18th to 20th centuries as, amongst varied purposes, a place for agriculture, initially sending unwanted people, an empty land to carry out nuclear experiments and as an alternative climate wise to colder England.

The Federation of Australia was created in 1901 by these colonists and the rest is history.

ANZAC forces were utilised to fight the wars of Britain and the USA in the 20th century.

Abel Tasman the Dutch explorer had already mapped the coasts of Australia long before the arrival of Cook.  He was also the first European in 1642 to map some part of the coast of NZ - west part of North Island.

In 1769, on the first of his three world wide voyages, James Cook was the first European to circumnavigate around NZ.

The British colonists signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs on 6 Feb 1840 - this forms the basis of the National Day for contemporary New Zealand.

A few months later, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over a place called Russell, leading to wars between the colonists and Maoris 

Blog 18th Anniversary - Relative Advantage of Singapore

 Singapore is surrounded by a peninsular, islands big and small, trading routes, channels and seas. It is an island itself, albeit with reclaimed land fringes, but it is also an island beyond the geographical meaning of the term.

Singapore thrives on differentiation.  Its dynamics, governance drivers and ability to grow thrive on offering something which its neighbours cannot, to the same degree.

Most of Myanmar is still under military rule, despite the emergence of varying successful rebellions. Vietnam is communist, together with Laos.  The Phillippines and Kampuchea have had more tumultous experiences in politics.  Thailand and Malaysia are technically constitutional monarchies.  Timur-Leste and Papua New Guinea became fledging democracies after independence, but have not reached maturity in governance.  Indonesia is a federation of several cultural regions that has so much land size and population in comparison to the city state of Singapore.

So what captivates the rest of South-east Asia to offerings by Singapore?  Reassurance, relative stability, better reliance and constant progress - just like Switzerland to Europe.  Not just in being a transport hub, infrastructure provider, banker, shipping safety harbour, medical and education excellence provider, a place with good social cohesion structure,  technology facilitator, military capability displayer and strategic planning thinker - Singapore is ever the middleman, broker and trader.  As long there are transactions to be churned and there are problems elsewhere,  there is commission, value add and profit to be made, as Singapore beckons the talented, the visionary and the adventurer.

Both Indian and Chinese cultures have significantly infused the South-east Asian make up for umpteen years, before the arrival of Islam and Colonialism added further layers of social and political influences.  Today's Singapore can be said to be a microcosm of this historical accumulation and interaction - and yet the thinking and actions of its leaders and society stand apart.

So what abhors its neighbours about Singapore?   Perhaps the very same things that attracts them -  the better quality of life, its persistently stronger currency, its First World economic prowess.   Its sheer dependence on migrant labour in construction, house help and jobs its citizens will not do can cause an Achilles heel which makes it vulnerable to supply forces from its neighbours.

Singapore, small as it is, buys more arms than Australia, Indonesia or New Zealand.

Singapore has no royalty aristocrats to pander to.   It has maintained to a higher intensity the use of the English language and promoted the prominence of Mandarin spoken amongst its population.  Its leaders impose a strict political discipline for its citizens, resulting in a social order that contrasts with the waves of political instability of its neighbours.   Singapore's ensuing ability to hugely attract international business and talent belies its absence of natural resources.

Likewise, Australia and New Zealand can also empathise with how contemporary Singapore feels.
Both these two Antipodes countries find themselves different from their neighbours in the Asia- Pacific hinterland and ocean backyard.


The three nations have a Westminster based systen of government.   They are the outcomes of British trading, military and expansionist initiatives from the 18th to the 20th centuries.   They have attained an economic status which is the envy of their neighbours, short of China, Japan and South Korea.   Each of these three nations of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore were also built on the contributions of historical migrants.

They all offer a high measure of social stability, governance and economic wealth, but Singapore has the lowest taxes.

One lacks land size, another has too much and the third can be so remote from rhe rest of the world.  Both New Zealand and Singapore governments dare to stake our more independent positions in contemporary geopolitics. The Australian government continues to not seize an opportunity to assert its own refreshing values in international diplomacy and political moves.

In terms of wartime risks, Singapore geographically lies in a highly likely flashpoint, while Australia is most vulnerable in its exposed northern coasts and its affiliation with the South Pacific.

Nww Zealand has taken huge consistent steps to embrace its Indigenous heritage ( recent domestic politics are challenging that), when compared with its cross-Tasman neighbour.  Singapore is most conscious of balancing the implications of its multiracial population.

Singapore is what it is today, despite not having any natural resources.  Australia is blessed with many natural resources and yet its financial centres are behind that of Singapore.   All three countries utilise high levels of immigration to supplant population growth (at least before Covid 19).

Australia and New Zealand have proved to be bastions of relative stability, governance and reliability like Singapore.  They have attracted investors as places to park excess funds in search of higher returns, buy properties as back up refuges and place children for higher education.  Where people originate from nations with political instability but higher economic opportunities, all  three countries can be heaven sent as lower risk alternatives for escape to in the worst of times.

#yongkevthoughts

Federal Australian Election Results 2022

 The last time around, what now for 2025?

The 2022 Federal election results across Australia has unearthed the following: 

1.  The only Federal MP of Indian background, Dave Sharma, has lost his seat. 

2.   Independent candidates have made their significant stride by winning at least 10 electorates. 

3.   For the first time in Australian history, the Prime Minister does not have an Anglo- Saxon family name. 

4.   The only Federal MP of Hong Kong descent, Gladys Liu  has lost her seat after one term. 

5.   The Greens have increased their seats to at least 4. 

6.    Well known  incumbent Liberal Party MPs have lost their seats. 

7.   The retiring French Foreign Minister could not help showing his glee at the loss incurred by the outgoing government of the Coalition's Morrison. 

8.    The critical voting states of Queensland and Western Australia helped to tip the win for the incoming Federal Government. 

9.    Around 5.5 million people had early voted before the actual Federal Election Day. 

10.   This was a most important election held during an unsettled epidemic. 

A good change after the last 4 years with Morrison as PM. 

Australian governments rotate between the Coalition and Labor, but more voters are now disillusioned with the two main parties. 

A change at Canberra can help positively reset the decaying state of diplomatic relationships between China and Aus. 

Climate change initiatives can be taken up by Canberra in a more pro-active way. 

A Federal anti corruption body is closer to reality. 

Will society get a more fair deal , especially for teachers, front line workers and grassroots employees, than the super rich with connections to politicians?

Coastal Vulnerability

 Which coast of the continental island of Australia is most vulnerable?

It all depends what the Canberra government places its emphasis in the risk matrix.  Is vulnerability translated in terms of population over run, biosecurity invasion, foreign ownership, trading shifts, geopolitical exposure or wartime attacks?

The geographical location of Australia initially denotes remoteness, long distances and a colony-like existence between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.   Unfettered skies offer striking oppprtunities to watch the night maps overhead, conduct nuclear weapon experiments and execution of joint nation military excercises.
Populations cling mainly to the Aussie coast in pockets of suburbia, leaving Indigenous Country mainly seemingly empty but full of mineral resources.

The capital of the Commonwealth of Australia is conveniently shucked like a oyster in the south east, between skiing slopes, agricultural farms, surfing beaches and her economic hubs.  Is the rest of the land open to take over, without much impact for the nation?  Famously during the age of conquest drive from the Japanese Imperial Army in the mid 20th century, the sitting Australian Prime Minister kept secret from the public about Canberra, in the worst of scenario, willing to not defend her territory above an imaginary geographical line above the border between Queensland and New South Wales. This "Brisbane Line" roughly synchronises with the Tropic of Capricorn.

