Pentapod

As she continues to rapidly grow up (she’s onto eating solids and really likes beans and pumpkin (not together obviously)) Charlotte has almost mastered sitting up unsupported, and is making valliant efforts to push herself up onto all fours. We are already getting the house locked down in the expectation that she will start crawling any time. At the moment she can’t quite support herself on her arms and legs so she rests on her head as well, creating a sort of ostrich appearance, head in the sand like. She ends up looking like some strange five legged creature (in a pale pink jumpsuit).

Shirking responsibilities

One of the things I have been finding most irking of late is the frequency with which you hear variations on the phrase “We understand the importance of climate change, and fully support the carbon trading scheme, but…” coming from the mouths of industry lobby groups and company CEOs.

The bit that usually comes after the … is something like “we feel that <insert their personal industry or company here> should be exempt, because <insert some lame excuse here, usually along the lines of “we wont make as much money”>”.

No one it seems wants to acknowledge that the reason we’re in the global warming position we’re currently in is due to everyone taking a make-as-much-money-as-possible-and-damn-the-broader-consequences approach, and that the reason they’re having a carbon tax imposed on them is that they showed no willingness to show restraint or change by themselves. Yes it will cost them money. Yes the costs will be passed on to the consumer. Yes it may decrease Austraila’s competitiveness internationally. But it may just spur other countries to follow suit, and compared to the slight rise in cost of living, can you concieve how much it would cost to recover from the CBD’s of Sydney and Melbourne getting flooded when the sea level rises a foot or two?

As someone put it, if I’m right we’re going to be ahead of the game, if I’m wrong we will have created several thousand jobs in carbon minimisation research and implementation.

The great uncrossing of legs

Over the last few days we have been very pleased to hear of a few new arrivals.

James and Chantelle had a little boy, Jacob, and Tash and Dave also had a (second) little boy, named Jesse.

What with all our friends having little boys Charlotte will have no shortage of boys to stomp around in the mud with and climb trees with, and later in life we will have plenty of options for her arranged marriage (although the price will have to be right… anyone can see that she’s at least a five camel girl 🙂 ).

So congratulations go out to them and their little collections of frogs and snail and puppy dogs tails.