Cuban health care

Cuban healthcare story

I'm sure you've probably already seen this story from dateline. Another example of what is possible when 'the market' is not left to manage.

Saw some other references to this from the bloggers on the other end of the spectrum - just quietly I think one could find worse pictures from the NHS than they were able to provide for their rebuttal of this documentary.

With Evo Morales in the picture in Bolivia I'm feeling decidedly optimistic about the future of Latin America - sin imperialistas!

Dish-lickers in Dorset

It was almost exactly 13 and a half months ago that we first bumped into Alex and Emilie. Sharing a room in Bariloche with a dutch girl we had met in El Calafate they, like us, were figuring out the best way to get to Pucon in Chile to climb the volcano. After a visit to the bus station it was decided that a bus the following morning to San Martin de los Andes for the night and then the connecting bus to Pucon the following morning.

In an almost repeat performance of our last minute dash to the bus in Bariloche while Alex contemplated delaying tactics, I arrived at London Victoria after a frantic dash across London only seconds before the bus was due to depart, while Lucas stood waiting, not knowing whether I would make it after some panicked text messages had been fired off.

The destination was Bournemouth where we were meeting with Alex and Emilie for a weekend in Poole and surrounding areas. First stop was the beach where Lucas and I charged into the English channel for a refreshing dip - the gale force winds whipping the sand across our backs in a most painful fashion. Then a hot chocolate which could better be desribed as a bowl of cream and marshmallows with some chocolate sauce, hmmmmmm.

After a quick shower, a Cusquena (Cusco beer) and a Brahma (Brazil beer) we headed off to the track - the greyhounds, minimum bet £1, (or 50p for the trifecta etc). Emilie's brother being the only one to win anything after about eight races meant we needed to find a pub in which to drown our sorrows. The Quay is apparently the best spot for such an endeavour and we tottered 'down the Quay' for a pint of Fursty Ferret among others. After having shaken some mean hoof on the dance floor at the new nightclub we kebabbed ourselves and set off home. A lone witches hat (or orange cone as they are called here) accompanied us home, hats being headwear of course.

The next morning we took a drive through the greenest countryside I've ever seen, quite stunning, to Milton Abbas and had 'Dorset cream tea', known to us as Devonshire tea to the dismay of Dorsettians claiming it had originated in those parts. This was followed by a quick visit to the outline of a stone giant of unknown origins - reports range from it being a picture of Oliver Cromwell (the theory to which I subscribe of course) to an ancient god.

It was fantastic to see Alex and Emilie again and the weekend was characterised by the sharing of travel stories and aspirations for further travel. We have no doubt that we'll be crossing paths again in some part of the world, thanks again for a great weekend guys!

Heading off to Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon for my birthday weekend celebrations over the long weekend. Prepare yourself for some not so deep and fairly unmeaningful, if even comprehensible about the aging process and visions for the future from the vantage point of a 26 year old.

ps. 2 x13 = 26, hmmmmmmm. I will also be half my mum's age and twice the age I was when I was a third of her age. Home time so no more maths geekery for me today.

Couple of photos

Couple of new pics in the May gallery - mostly from April though....

Is that the time?

Has it really been nearly two weeks since my last post? Feels like only a couple of days. Time is flying past like never before. Work is as busy as I could ever want, an almost perfect mix of mindless admin, complex co-ordination and strategic problem solving - which is good for a month or two to pass the time, but I haven't stepped out of the building to take lunch for the last couple of weeks unless it's for a meeting - a very unsustainable lifestyle. But it's doing the job for the moment as the finishing line races ever closer.

May everyone put 30 June and 1 July into the their calendars as the biggest nights that London has ever seen. If I don't get arrested and cause British parliament to introduce legislation to prevent whatever I do from happening again then I don't think it will have been a fitting end to the London phase of this journey. Funnily enough, it doesn't feel like a journey anymore - London has to some extent become home - only in its familiarity though - I know London better than most English people, which is a strange thought, but then again, most Poms probably know Bondi, or Sydney in general better than me.