In World War 2, most of the Aussie troops were deployed overseas for the needs of Mother Britain.  In the future, will history repeat for Canberra, utilising most of its offensive and defensive war resources in supporting USA geopolitical wants?  With a population of only around 27 million in 2024, non citizens included in the count, can Canberra have sufficient human power to first take care of Australia's independent strategic interests?

Australian coasts are only a passage for unwelcome intruders on the way to the riches within.

The extensive coast facing the Southern Ocean, say from Tasmania to Albany in WA, historically has been the source of whaling legends, endless desert driving, rich farming lands and ports of refuge (whether for Europeans fleeing religious persecution or 1940s American GIs enjoying a respite of R and R in Melbourne).  In the 21st century, perhaps this is the least vulnerable of Aussie coasts in times of war.

Going clockwise around Australia to Perth, we have the Indian Ocean Highway if we then drive north to Exmouth and onwards to the extensive mining resources in Western Australia ( just below the Nusantara isles like Java and Bali).

Although there is a key naval base near Perth ( HMAS Stirling),the western coast remains primarily exposed to invaders of any kind.  Detection on a timely basis as such is of very low probability.  Any mass scale invasion by foreigners is lust for control of the huge trove of natural resources in the state of Western Australia.

The Northern Territory already increasingly hosts foreign troops, battle arsenal and war prep exercises.
It can be compared to what happened to South Korea, Okinawa and the Phillippines after WW2.

Perhaps Darwin is the star attraction in Australian defence.  It is a built up entry and exit point closest to South East Asia.  South of the city has become a focus for militaries of aligned nations to be a staging point handling perceived or actual threats ( depending on your point of view) to Australia or the allied nations themselves.  The vastness and relative emptiness of the NT are perfect as bases for monitoring the skies for spying on other countries or conducting battles in the stratosphere.

From a major military hub in Townsville to the NSW South Coast ( HMAS  Albatross), the eastern side of Australia has most of the infrastructure, power grids, residential housing, telecommunications and economic veins of the country.    Invasion of such a coast would seriously imply management of masses of people, control of trade and holding hostage of talent and skills.  It can bring a nation to her knees, but logically what a price to pay for such a scenario.

Technology wise and in terms of infrastructure, the eastern seaboard of Australia remains backward, with no high speed train networks, relatively few start ups and scattered centres of biotech.  So what is the attraction for invading such a coast?

To be realistic, Australia is historically and geographically mainly far removed from any action in the Northern Hemisphere.   (Critics point to Pearl Harbour attacks in December 1941to demolish any sense of such security for the USA due to geographical distance).

It has no land borders to contend with.  The South Pacific to its east offers a friendly relative in New Zealand and a host of Polynesian and Melanesian isles.
Canberra always had this opportunity to chart her own destiny but has never done sufficiently in this respect.

Amazingly, Canberra is pretty lax in building up her relationships with South east Asia, particularly Indonesia, with the latter's span of territory from Sumatra to Irian Jaya, almost shaped like an Akruba hat sited north of Australia.

Australia does not need to control any choke points of shipping trade like the major canals of the world. 
It has enough coastal land to accomodate a larger population which can be useful in contributing to a better defensive strategy.

Canberra can think outside the square to adopt a neutrality status like Switzerland  in world affairs.
Australia can better offer itself as a positive beacon for an ever uncertain world, instead of, in the worst circumstances, of being a foot soldier in the military campaigns and strategies waged by
foreigners.


#yongkevthoughts

Energy Market Dynamics - Australia

 

What is still happening to the energy supply market across Australia?

1.  Huge  multinational energy corporates pay less in wholesale prices for gas and electricity resources from Australia, than retail consumers do within the nation - partly due locked in long term contracts allowed.

2.   Aging coal plants that are due to close soon are symbolic of socio- political issues in regions that have prospered in the past but now struggle economically to face a changing future.

3.    Renewable energy sources are not enough at this stage to replace coal  and traditional ones in sustaining supply to an inceeased population.

4.  The energy market in Australia has been totally outsourced by the Canberra Federal government to so called free market players in the form of only a handful of wholesalers like Aus Grid and Endeavour Energy - allocation has been made for monopoly by geographical areas.

Only the Western Australian state government has been wise and practical enough to ensure their domestic customers get enough supply before allocating supply to overseas wholesalers.

Just like any wise government would take care of its own people first.....

5.   Wholesale private players within Australia then farm out energy supply allocation to retail players like Origin, AGL, Energy Australia, etc.
Such retail players are huge in domination of the domestic market, have become agressive to consumers in utilities  and also said to have interlocking non- Australian interests.

There is an unwillingness by government in Australua to implement measures like price ceilings and caps on charges for essential goods and services. 

7.   Like for mortgage loans, consumers can choose between variable and short term fixed rates for daily supply and usage.

The few players at wholesale supply level already make it possible for them to likely and allegedly squeeze retail players fighting for profit margins in a market for essential utility needs of everyone.

8.  Australia is a major producer of energy resources, yet its residents do not enjoy the benefits of such bounty, due to potential
and alleged market manipulation, lack of strategic and forward looking planning by governments,  poor political leadership for many years and alleged strong interlinks between big business and those in power.

9.   No critical reserve of gas and electricity resources are maintained nationally as part of disaster planning and national strategy.

Note that Australian national emergency reserves in petroleum are kept in the USA. Makes one think!

10.   Although it is easy for retail customers like me to change energy providers (portability without exit penalties), most properties in Australia are not built in an energy efficient way.

#yongkevthoughts

The Coming Summer of Discontent

 The Mr Scrooge Predictions for the coming Antipodes summer 2022/2023. 

1.   A new wave of Covid strains is likely to cause spike in infections across greater Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane soon. Case numbers will continue to be under reported, more people can experience long Covid and we are approaching the third annual anniversary of the arrival of the now increasingly unmentionable matter. 

2.   Many eating places of varying set ups across Australia will be closed for a few weeks after Christmas. Shortage of vegetables and other fresh produce are likely to hit supermarkets and eating outlets across NSW and Victoria, as Christmas 2023 approaches, due to recent widespread flooding over many farms. 

3.  The months long continuing dispute between Nsw State Government and train workers for Greater Sydney have risks of getting worse. 

4.    Prices of daily consumption items will be going up further, like for petrol, groceries, human services, insurance premiums, utility usage and supply charges, airfares, private school fees and child care services. 

5.    Warmer and radiating dry weather can make afternoons unbearable going out in coming months, unless one is determined to have that tan and risk the health side effects. 

6.     Food, grocery and other delivery service charges will increase.  This is one example of the lack of labour supply for many sectors that rely on cheaply paid human resources to deliver the final stage of consumer interface transactions. 

7.    La Nina is forecast to hang around in the coming season - with some of the lingering uncertainty, more of the wet in some states, more heat in the west of the Australian continental island and generally more of the same like in the past 12 months. 

8.    The downstream impact of the huge battle for reliable supply of smart chips is yet to be fully played out. 

9.      Investment options for players of all funding ability sizes will change over the next 3 months, whether decision makers are on holiday or not.  The arrival of recession in the UK; the need to draw a line on the books before the festive season and the close of the year;  the staged increase in interbank rates by several central banks; the continuing rollercoaster ride of crypto currency; the changing return on bonds; the shifting attitude for small caps; the rise in exchange value of the USD; and the outlook for the Chinese economy are all still relevant in the heady mix of the cauldron. 

