Poetry: Allow Yourself by Catherine Pulsifer

June 8, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , 1 Comment

Allow yourself to dream,
And when you do dream big

Allow yourself to learn
And when you do learn all you can

Allow yourself to laugh
And when you do share your laughter

Allow yourself to set goals
And when you do reward yourself as you move forward

Allow yourself to be determined
And when you do you will find you will succeed

Allow yourself to believe in yourself
And when you do you will find self confidence

Allow yourself to lend a helping hand
And when you do a hand will help you.

Allow yourself relaxation
And when you do you will find new ideas.

Allow yourself love
And when you do you will find love in return

Allow yourself to be happy
And when you do you will influence others around you.

Allow yourself to be positive
And when you do life will get easier.

Comment: Love the simple message in this poem. If one allows oneself to take positive steps then positive outcomes will come. That is a good mantra to live by for mine.

Multi Bet Lament: missing by one leg

June 8, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks, Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I posted a seven leg multi bet on Friday. Anyone who does sports betting and likes to do so via multi bets will know that they are oft over after the first contest. On those occasions, I simply shrug my shoulders and start thinking about next weeks bet.

This weekend though I have been left to lament missing out on a seven leg multi because of one result and, indeed, the most expected result. This weekend the result needed was Essendon to defeat GWS by greater than 39.5 points which was the result across all of the seven that I had chosen that I thought was going to be the easiest to collect. Unfortunately the Bombers did not get the job done and only won by 15 points.

Now: is this a tragedy? Absolutely NOT! The fact is that the multi bet that I put on every weekend is more about the mental arithmetic that comes from trying chose winners than the weekend than making any money.

All this weekend proves is that often the most expected result is the one that leads you to losing. I am sure there is a lesson in life there isn’t there too? Maybe that is a blog for another time. In the interim: time to start scouring the sports pages again to come up with any multi for next weekend with one eye, maybe, on looking for the least expected result rather than the most expected!

Queenslander: Happy Queensland Day!

June 6, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

155 years ago today, 6 June, Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent separating the colony from Queensland from New South Wales.   Since separation from those to the South of us, Queensland has been leading the way in the development of Australia economically, socially and in sport.

Consider these, both positive and negative, “firsts” for Australia that happened in Queensland:

  • In May 1860, Queensland became the first Australian State or Colony to establish its own parliament.
  • In 1899, the world’s first Labor Party Government was elected in Queensland, albeit it only lasted a week.
  • In 1921, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Qantas) was established in Winton.  It is considered to be the worlds oldest continuously operating airline. In 1979 Qantas was the first airline to introduce business class.
  • In 1922, Queensland abolished its Upper House of parliament and continues to be the only State to have only one legislative house.
  • In 1928 the Royal Flying Doctors Services took its first flight from Cloncurry and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith landed in Brisbane to complete the first trans-Pacific flight.
  • In 1935 the cane toad was first introduced into Australia in Queensland from Hawaii.
  • During the Second World War, General Douglas MacArthur established the headquarters of the South West Pacific Area Command of the Allies in Brisbane.
  • In 1962 the first commercial production of oil in Australia occurred in Queensland.
  • in 1969 the first natural gas pipeline in Australia, between Roma and Brisbane, became operational.
  • In 1988, Rick Mayne invented the split-cycle internal combustion engine in Queensland.
  • In 1992 the world’s first multi-focal contact lens was invented by Stephen Newman in Queensland.
  • Also in 1992, the Queensland Reds became the first Australian rugby team to win a Super Rugby championship having won the inaugural Super 6 competition then.
  • Between 2010 and 2012 Brisbane Roar FC set an Australian record by going 36 games without being beaten in the A League.

Add to all of the stuff the fact that Queensland is not New South Wales and it is clear that Queensland is a great place to be whilst there can be no higher honour than being a Queenslander.

So I say Happy Queensland Day to all of my fellow Queenslanders.  For those you reading this blog not from the greatest place on earth that is Queensland then:

  1. I am sorry that you are not from here; and
  2. I invite you to visit the best place on earth so that you can return to your homes or places of business and report to your family and friends that you have been to this place.

QUEENSLANDER!!!!!