So I'm taking a quick break from work at the moment to try and think about anything new that has happened recently - apart from the BIRTH OF MY NEPHEW. Had the fantastic experience of waiting out the birth at the hospital with my brother, and see the little bugger at about 20 minutes of age. Popped round on the weekend to see him again and had a hold this time - babies are like little animals - which I guess is the appeal of children in general - totally undamaged by the molding forces of society. You could also say that they have no sense of morality either. But I would argue that morality is a human instinct and it can only be brought to the fore through a thorough and wide ranging education. Ignorance and dogma are the enemies of morality, which is why we should never teach children what is right and wrong, but what the consequences of their actions lead to and let their moral instincts guide them. Because really, if humans don't have instinctual morality then we have always been and never will be any different to starving dogs fighting for scraps of food, which doesn't bother me, but the inflated ego of mankind needs to feel like we aren't merely another species of parasite. And conversely, man is so intimidated by his dominance over his destiny lacking in mental capacity to comprehend the infinite pattern of possibility, that he has invented a turbo-charged tooth-fairy aka. god, to try and beat his ego back into submission - not such a bad thing if it was designed to achieve solely such an end rather than to control the masses. But the institutionalisation of the benevolent bogey man has resulted in something far worse than a battered human ego, but a battered human consciousness and ability to educate itself and access the glory of our instinctual morality, aka our humanity, to achieve happiness and harmony on a global scale.

Or so I will explain to young Oliver Hirst asap.

A kindred spirit

I've recently discovered the writings of the philosopher AC Grayling. Not a greek philosopher or even an 18th century thinker, but a bloke who is still publishing articles at a furious pace. I like reading his essays because they give structure and support to pretty much everything I believe, while helping to iron out some (not all) of my contradictory thoughts, thus curbing a little the sometimes extremist rage I like to wallow in occasionally.

Here is a little essay on Nationalism - http://www.acgrayling.com/nationalism.html - I find amusing and agree with the idea of Britain as a mongrel nation, implying Australia is even more so. Have a read and if you're like me you'll be hungry to read more of his writing.

I find his essays humourous, articulate and not too far drawn into the tedium and apathy of realism. He begins each book by pointing out that these are only his ideas and isn't suggesting they are necessarily right, but a contribution to a discussion with the reader.

Meanwhile I strained by hamstring while scoring a try in touch footy last night, it is bandaged and selotaped firmly. About to head down to the hospital for the final countdown until the nephew/niece rears its head and gives an almighty roar.

Sapere Aude

The forecast temperature for today is 26C.

26C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And there isn't a cloud in the sky. I woke up this morning and already I could feel the 'Brisbane in Spring' feel to the air. I even worked up a little sweat on brow as I walked to work.

It is a peculiar phenomenon how humans are so able to forget their sufferings. The cold, grey, dark days seem like a nightmare now that I look down the streets of London and see the bright greens of new growth on the branches of trees. Trees?? Where did they come from - they must have been camoflouged in the concrete stained brown from years of thick pollution.

Even King's Cross sometimes makes me look up more than once during my march down Pentonville Rd to admire the blossoming blooming trees.

And in the Spring tradition my first nephew/niece is due to make its appearance today, it would be un-Hirst-like to arrive late, and I would expect the little chap to arrive 5 minutes early, just to make sure it isn't late.

The changing weather has thrown off the last remnants of the SAD I was afflicted with for the last six months - I can now sleep through the night without waking up constantly with that ringing, stinging, frustrated knot that seemed to exist in every muscle and bone in my body.

In other news: I have been accepted at UQ to do a Masters of Health Economics commencing semester 1, 2007. It is an option that I am seriously considering and would of course have a significant impact on the travel plans leading up to it. I'm also going to another information session, this time for volunteering in South America - which struck me as a sensible option as I could perfect my espanol (insert squiggle above the 'n') while helping my little Latino buddies. Another option was a lengthy bicycle ride back to Australia, but lack of time and interest is slowly killing that one. Working in Dubai after travelling for a while first is a possibility - although work for the sake of work will lead me to an early grave, so I'd have to be doing something that excites me more than a pair of 34kg dumbells. And of course the option to travel until I am broke is an exciting thought - possibly less productive than studying or volunteering, but life has seemed to serious over the winter that I think it is worth just going and having some fun before thinking again about how to save the world.