10.    Using airports will further embed our perceptions of their disorganisation; the lack of connect between corporate planning, purported marketing image and the actual customer experience;  the greater investment by airport operators/ owners in vehicle parking spaces rather than anything else;  of the strong need by airlines to fill up every passenger seat of every flight; and the silo effect and divide between Immigration, Airline and Customs as a passenger goes through the process before and after a flight. 

Okay, I better move on to brighter things. Lol. 

#yongkevthoughts

Comparing Between Two Nations

 

What a contrast, or more of the same?

Nation I left behind: Malaysia with a population of around 33 million, turns 65 on 31 August 2022, given independence by Britain that long ago.

1.  Political leadership encouraging
looking inwards.
2.   Society becoming more divisive over plural and religious diversity.
3.    Getting less competitive than its neighbours.
4.     Falling ranking significantly in corruption management and occurence, according to Transparency International.
5.     Rewriting and recognising history according to the view of the powers that are.
6.     De-emphasising the language of her past colonisers.
7. A federation that is showing cracks on its structure, although still with strong central control based on a sort of Westminster system.
8.   Rampant misuse of public monies, third party commissions from projects and socio-political enrichment of a few kleptocratic individuals.
9.    Increased empowerment of royalty in the governance, economic and cultural landscape.
10.  Reduced social cohesion, due to long term strong discrimination practices in official government policies and mainstream media manipulation.
11.  Unceasing exploitation of her natural resources, high need for foreign investment levels and belittling of its Indigenous population.
12.   Joyous diversity and heritage in culinary offerings.
13.   One of the highest vehicle accident rates on her public roads and highways.
14.   Increasing commercialisation of personal health care.
15.   Aging society risks are not that high, due to larger family sizes in her majority population.
16.   Nothing like understanding the Malaysian, of whatever racial background, on the street like in a coffee shop.
17.   Heavily reliant on migrant labour, while at least 2 million of its citizens have emigrated and settled overseas in past 10 years. Largest group of immigrants are from Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Phillippines.
18.   Many of her students are studying in universities overseas.
19.    Equatorial climate assures almost the same timing of sunrise and sunset, with only monsoon and dry seasons.
20.   Strategic location in terms of geopolitics, shipping and air flight routes, natural resources and possible manipulation by powerful nations.

Nation I embraced: Australia marked its 234 years since it was colonised and 122 years as a Federation in 2022. Population of around 26 million in its Great Southern Land.

1. Political leadership unduly follows the Government of the USA and the political landscape is divided strongly on labels and party thinking.
2.   Society getting more divisive due to less equality in incomes, social interaction, less shared cultural values, mainstream media
manipulation, political structures and more emphasis on disagreement than on common values.
3.   Getting less competitive than its OECD nations.
4.   Greater incidence of public and commercial rorts, corruption and misuse of public monies, especially relating to infrastructure projects, bringing down Australia's Transparency International ranking to below the top ten in the world.
5.  Greater recognition and acknowledgent of the history of the peoples and Country before 1788.
6.  Aussie speak continues to evolve and grow, despite the presence of minorities who came from around 200 nations and a growing cohort who cannot speak
English well.
7.  The Federation is relatively still strong, although the wider independent powers of the separate States were highlighted during Covid management in 2020 and 2021.   The shrinked actions, role and responsibilities of the Federal Government in  Canberra also came to the fore.
8.    Increasing divide between consumers, workers and the public on one hand and the well funded, strongly networked with strong political connections on the other.
9.     The love affair with British royalty continues, the Republican movement gets some attention every few years and Australia participates in the annual landmark Eurovision singing contest.
10.    High level of political correctness demands exist in official government policies, but there can be a different reality at ground level.
11.    Continued exploitation of its natural resources with little value add, a wider extent of foreign ownership and increasing awakening for more recognition of its Indigenous First Nations.
12.   Joyous diversity and heritage in culinary offerings.
13.   Vehicle and driver safety has dropped with more aggressive behaviour on the roads, laden with more and larger vehicles, less civility and more traffic in capital city areas.
14.   Increasing commercialisation of personal health care, although the Medicare public health system is still better than in the UK or USA, though behind Canada's.
15.   An aging society, with birth rates higher amongst immigrant demographics.  Refer to Point 17.
16.    Nothing like understanding the Aussie on the street like in a footy or cricket game, a cafe, a private exclusive club or a RSL joint.
17.    Heavily reliant on migrant labour for many services - and also on permanent migration to ensure economic growth. The current biggest contributors to immigration are Brits, New Zealanders and Indians.
18.    Many young people still make the trek overseas for work, fun and adventure, even if for a short while.
19.   A unique range of climate zones from monsoonal to temperate, with daylight savings practised in the more populous states and a transposition of the British seasons over a rather different climate pattern in Australia.
20.   Location of the Antipodes, which should be safely tucked away with clean environments, umcontaminated produce and far away from the troubles of the rest of the world.

#yongkevthoughts

When The War Came To My Reality

 

When The War Came to my Reality.

Aussies have long had this perception of battles taking place far away, fighting for freedom of peoples in other lands.

Even if our continental island seems distant from the big troubles across the Northern Hemisphere, what happens when Australia takes its dutiful turn to host battles to be fought on behalf of its allies?

Let us be all prepared for the physical, social and personal landscape suffered as collateral damage. 

Politicians of different shades can still keep arguing with each other, but the reality for the rest of us at ground level must make us prepare ourselves for harrowing eventualities.

Many things on our media, distracting us with irrelevant matters for so many years, will not matter anymore.

Reality shows will be replaced by reality.   The pandemic will be pushed aside ( if it already has been) by the impact of intense failure of our logistics, energy supply, communications, food and economic grids.  A lack of national unity and leadership can amplify the negative fallout.   A lack of independent purpose and stance will make foreigners increase manipulation of our societal and collective spirit.

Military fight outs can damage our land and natural resources in ways more extensive than the charge of the Light Brigade.  Who, why and what are we fighting for?    Those who urge us Australians to sacrifice and suffer are most likely sitting in the comfort of their leather cushioned offices really far far away.  Oh does not that sound so familiar?

Food shortages in wartime will be more frightening than that of toilet paper in 2020.    Fuel shortages will paralyse more than just jaunts to the supermarkets and beaches.   Innocent individuals can be banished to harsh climate corners of our vast land.   Ports and facilities will be targeted, towns in wrong places sacrificed and the sense of being stunned and conquered can add to our national pysche.

The outreach of intercontinental weapons is not limited to ballistic missiles, but are more deadly using cyberspace, artificial intelligence and sensory devices.   Australia can be held as hostage in the political tapestry of technologically advanced conflicts.   Her dependencies in critical requirements on overseas supply can undo her bargaining counter strengths.   Her relatively smaller population can be no match for her opponents.   Will the Australian government and society be punished for their perceived and actual taking of sides?  Will our military arnaments be such a pittance in capability when we need to rely on them?

Will the outcome of conflict fought out on Aussie soil be not up to us, but more on the decisions, motives and actions of outsiders?

