Adventures

There is just something about an adventure that makes you want to take it. Have you ever just wanted to take a random turn and see where it leads you? Ever walked the Dog and decided to go somewhere you have never been before for the sake of what you might find. It is this mystery that intrigues. It is ironic that it is this mystery that intrigues the majority of us yet it is also this mystery which frightens us. People are not afraid of the dark, they are afraid of the mysteries it holds. Though of course it is contradictions that make up most of our lives. Animals are one of our greatest friends while they can also be used as our greatest enemies. We seek help from strangers yet are forever weary of them. It is this contradiction that forms a strong basis in our lives and our love for adventure.

Source: http://www.redbubble.com/people/joweha/works/723301-mysterious-road

The other day I took one of these adventures on one of my walks with Sandy. As part of the training for Kokoda one of the activities on our scheduled exercise plans is a pack-walk where we walk with a backpack filled with some form of weight. Anyway, it is best to walk on uneven ground so concrete paths are not the best help. I then remembered an area near the river in an estate not too far from mine. It was a bit of a walk but Sandy and I finally made it (it would have been quicker if Sandy had been a little less curious but anyway). It was a great area full of grass and tress and if you went far enough in you could no longer see the houses and it was like being in your own private oasis. Also, as this place was not near any major roads it is always empty so Sandy and I go down there and explore. It is a lot of fun (for me as well as Sandy) and one day we found a little pier that goes into a little lake (empty but full of plants) which is blocked off with a fence and a chained gate which can be moved for pedestrian access. This was one of the great discoveries that keeps me coming back because I know that each time I will find something different and it is this mystery that intrigues me (for Sandy it is mostly just all the grass he can urinate on). Then you have learner driving. We often go driving around back roads and into more countryside rather than urban living. Here there are farms and paddocks everywhere and sometimes there are even dirt roads. Generally we make the trip up as we go just to get hours up but we rarely go on dirt roads (even though it is a four-wheel drive). Today however we did go down one of these and it was such a nice drive that seemed to stretch off into paddocks with nothing to see but grass and wooden/wire fences. It was just so peaceful and I cannot wait to go back there or explore some of the other dirt roads that take you into the middle of nowhere and back out again. This is again the mystery that intrigues me and makes me come back for more.

It surely is the mystery of the adventure that spurs us on to new and wonderful places. See you tomorrow!

The Parties Go On

So we are now at Part 4 of this series which received a bit of a siesta over the past few days as time constraints and bad excuses got in the way. I like to think that this would prevent you from getting bored although politics is actually not that boring. I am going to reiterate the fact that if you have not seen some of the scenes in Parliament you have not witnessed one of the best (well at least most entertaining) moments of Politics. Anyway, continuing on with this series let's get straight to it! As there are only 18 parties left I am going to do nine today and another nine on Tuesday. So that will be why this post will be slightly shorter than the other ones in this series.

Let's begin with the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting) is only a small party but with members in all states and territories in Australia. It supports less government control over many aspects of daily family life. It particularly supports a number of policies seeking changes in the areas of family law and child support.

Source: http://www.virginvoters.com.au/parties/non-custodial-parents-party/

The One Nation party is a right-wing political party founded by the infamous Australia Pauline Hanson. It has received much unfavourable coverage earlier this year following an interview one of its candidates gave to Seven News which contained a lot of misinformation. The said candidate has since withdrawn from a political career. It has a long list of objectives I will not name out of the tedious nature of that list.

The Outdoor Recreation Party is a minor party in New South Wales. It represents the outdoor community and interests such as cycling, bushwalking and camping just to name a few. They are committed to less government control over outdoor recreation. They are very opposed to the Greens political party. So much so in fact that in 2013 they added to the end of their party name Stop the Greens.

The Palmer United Party is a new one founded only this year by mining magnate Clive Palmer. Among other things they plan to abolish the contentious Carbon Tax, revise the current refugee policy and create mineral wealth.

Finally, an interestingly named party for this post. Pirate Party Australia represents civil liberty issues. It focuses on copyright reform, internet freedom and ending censorship. It is also a new party having only been registered with the Australian Electoral Commission in January of this year.

Source: http://www.geekinsydney.com/2908/pirate-party-australia-approved/

The Republican Party of Australia is a party concerned with ending Australia's links with the commonwealth and become a republic. Basically it is what it says it is.

The Rise Up Australia Party is a socially conservative political party. It is focused on nationalist and christian conservative issues such as opposing the spread of Islamic doctrine in Australia as well as opposing Same Sex Marriage (if I could vote, I would not vote for them).

The Secular Party of Australia stands for secular humanist ethical principles. They aim to separate Church and State within Australia and promote secularism worldwide. They also stand for other things like human rights and social justice, the maximisation of civil liberties and to defend freedom of expression.

Finally, the Senator Online party has no policies but instead has pledged to conduct online polls for every bill that passes before senate. So in a way they stand for the representation of every Australian in parliament (well at least Senate).

Don't forget to check back on Tuesday for the final part to this series, see you tomorrow!