User reviews of Three mobile broadband?

Due to the complicated nature of share house living I’ve currently got no internet at home with no immediate prospect of it. (The phone line is in the name of one dude no longer living there, the expired internet contract in the name of a girl who’s departed and no current housemates want their name on a contract)

This has got me looking at Three mobile broadband plans with a little USB dongle.

The prices look reasonable, but before committing to it I’d like to get some idea about whether the speeds in Canberra are actually anything approaching what’s promised.

Thoughts? Suggested alternatives?

Is Brad Haddin the real deal?

He may be listed as a Cowra born NSW player, but Canberra’s always been keen to claim Brad Haddin as one of our own. The connection is strengthened by his status as the Raider’s No. 1 ticket holder.

So how do the cricket tragics rate our man’s performance as keeper taking over from the sainted Gilchrist?

A batting average of 39 suggests good batting from a keeper, but he’s there for the glovework.

How do you rate it?

It’s a stinker, mercury heads for the high thirties

The Bureau is forecasting a sweltering 36 high for today.

Yesterday Canberra’s water use blasted up to 171ML, that’s against a target of 139ML.

So what are you going to do to keep cool?

Philip John Goodrick: A Life Well-Lived: 1950-2008

I have been asked by my family to bring this to the RiotAct readership’s attention.

In Late december, 2008, Phil Goodrick was taken from us. He was a great man, and I am sure that there would be several people that read RA who would have known him.

The family have asked that if you did know Phil, could you please visit his remembrance site:  http://www.rememberphilip.com/ and leave any anecdotes, photos etc of Phil to help us all get to know more about him?

Phil went to Dickson High, and played Rugby Union and League for the ACT, he graduated in 1971 from the ANU.

Phil was also a sales manager for a Ford dealership in Canberra.

If you know Phil, or know someone else who does, can you please direct them to his remembrance site?

Flame of the week - In defence of Chic Henry

Our very first FOTW for the new year and it’s a Chic Henry apologist! Congratulations to first time commenter RogerRamjet069 for this effort:

RiotAct really needs to get some new material.
The same whining wowsers year after year complaining about a bit of noise and smoke for around a week of their year.
Boooooo Hoooooo
If any Canberrians took their family to Summernats on a Saturday night claiming NOT to know what it was all about, then they are IDIOTS. Everyone all over Australia knows what happens at Summernats and those that live in Canberra would be doubly aware.
I’ve been to Summernats 17, 18 and 20 and I did see some poor behaviour. Wow!! Poor behaviour at a sports event!! I’ve been to EVERY Clipsal 500 in Adelaide too. I’ve seen many many more fights at Clipsal and dramas in the pubs afterwards, then in your sleepy little town!! Isn’t Adelaide supposed to be the boring capital??
Some people think cars are a mode of transport to get from A to B. Some don’t. Some people think ball sports or fishing are a waste of a weekend. Some don’t.
Sensitive women should probably avoid summernats as the crowds in certain areas will encourage them to flash their breasts. I have summernats magazines going back to summernats 1 and the behaviours were similar and are part of the Summernats tradition. It works, so don’t change it. At least you have it mostly confined to one area now. i saw sooo many cars getting defected that it isn’t worth cruising into the centre of canberra anymore.
Summernats is a national icon and should be supported. To say Chic isn’t or shouldn’t profit from the event is stupid. I wouldn’t like to organise something that massive!! He deserves to take a slice of the profits. He has websites to run etc etc
I just wish people could accept that others have different interests, take their blinkers off and think of the bigger picture. Summernats is about all Canberra had going for it anyway…….. :-)

So dry your eyes princesses, you’ve been told.

Hospital holds up over holidays

Katy Gallagher is thrilled that with the city a ghost town over the Xmas/NY’s break the emergency department at the hospital has coped with the consequences of our indulgences.

She’s particularly pleased with 60 babies brought successfully into the world as well as a large number of chest pain sufferers:

Minister for Health Katy Gallagher MLA said that although the period was obviously a busy one for the staff who worked, they had done a great job in meeting the needs of the Canberra community and dealing with the range of differing health requirements that presented during that time.