The outcomes of actual conflict in northern Australia can divide the territory of the Lucky Country.  Years of hosting foreign powers can come home to roost in coming to more than hairs with powerful  militaries which see such bases as interfering with their strategic safety and vital interests.  Australia can stage landlocked destruction like a pawn in geopolitical chess.

Will another country save us?
Succesive Australian governments
have opted to serve more of the requirements of powerful so called Big Brothers, rather than gradually assert its own independent stand. Being overly loyal to outsiders does not guarantee a return of favour in an increasingly complex and evolving world of competitive power.

So if and when the war comes to our door step, be truly prepared.  No matter what......

#yongkevthoughts

Eighteen Months On

6 July 2021 - 11am. The USA Government has not reached its planned c19 related vaccination targets set by President Biden. On the 245 th anniversary of its founding, Stateside had undergone a tumultous year of continued racial divisions, a widespread Coronavirus affliction, political drama and reaffirmed some values and approaches in how it interacts with the rest of the world. Australia as a Federation has reached its 120th year.  Most of its population resides in its south-eastern corner.  The continental island can be as wide as mainland USA, but only has 7.8 percent of the American population. Vaccination, rightly or wrongly, has been emphasised by both Governments to manage the never ending spread of c19.  Canberra is however way behind its vaccination targets and continues to offer an ever changing scenario in this space. Sydney still grapples with a resurgence in c19 local transmission infections.  Although relatively small in numbers, this new outbreak starting at Bondi is said to be dealing with a more infectious mutant strain. The public may not have been fully informed about the severity, or lack of severity, of symptoms of those who tested positive with mostly the Delta strain, although a few hospitalisations or ICU admissions have occured amongst the so far accumulated 330 identified cases in Greater Sydney since 16 June. Melbourne and regional Victoria managed to come out from its fourth c19 related lockdown in June, after a leakage from a returned overseas passenger who was infected in an Adelaide quarantine hotel. By the middle of 2021, Australia has had its international borders mainly closed for around 16 months. In the same period, the character of the Commonwealth has been underlined by the lack of available workers for low paid jobs across several fronts, the shutting out of international students, the intensity of disagreements between state governments and Canberra, the best agricultural output yet in as many years and the smashing of conventions about inner city life. As many as perhaps a third of the workers at the Summitcare Aged Care facility in the north western Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills were reported as not yet been vaccinated. The focus on this matter came about after five aged care residents at this facility were tested positive with Delta after being infected originally by a staff member. Is there vaccination  hesitancy amongst aged care sector workers, due to lack of confidence in the only available two brands -  or is it more of the risks of personal loss of earnings if they suffer post vaccination side effects?   There is also a real fear by employers at aged care facilities in Australia that they may find a drought in staff availability, if they are all required to be vaccinated.  This can be a chicken and egg scenario that illustrates the bungled roll out of c19 vaccines in Australia, despite the Canberra bubble and state governments touting vaccinations as the manna from heaven in this presumed epidemic. Canberra has so far stumbled on implementation, revised opinions and continued their mixed messaging in this vaccination process for the public.   Their other key tasks in this age of c19 has been to manage our international borders,  help the states quarantine the continuing flow of overseas arrivals at capital city airports and have its medical bureaucrats make pronouncements on how to handle c19. Governments of the Australian states and territories, in varying behaviour, have shown how aggressively independent they can be.  This may not be a negative development, especially in their dealings with Canberra.  Observers can note the divisions arising from political party alignments; the different risk tolerance taken in public health management ( reflect on the different appraches, say between Western Australia and NSW); the frequent use of state border closures, with little time notifications given; and the outcomes for states and territories, bearing the brunt and consequences of poor logistics, lack of attention to detail and many broad and generalised announcements from Canberra. NSW has always had the state government being very consistent in one particular restriction, when any c19 cluster hits Sydney - no singing, no dancing.  At times, outsiders can mistakenly  perceive NSW as one mass school of the performing arts.  Policy changes  by the NSW State Government, since March 2020, have otherwise varied on the usefulness of wearing face masks, the inclusion or exclusion of areas outside Sydney proper as " Greater Sydney", the timing of introducing lockdowns and providing various details or omitted information about daily confirmed positives. Where NSW has been perhaps the most liberal in the current Sydney lockdown, compared to other states,  experts have pointed out the absence of a ceiling in km for travel restriction; the variety of retail outlets that can still open during a so called lockdown; the requirement of face masking only indoors; and  the lack of better controls on vulnerable sectors like medical hubs, aged care homes and shopping clusters. And the children!   This demographic has been paid least attention, until the recent focus on pushing more extensive vaccination rates throughout communities.  Will this help achieve the supposed benefits of reaching herd immunity, or is there another unspoken agenda?  Schools in the Bondi area have reported Delta infections in children. The lack of compliance with common sense social distancing can be a distinct feature of human behaviour in Sydney, since the Bondi cluster was reported on 16 June.  The love of the outdoors by fellow Aussies, on the other hand,can be a good habit in reducing the risks of catching c19, as proper ventilation always helps. Ventilation can be reduced in flow and quality inside crowded indoor venues.  Delta case infections have been confirmed from parties in inner city Waterloo and suburban West Hoxton, having  a meal in Paddington  and taking a domestic flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney. The current Delta strain pattern of infection cases can seem to be deja vu for Sydney - overseas arrivals as the source, household contact cases, workers unintentionally affecting hospitals and aged care homes, infection clusters are detected at work places, people getting infected eating at indoor venues and infectees with no symptoms allowed to travel far from home. There can be increasing reluctance to affect the economy after so many months of c19. A lockdown does not only curtail physical movement for individuals, but it also can negatively affect turnover in sales and revenues for business models still using physical stores. The NSW state Government seems to rely on ever changing daily case numbers to make decisions.  These can range from infections picked up from testing,  a listing of exposure spots, active cases remaining, number of cases linked, number of infectees moving about in the community while still being infectious and number of new reported cases who have already been isolating at home, etc. Covid  has been more than a field day for statisticians!  To me, perhaps the most significant to watch for is the growth or reduction in the list of exposure sites. This tells me whether the Delta is still moving ahead of historical contact tracing. #yongkevthoughts

Australia - Give It A Fair Go

How many club memberships, living in Australia, have you chalked up over the years? I am not referring to exclusive country or city clubs where you network with the rich, politically connected and inner sanctum of useful contacts. The prevalence of these other clubs I am talking about here, across the many suburbs of this Great Land, often depend on turnover, a huge but cheap membership base, gaming machines, a bistro of varying quality and some measure of community activities. Increasingly significant is the local barista. Over many years, so many blends of coffee beans have come out of Australia, establishing Aussie brands in this space with a strong reputation beyond its shores. The routine of having brunch or breakky has contributed to the new styled cafes mushrooming with new fangled food recipes accompanying the beverage. Tea has nevertheless not lost its embedded loyalty, together with other penchants for avocado smash, sourdough toasts, Granola mixes and sauteed mushrooms. Beer craft and wine appreciation communions now express themselves in watering holes not just in the cities, but also in populated regional hubs. The accompanying pizzas, burgers and randomly performing local musician adds extra zest and layers of attraction to visit such venues. The traditional Aussie pub though still stands tall, but can face challenges without the tribes gathering pre and post footy games, the family gathering for a wholesome Aussie roast and its truly vital role in the fabric of its local community. And then in capital cities, Asian run bistros seem to be a contemporary cornerstone of those RSLs and comparable clubs. Vietnamese and Chinese operators provide alternative menus to pasta, Wellingtons, schnitzels and salads. Migrant food has also been hipsterised and hybridised with fusion offerings, contemporary presentations and more use of alternative ingredients. Outlets offering such experiences are evolving a unique trend in the development of what foreigners increasingly acknowledge as uniquely Australian. Drop by a new styled bakery run by Koreans, French and Japanese here - while we still have access to traditional stuff from the Italians, Lebanese and our grandmother's Aussie cookbooks. The roadhouse is so important for many remote communities, truckers and tourists out in the Woop-Woop. It is a petrol station, sandwich bar, souvenir shop, grocery outlet, cafe, toilet stop, rest area and contact point for many both enduring and enjoying the vast, seemingly empty land that is Australia. Our borders with other countries has been closed for so many months, but we still enjoy the Long Drive within our own state or when varying governments permit, across to other states on this continental island. Straight roads for many kilometres delightfully surprise our visitors - and also coastal scenic drives, sojourns across farmlands, adventures across deserts or Alpine country. What most of us agree upon is to avoid traffic jammed scenarios in our capital cities during the so called rush hour - or the increasing high tolls on roads labelled as Connex. The water source, whether it is a constructed indoor or outdoor pool in suburban hubs, lake or a rock pool along one of our countless beaches, beckons many and perpetuates the influence of water in the life of many Aussies. Most Aussies still reside within 100 km of its magnificient coasts. Swimming and surfing are anchor sports, whether competitive, recreational or for exercise, in the fabric of this Great Southern Land. Not many activities are as physically wholesome, mentally refreshing and rewarding as interacting with water. Expressing one's self, taking part in public protests and telling a yarn also run through the veins of Aussie history. At times, the giving of opinions, as overly encouraged by social media channels, politics and so called democratic freedoms, can lead to no action and just talk. The contemporary disease of mixing of facts with diverse views, manipulation of selective truth and aggressive marketing agendas by strong vested interests, has however thrown more than a spanner in this unrelenting confusing cauldron. The unique spirit of being a larrakin still is very much alive in the Australian character. However, this can be challenged by some aspects of a rising trend of political correctness which can at times lose this essential quality of humour and humaneness in negotiations, dealings and various transactions of society. Australia has always thought itself as the Land of the Fair Go. Building upon layers of viable cultures, philosophies and traditions, we and our society have special routines, daily regimes and refreshing attitudes, when we zoom in on the beneficial and positive ones. In the course of a day, each of us can find opportunity to have that healthy breakky, soak in a rewarding outdoor activity, press on with that work challenge, catch up with mates and try that unusual dish down the road. #yongkevthoughts

Covid 19, June 2021

Are there lessons for Australia? If any government does not effectively manage the breach point of Covid 19 entering into their country, the risks of whatever numbered infectious waves remain. The international borders of Australia have been officially closed since March 2020. Breach entry points to me possibly encompass aircraft crew, returned citizens and permanent residents, travel ban exempted personalities like politicians, diplomats and celebrities with connections, so called essential personnel and exceptions decreed by bureaucrats and governments as if Covid 19 can recognise and do not touch them. The management of such breach point groups must be improved. It is the self entitled wiring in the brains and egos of our decision makers which actually provide the greatest public health management risks for any of us, who are mostly complying with rules as pronounced by our respective state and Federal governments. For Australia, the track record of cross infections of Covid 19 in quarantine hotels and facilities - and occasional leakages into local transmission cases - is rather concerning, after all these months. #yongkevthoughts

The Giants of the Silo Trail - Victoria

We Will Carry On

 

How many club memberships, living in Australia, have you chalked up over the years?  I am not referring to exclusive country or city clubs where you network with the rich, politically connected and inner sanctum of useful contacts.   The prevalence of these other clubs I am talking about here, across the many suburbs of this Great Land, often depend on turnover, a huge but cheap membership base, gaming machines, a bistro of varying quality and some measure of community activities.

Increasingly significant is the local barista.  Over many years, so many blends of coffee beans have come out of Australia, establishing Aussie brands in this space with a strong reputation beyond its shores.  The routine of having brunch or breakky has contributed to the new styled cafes mushrooming with new fangled food recipes accompanying the beverage.  Tea has nevertheless not lost its embedded loyalty, together with other penchants for avocado smash, sourdough toasts, Granola mixes and sauteed mushrooms.

Beer craft and wine appreciation communions now express themselves in watering holes not just in the cities, but also in populated regional hubs.  The accompanying pizzas,  burgers and randomly performing local musician adds extra zest and layers of attraction to visit such venues.  The traditional Aussie pub though still stands tall, but can face challenges without the tribes gathering pre and post footy games, the family gathering for a wholesome Aussie roast and its truly vital role in the fabric of its local community.

And then in capital cities, Asian run bistros seem to be a  contemporary cornerstone of those RSLs and comparable clubs.  Vietnamese and Chinese operators provide alternative menus to pasta, Wellingtons, schnitzels and salads.

Migrant food has also been hipsterised and hybridised with fusion offerings, contemporary presentations and more use of alternative ingredients.  Outlets offering  such experiences are evolving a unique trend in the development of what foreigners increasingly acknowledge as uniquely Australian.  Drop by a new styled bakery run by Koreans, French and Japanese  here - while we still have access to traditional stuff from the Italians, Lebanese and our grandmother's Aussie cookbooks.

The roadhouse is so important for many remote communities, truckers and tourists out in the Woop-Woop.  It is a petrol station, sandwich bar, souvenir shop, grocery outlet, cafe, toilet stop, rest area and contact point for many both enduring and enjoying the vast, seemingly empty land that is Australia.

Our borders with other countries has been closed for so many months, but we still enjoy the Long Drive within our own state or when varying governments permit, across to other states on this continental island.  Straight roads for many kilometres delightfully surprise our visitors - and also coastal scenic drives, sojourns across farmlands, adventures across deserts or Alpine country.   What most of us agree upon is to avoid traffic jammed scenarios in our capital cities during the so called rush hour - or the increasing high tolls on roads labelled as Connex.

The water source, whether it is a constructed indoor or outdoor pool in suburban hubs, lake or a rock pool along one of our countless beaches, beckons many and perpetuates the influence of water in the life of many Aussies.

Most Aussies still reside within 100 km of its magnificient coasts. Swimming and surfing are anchor sports, whether competitive, recreational or
for exercise, in the fabric of this Great Southern Land.   Not many activities are as physically wholesome, mentally refreshing and rewarding as interacting with water.

Expressing one's self, taking part in public protests and telling a yarn also run through the veins of Aussie history.   At times, the giving of opinions, as overly encouraged by social media channels, politics and so called democratic freedoms, can lead to no action and just talk. The contemporary disease of mixing of facts with diverse views, manipulation of selective truth and aggressive marketing agendas by strong vested interests, has however thrown more than a spanner in this unrelenting confusing cauldron.

The unique spirit of being a larrakin still is very much alive in the Australian character.   However, this can be challenged by some aspects of a rising trend of political correctness which can at times lose this essential quality of humour and humaneness in negotiations, dealings  and various transactions of society.

Australia has always thought itself as the Land of the Fair Go.   Building upon layers of viable cultures, philosophies and traditions, we and our society have special routines, daily regimes and refreshing attitudes, when we zoom in on the beneficial and positive ones.  In the course of a day, each of us can find opportunity to have that healthy breakky, soak in a rewarding outdoor activity, press on with that work challenge, catch up with mates and try that unusual dish down the road.