“The emergency department received a total of 1438 presentations during the period between 24 December through to 2 January with 456 of those patients being admitted and 945 being discharged,” she said. “41 patients were referred to other TCH services, and 9 patients were transferred to other hospitals.”

…

The Minister said that the top five reasons for emergency department attendance over this holiday period were chest pain, abdominal pain, orthopaedics, plastics and gastro.

Police Wrap - 7 January

1. Beware the man with a brick in his hand!

ACT Policing has arrested an 18-year-old man after an assault on a 25-year-old man in Kambah today (Wednesday, January 7).

About 12.18am police attended Conolly Place in response to a disturbance. On arrival they observed blood on the driveway. The alleged offender was in front of the house and was quickly apprehended by police.

The victim was sitting inside the house with a laceration to his head. It is alleged the victim was hit over the head with a brick during a confrontation with the alleged offender over damage to the victim’s vehicle.

ACT Ambulance officers treated the victim at the scene and then conveyed him to The Canberra Hospital where he stayed for observation.

AFP Forensic Services also attended the scene at Conolly Place.

The alleged offender was arrested and conveyed to the Regional Watch House where he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and property damage.

The alleged offender will appear before the ACT Magistrates Court this morning (January 7).

—

2. Mark Colbran remains unable to distinguish between some motorists, and all motorists:

The Australian Capital Territory has the second highest number of drink-driving apprehensions on its record, with 190 drivers found to have an excessive blood-alcohol reading during December 2008.

The December tally is just 2 less than for the territory’s worst drink-drive month on record – March 2008.

In the six months from July 1 to December 31 2008, police apprehended 932 drink drivers, compared with 711 for the same six-month period in 2007.

ACT Policing’s Traffic Operations Superintendent Mark Colbran said he was astounded motorists continued to drink-drive despite the numerous warnings and targeted police operations.

“Our statistics on fatal accidents show that every drink driver we take off the road potentially saves a life in Canberra,” Supt Colbran said.

“We are doing our part but drink driving will not stop until the community, as a whole, decides that this is a completely unacceptable practice in the 21st Century. All Canberra motorists should make it clear to family and friends that there is no excuse for drinking and driving.”

The 2007-08 financial reporting year resulted in the ACT’s highest number of drink-drive apprehensions at 1584. This was 231 more than for the previous reporting year (2006-07).

Supt Colbran added that police again will dedicate significant resources to conducting a targeted operation against drink-driving this weekend (January 10 & 11) but would not give Canberra motorists the luxury of a prior warning of the intended location.

Building a freak bike with the Rat Patrol

[First filed: January 05, 2009 @ 16:14]

My last bike cost me a few hundred dollars from a sports shop. It had a big heavy frame and was quite good at getting me to and from pubs in the Inner North without mishap.

But after a year at the coast the spokes had all rusted through and the chain had welded itself onto the gears. The consensus was that repair would be more expensive than getting a new bike.

But what sort of new bike to get?

Hundreds of dollars on a mountain bike seemed like overkill for trundling gently to bars or the shops. Zippy racing bikes are even less suited to my needs. There’s a bloke on Davidson Street in Ainslie who sells vintage bikes from his front lawn, but being over 90kg I find weaker bikes end up buckling on me.

And then seeing Rat Patrol freak bikes parked at Ainslie shops I was inspired.

I wanted a rat bike.

Fortunately I knew that RiotACT’s Loose Brown is a mover and shaker amongst the rats so I got in touch with him and asked if he could help.

(More and a slideshow below)

(more…)

Alleged Kaleen Glasser faces court

The ABC informs us of the court appearance of Carl Leu, 23, charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

It is alleged that last August Carl had a novel approach to seeking an apology from his (now former) friend Owen Sutinen for a perceived slight.