#yongkevthoughts

What Do You Read For Leisure These Days?

 In an age of information overload, increased screen time and competing media seeking your attention,

what do we read for leisure these days?

Or do we even  think of going for the written word as an option.....

We get visual clips, often brief ones, shared with us from the social media network.

Photographs can truly be better than a thousand words in conveying so many things.

We have access to virtual and true computers in varying sizes in the course of a day's routine - the smart TV, tablets, mobile devices and desktops.

I baulk at times at having to read long passages of messages, as if I really do not have the time to saviour them, even if some of them can still be inspiring, humorous or useful to know.

Then there are those long PDFs in small font, not user friendly when we read them on the mobile smart phone when on the go between appointments in public places.

Moments When Our Fingers felt the Paper

Long ago, many individuals thought first of grabbing the newspaper after waking up - and like having a Linus blanket from the Peanuts cartoon strip, these same persons would be holding the print in their arms.

These mornings, it is a better bet they are seen either holding their hot beverage or mobile device, rather than any newspaper.  Or their sports gear!

Not slowly, but surely, the printed medium has significantly dropped its utilisation of wood plantations, naturally growing trees and Nature's growth product.

Where societies and consumers may be using less paper, we are increasingly dependent on more electricity and better performing Wi-Fi, not just to read, but to run our gadgets, critical systems and life routines.  If there is a water or natural gas supply cut, we can still react better than when electricity and Wi-Fi supply problems arise for households, commercial outlets and community grids.

When things do work, we still may have exchanged convenience for higher vulnerabilities and risks.  We pollute the environment when we continue to practice the throw away mindset  - this time it is not recyclable paper but more challenging chemicals, toxic metals and unrecyclable materials.

Choices Have Narrowed, The Pleasures Have Been Diluted

The number of periodical publications in Australia has significantly dropped over the past 30 years.  Local magazines are mainly been confined to lifestyle, speculative and low level content.  Just walk into any newsagent and it is so evident.  The revenue contribution from publications to such newsagents has gone down so much they have wisely taken up being outlets for banks, Australia Post and other ventures.

Even from overseas, the extent of publications that used to criss-cross the world every day on air and sea transport have come to a sorry state.   Yes, they now are transmitted in cyberspace.  Changing parameters in the viability of the news publishing trade, kicked off by falling advertising revenues over several years, have come in addition to the challenges from media platforms that can reach actual and potential customers simultaneously in the blink of the eye.  Not only are traditional publishers feeling serious transformation of their business, but the number of mega owners behind so many mastheads across the Globe have become the privileged few.

Seemingly eternal publications like TIME, the Australian, The UK Times, the South China Morning Post, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Straits Times and the Wall Street Journal are still operating, but most of them under different owners.  Not many remember other titles like the Asia Magazine, The Bulletin Australia, the Australian Business Review, LIFE and People as they are no longer publishing.

Do reflect on when we came across more independent reporting, boldly proclaiming information and data that most mainstream newspapers avoid?  These days such boldness become so rare in view of rising financial costs, litigation and less liberal political tolerance.   When they do arise these days, they are small outfits, always online and so like the guerrilla on the fringe.  Many publications, whether toeing the line of the powers that be or not, ask for donations from online readers  - hence this has led to the subscription payments required if you want to read more than just the headlines.

One of the key features of an Enlightened and more tolerant world is the freedom of expression across the country in newspapers churned out in small towns and various regions across a country.   What do we get these days?   The merger of television news channels news with online publications and print mastheads under the same eventual owner has instead led to the uniformisation and greater editorial control of news content.   The concept of supplying news around the clock - instead of at a set time every evening when everyone gathered around the living room - has diluted the enjoyment of jointly sharing the experience of finding out significant news developments.  And mind you, who gathers much in groups these days, as we are encouraged to go into more personalisation routines, even before Covid?  It can be so disheartening to watch newsreaders read out the same lines of news repeatedly on media.

Increasing Regular Use of our Eye Power

Most of us utilise more of our ears and eyes, less of our muscles, sense of smell and agility in our contemporary lifestyle.   The urbane will not even go out to get their meals, they have it delivered to them.  Think of your own personal lifestyle - your eyesight is vital.  Gaming, communicating, doing business, etc.

Perhaps stimulating our eyes to a more diverse and stimulating set of profiles each day becomes important.   Switch from bright white light screens to calming greens and blues of the outdoors.  Our eyes are more significant now for identification purposes in public places,  Still, the written word can be the most common use for our eyes - texting messages, clicking an option or when stimulating our minds for further thoughts.

So perhaps my question at the very beginning of this write up - what do we read for leisure these days - can be redundant.   We are increasingly reading all the time, so when we do not have to, we better do other things.

Musings about Controlling Covid - Australia January 2021

 

It is now the fourth wave of Covid spread in Sydney.
Once Covid leaks through from overseas arrivals on plane or ship to the local community, it is harder to contain, without hitting hard and early on focused movement restrictions for an interim period.

Once Covid reappears in the local community, better mental health is attained by confident and reassuring measures to stop its spread, much better than attending the much respected cricket games.

The risks of Covid spreading from the latest Avalon, Croydon and Berala clusters can impact on inadequate infrastructure and resources to optimally manage further infection break outs beyond the borders of the Sydney Basin.

In almost 4 weeks since the reporting of the Avalon cluster in Sydney's northern beaches, around 270 exposure sites have been traced for NSW and another hundred in Victoria - and counting.

Despite this reality, the free movement of people continues, even when for NSW residents, up to 200 infections have been identified in the state since the middle of December 2020.

In contrast, Hebei Province was totally locked down with severe movement restrictions immediately, after a lesser number of infections occured this past week in a city in its south.

The Queensland state government today declared a three day severe lockdown for a defined area of Brisbane and selected suburbs (instead of blanketing other non-relevant areas)  from 6pm their time, just after a quarantine hotel cleaner was confirmed to have contracted the rather more infectious UK mutated strain of Covid.

Most Australian states have imposed hard border controls to prevent NSW residents from coming, perhaps echoing their serious concerns on how relaxed the NSW government has been reacting to Covid cases and its spread in its own backyard.

A swift and strict lockdown for a short period can be more effective to dispel uncertainty than an approach wavering on varying daily case figures.

Contact tracing and extensive testing are only ways of managing public health after the Covid has bolted in.

Prevention is best, by stopping leakages. It is effective to stop overseas arrivals, especially on a temporary basis, emphatically in view of much more infectious versions of Covid jumping inside the country to locally transmit through direct contact staff and transport drivers without adequate PPE physically in touch with infected arrivals.

Local individuals working face on with overseas arrivals need to face a more stringent regime of daily testing and not being able to spread Covid back to their families, vulnerable work sites like aged care homes and indoor venues like shopping and medical hubs.

AEDT 4 pm, 8 January 2021, Sydney NSW.

#yongkevthoughts
#coronavirus

Threesomes with a Difference

 

Singapore is surrounded by a peninsular, islands big and small, trading routes, channels and seas. It is an island itself, albeit with reclaimed land fringes, but it is also an island beyond the geographical meaning of the term.

Singapore thrives on differentiation.  Its dynamics, governance drivers and ability to grow thrive on offering something which its neighbours cannot, to the same degree.

Myanmar just had a military coup.  Vietnam is communist, together with Laos.  The Phillippines and Kampuchea have had more tumultous experiences in politics.  Thailand and Malaysia are technically constitutional monarchies in varying forms.  Timur-Leste and Papua New Guinea became fledging democracies after independence, but have not reached maturity in governance.  Indonesia is a federation of several cultural regions that has so much land size and population in comparison to the city state of Singapore.

So what captivates the rest of South-east Asia to offerings by Singapore?  Reassurance, relative stability, better reliance and constant progress - just like Switzerland to Europe.  Not just in being a transport hub, infrastructure provider, banker, shipping safety harbour, medical and education excellence provider, a place with good social cohesion structure,  technology facilitator, military capability displayer and strategic planning thinker - Singapore is ever the middleman, broker and trader.  As long there are transactions to be churned and there are problems elsewhere,  there is commission, value add and profit to be made, as Singapore beckons the talented, the visionary and the adventurer.

Both Indian and Chinese cultures have significantly infused the South-east Asian make up for umpteen years, before the arrival of Islam and Colonialism added further layers of social and political influences.  Today's Singapore can be said to be a microcosm of this historical accumulation and interaction - and yet the thinking and actions of its leaders and society stand apart.

So what abhors its neighbours about Singapore?   Perhaps the very same things that attracts them -  the better quality of life, its persistently stronger currency, its First World economic prowess.   Its sheer dependence on migrant labour in construction, house help and jobs its citizens will not do can cause an Achilles heel which makes it vulnerable to supply forces from its neighbours.

Singapore, small as it is, buys more arms than Australia, Indonesia or New Zealand.

Singapore has no home grown traditional royalty aristocrats to pander to.   It has maintained to a higher intensity the use of the English language and promoted the prominence of Mandarin spoken amongst its population.  Its leaders impose a strict political discipline for its citizens, resulting in a social order that contrasts with the waves of political instability of its neighbours.   Singapore's ensuing ability to hugely attract international business and talent belies its absence of natural resources.

Likewise, Australia and New Zealand can also empathise with how contemporary Singapore feels.
Both these two Antipodean countries find themselves different from their neighbours in the Asia-Pacific hinterland and ocean backyard.

The three nations have a Westminster based system of government.   They are the outcomes of British trading, military and expansionist initiatives from the 18th to the 20th centuries.   They have attained an economic status which is the envy of their neighbours, short of China, Japan and South Korea.   Each of these three nations were also built on the contributions of historical migrants.
They all offer a high measure of social stability, governance and economic wealth, but Singapore has the lowest taxes.

One lacks land size, another has too much and the third can be so remote from the rest of the world.  Both New Zealand and Singapore governments dare to stake their more independent positions in contemporary geopolitics. The Australian government continues to not seize an opportunity to assert its own refreshing values in international diplomacy and political moves.

In terms of wartime risks, Singapore geographically lies in a highly likely flashpoint, while Australia is most vulnerable in its exposed northern coasts and its affiliation with the South Pacific.

Nww Zealand has taken huge consistent steps to embrace its Indigenous heritage, when compared with its cross-Tasman neighbour.  Singapore is most conscious of balancing the implications of its multiracial population.

Singapore is what it is today, despite not having any natural resources.  Australia is blessed with many natural resources and yet its financial centres are behind that of Singapore.   All three countries utilise high levels of immigration to supplant population growth (before Covid 19).

Australia and New Zealand have proved to be bastions of relative stability, governance and reliability like Singapore.  They have attracted investors as places to park excess funds in search of higher returns, buy properties as back up refuges and place children for higher education.  Where people originate from nations with political instability but varying levels of economic opportunities, all  three countries can be heaven sent as lower risk alternatives for escape to in the worst of times.

#yongkevthoughts

Eating Out in Covid Times

 Eating out since Covid 19 emerged has changed the related flavour, experience and satisfaction - and I am not talking  about the food.

For starters, we are not even sure if the place is open, when we want to go visit.  Many outlets no longer make it a disciplined effort to update on websites their opening hours or when they do close, due to some 24 hour given notice of lockdown authorised by people external to the hospitality industry.

If we then arrive at the venue of an open cafe, restaurant or pop up outlet, we most likely see eager customers patiently lining up outside the door.
They are not in queue to purchase tickets for a good gig (that is rare now) or a fantastic physical reality sale ( online is so convenient now, except for  possible hiccups in the  parcel collection process).

Instead we are subject to mindfulness about social distancing requirements - that ever changing rule on how many square metres we have to be from the nearest human being, or group of strangers also here to get some food.  There can be tape markers on the floor or seats to help us realise this new normal. 

To discourage us spewing our unwanted DNA or simple saliva,  we are to face mask up at any indoor venue - or in this case of munch places, only allowed to remove the contraption when we actually eat.

When we do enter the dining place, we are asked to compromise our personal privacy by using the QR scan code - and no smiling please. 
Even if we want to pull up our own buckstraps of responsibility, the powers that be operating the related phone apps have a rather patchy reputation in having stored data hacked - or just may be relishing in tracking our where abouts for their own discretionary use.

We all want to fight the Covid  - but would it not be easier to not let the Coronavirus breach our borders, not come in to circulate and inevitably not make us commoners run around like headless chickens in trying to comply with ever changing, minutely detailed rules?

The reality is that best public health management can often be superseded by political opportunism, economic priorities and other deserving or not so reasonable precedents, especially when the powers that be exceedingly remind us daily that they are following best medical and scientific advice.

Back to our eating venue - and we finally get a table, precisely placed to not let us be bothered by being too near to people we do not know in this infectious Covid strain age.

There are hand sanitisers placed at the venue - and we appreciate such thoughtfulness.  The success of any anti-Covid measure depends on the management of its weakest points in the process. Here at our table are usually menus that have been used by others, tap water bottles that are shared around and condiment containers that cannot be provided individually.  A few outstanding places are aware of such potential transmission weak points, and take extra careful steps - this is much appreciated and hey, we all have to get practical when we eat out.

Nobody has contracted Covid 19 from consuming food.  It is the environment where food and drinks are served  commercially that increases or decreases infection risks.

Small and tight indoor spaces with poor air circulation are the canaries in the Covid infection coalmine.  Where you see groups huddled together inside venues, the risks increase further.  Add a relaxed atmosphere, where customers let down their guard and understandably have Covid as the last thing on their minds, for a change.

Most Covid outbreaks identified in Australia so far have been caught through leakage from overseas arrivals. The Covid then spreads to household family clusters or in crowded social hubs like pubs and RSL clubs or to vulnerable aged care residents who live in closed up facilities.  Ah yes, infectees who show no Covid symptoms do go to dine in restaurants and Covid jumps over to other customers there.

It is essential to our mental health that we can still dine in at venues, even when some governments are not willing to exterminate Covid. It is vital to small businesses and the economy that eating outlets are allowed to operate with optimal arrangements that benefit both providers and customers. 

#yongkevthoughts

THE YEAR THAT DID NOT BREAK MY HEART

Today I dropped by to see a person who always smiled instinctively upon seeing me.  Behind both our facemasks, there is yet no barrier, as our hearts

can willingly read each other’s.   We did not have to see each other often, but when we do, we left each other with an inner glow in each of us.  Behind the easy conversation was an affirmation of the friendship, through times hard, easy and neutral. 

 

You instinctively know when there is an instant connection with some individuals we are fortunate enough to come across, in this journey of life.   This connection cannot be whittled, despite we being significantly barred from travel for no fault of our own. 