Having been on the booze together in Kaleen’s Wests Tavern for five hours the court heard Leu followed Sutinen into the carpark with a schooner glass and allegedly whacked him with it twice before punching him leaving facial scarring.

It must have been an interesting five hours.

Trouble at the Mill for WIN?

Samuel Gordon Stewart has a predictably detailed account of trouble with WIN’s broadcast last night.

I saw Jessica Good apologise for transmission issues but can’t say I caught them myself.

Any of our expert readership with more to add?

They came from outer space

Well, they came from my backyard actually…but they do look large enough to star in an ‘Attack of the Killer Courgette’ remake (yes yes, I know it was rampaging tomatoes for all you geeks. This is a ‘reimagined’ version, frak you).

But I digress.

I came home to Canberra the other day from summer holiday fun to find these giants in our veggie patch. There is also a wheelbarrow full of littler ones.

There was no watering involved either, just a judicious handful of water crystal applied to the soil prior to departure.

Now, who has any good zucchini recipes for me?

Remand Centre Riot!

The Canberra Times is very excited by a riot in the remand centre.

“Prison officers were punched in the head and face during a riot at the Belconnen Remand Centre.
Six of the officers were treated at the Canberra Hospital for injuries suffered during the wild brawl in the centre’s F Yard accommodation block on Monday.

Nine inmates were involved in the incident, two of whom were injured.

Corrections Minister John Hargreaves declined to comment on the incident.”

This would be the same remand centre where we’ve been hearing about over-crowding for months now?

The one where they’re stacking up the inmates because of a massively delayed prison opening?

And is this the same Corrections Minister so very keen on Westminster traditions that he publicy rebuked a magistrate for daring to air opinions about other areas of incompetence in his administration?

Surely he would have something to say? Perhaps a resignation to offer?

Well, he did put out a media release on the fluffy puppies he’ll use in the prison if it ever opens.

Futsal titles all week

If, for some strange and freakish reason, the cricket is not completely engrossing you, then there is another sporting entertainment option.

The 30th FFA National Futsal Championships are kicking off today here in Canberra!

They’re expecting 3,000 competitors flooding into accommodation vacated by Summernatters.

Venues include:

– Australian Institute of Sport Main Arena, Leverrier Crescent Bruce
– Australian National University - Acton
– ACT Netball Centre, Northbourne Ave Lyneham
– MPOWER Dome, Coyne St Chisholm
– Southern Cross Stadium, 7 Pitman St Tuggeranong.

But not the futsal slab on Commonwealth Avenue? Surely that’s some mistake?

If you’re keen you can check out the draw.

Delays on Parkes Way

The National Capital Authority is warning that they’re slowing down traffic along Parkes Way near Kings Avenue while they knock down trees:

“The trees will be removed over a three week period from Monday 5 January. The work will be conducted during the day from 7:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

Traffic will be diverted and slowed to 40km/h for short periods while those trees overhanging the road are removed.”

The whys of this get cute.

They want to get started on the long awaited Kings Avenue overpass which would eliminate one of the worst traffic black spots.

Unfortunately there’s a 350mm gas main in the way which needs to be moved first and the trees have to go before they can move the gas main.

It’s never this hard in Sim City.

Police Wrap - 6 January

1. Masked mugger stalks Pearce:

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to an aggravated robbery of a 25-year-old Pearce man which occurred yesterday (January 5) on Marr Street in Pearce.

Around 10.15pm police attended the scene and spoke to the victim who told police he had been struck from behind by a man wearing a balaclava and knocked to the ground with a club. The male offender continued to kick and hit the victim with the club and was accompanied by two other men who also kicked the victim.

The three offenders stole the victim’s wallet, mobile phone and a bag of shopping and fled from the scene towards Beasley Street, Torrens.

The male offender who initially struck the victim is described as Caucasian, around 175cm (5′9″) tall, with a thin build and was wearing a green shirt, black pants and white shoes.

Police immediately conducted patrols of the surrounding areas.

—

If you can help police contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers website on www.act.crimestoppers.com.au.