 

The year past – 2020 to be precise – had seen our individual and community lives thrown around raggedly at times by external forces, some unwittingly, others manipulative and overall layered with a necessary or unnecessary uncertainty, imbued with their true colours in all hues of impact.

 

There were times of incompetent political leadership, which had innocent people unnecessarily pay with their lives, frustration and disruption experienced. It has opened our eyes to being caught in a system of being dependent on the vagaries of big government in the important aspects of our individual lives.   We have witnessed how the irresponsible behavior of a few can cause pervasive inconvenience to the majority.   We have seen how important issues can be side stepped, biased exemptions given in requirements, lessons not learnt and how mistakes committed are blindsided as if they did not exist.     We have seen how inaction, by our so called democratically elected leaders, to prevent has caused the proverbial horse to already bolt, followed by a desperate circus of rushed reaction in society.

 

The silver lining in all this is that such a situation has truly opened our eyes, our hearts and our determination.   A worldwide crisis has given us this opportunity, not only with national, state and city affairs, but also in our personal interactions with others.

 

I have observed how individuals – including me – cope in different ways.  I have had to whittle expectations taken for granted.  I have had to change my daily regime. I happily reaffirmed how fresh air, exercise outdoors and enjoying what Nature readily gives us.   I realized sufficiently to remove layers of commercialism weaved upon me by the contemporary world before Covid-19 arrived. 

 

Still, I realized how small my village is – and then at the same time, how varied and larger its delightful offerings can be.  With a borrowed feisty and good natured five year old Cavoodle, Tia, my senses were heightened when we went for our walks or runs.   Flora and fauna thrived when the human kingdom was put under all sorts of restrictions.  Most passerby strangers did respond positively when I took the initiative to say Hello first, as before Covid.

 

The flow of fresh air through our bodily functions was felt with gratitude, especially when 2020 came with heavily polluted skies and tragic bushfires in my part of Earth.   I have had to endure four waves of Covid clusters of varying intensity in the past year. Many others had to put up with much more than I did.  I first put on weight – and then got wiser by utilizing food consumption as manna and - and all the previous years of eating out has come in useful to build up my craft in using ingredients, flavours and texture in a more purposeful way. 

 

I learnt the joy of de-cluttering physical possessions I have not used or need.  The absence of physical contact, with people I truly care about, meant using more contactless ways in cyberspace.  Lockdown and mobility restrictions, imposed by the powers that be, were surpassed by so much more freedom connecting through the invisible forces in the air.  I miss air travel, as my country has locked down getting out of national and state borders on a varying basis since late March 2020.  I have had to imagine my flight is in my home lounge, with click on entertainment from streaming, box like meals and having a bit of perceived luxury while being confined to home at various times of the year.

 

On a not so bright side, as life can be, there are individuals, with whom I have built up friendships, drop me like a bomb or do not return my calls when perhaps they find me no longer useful to their selfish world.   This strongly reminded me of a particular group of people I know, who valued their pre-Christmas drinks at some Collegians Club two years ago, more than their friendship with me – which I have learnt from the hard way.  There are bogans in my region who have lashed out verbally at me for no reason in public places – and I have decided not to go to their level.   There is joy when not reacting to people who obviously do not care about me, especially in a Covid year.   More engaging to me are individuals who take time and effort to enjoy mutual relationships when it was a year which has tried to break something in each of us.

 

So in the year that not break my heart, I want to say my appreciation to special individuals, whether they are blood relatives or not, who have given me that special magic, when I did need it, in their own special way.  You know who you are.   I tend to over analyse and chatter, but in this respect, I do bask in your gift to me.

 

The year that is past can at times make us feel we are deserted on a remote island. The spark from true and deserving friendships has subdued what the effects of Covid and poor Covid management in our society have threatened to do.   Thank you to each of you who built my resilience, gave me joy at unexpected moments and made me realise we have our personal integrity and purpose to face whatever Covid can throw at us.

yongkevthoughts

Penang Char Koay Teow - Fallacies, Mislabels and Essentials

Sydney can be lovely, but I do miss authentic Penang Char Koay Teow, which I must emphasise is a Hokkien or Fujian or Chiuzhou street food delight and not a Straits Chinese or Nyonya dish.CKT, or literally stir fried rice noodles, has humble origins, prepared only when you are ready to eat and makes use of the experience and skills of the ladle stirrer, cooked on a well fortified metal contraption that has been seasoned and heated through the years.  Ideally, charcoal fire is best to bring out the taste and texture of this dish.Those rice noodles prepared several hours ago and served from a hot plate at food courts or even some so called restaurants, do not qualify to be called Penang CKT.Whether you use more of dark soy sauce, or the lighter version, can be due to personal preference, but for Penangites, we do not serve the CKT looking well dosed with dark soy sauce, like in Singapore and Johor, where they have a dish called Orr Koay Teow.To deserve to be called Penang CKT, the following must be observed.The stir fry narrow rice noodles have a caramelised bite to them.Dark soy sauce does not permeate the dish, but oyster and light soy sauces are used with a finesse.There is an appetising  sensation of wok heat when the dish is served.The strength of chillies or chilli paste used do not over whelm the essential taste of this dish.Even for basic versions found in Penang, there are Chinese chives, small slices of Lap Cheong or Cantonese sausage, several small prawns, bean sprouts, shucked cockles, thin fish cake slices and scrambled eggs.Do not fall however for the hype of fancy seafood like a few scallops or king prawns thrown into the mix.Oh yes, the outcome of eggs well stirred with the rice noodles in a quality Penang CKT is most significant.   Whether the dish served to you makes the grade depends on the mastery of how the chef combines the right texture of scrambled eggs with the optimal bite of the rice noodles.Hen eggs will do and duck eggs can be used for other recipes.There is no need to have flourish by the chef dancing around his or her wok, but another test is the aroma swelling up in your nostrils even before when the dish is ready.   You can literally follow your nose to the right coffee shop with a yummy Penang CKT on the island.The source of the flavour or aroma may not be too encouraging for the fastidiously health conscious.  It is the basic pork lard bits that set the tone for the caramelisation of a yummy Penang CKT dish  -  think of Prosciutto strips used to get the Italian dish going.   Pork is considered non- Kosher or Haram and so you may come across non pork lard versions especially in Muslim majority Malaysia.You can get yummy versions in Penang from an equivalent range of Aud 2 to 4 per serve, cheaper than a cup of barista made coffee.In comfy hotel surroundings with attentive staff, you can have yourPenang Char Koay Teow in Malaysia for an average price of Aud 12 per plate.In Australian capital cities, there can be hype in the pricing and making of street food like Penang CKT.   In Canberra, I have come across a basic version priced at Aud 23, and a joint in Haymarket, Sydney offers the dish for as high as Aud 33 per plate with some King Prawns.Penang CKT is recognised as an iconic dish of the island.It is intertwined with childhood memories, comforting moments and a unique persona.   It can be breakfast, supper or lunch.  It is the little reward after a long day's work, over coming a challenge or just an excuse to gather with family or mates.It is not the vehicle to drive excessive profit margins, even if I appreciate the costs of rental and labour in today's food retail.  Never fall for Penang CKT sellers who charge more for adding in seafood or so called market expensive ingredients.If the plate served to you consists of limp noodles, looks so dark and is obviously not made fresh five minutes ago, reject it immediately, as it is not Penang CKT.