<h2><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A daily NSW newspaper regularly features reader-generated solicitations as to where celebrities have been spotted, and what they were doing; </span><em style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Joe Blow seen walking along Smith Street in Anytown”,</em><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> or </span><em style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Jane Doe seen drinking tea at a cafe in Somewhereville”.</em></h2>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">At the recent Melbourne Cup, a coffee company paid an American actor $50,000 to ‘be’ in their marquee on the day.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">A current television ‘reality’ series features so-called ‘celebrities’ acting in ways that are more often than not childish, petty, moronic, and occasionally downright appalling and offensive. It’s rating its socks off.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">An American woman who initially came into the public eye courtesy of her appearance in a publicly released ‘private’ sex video is swamped by both the media and the public upon arriving in Australia, despite not having achieved anything of substance in her life other than being born into wealth and trading on the advantages that come with it.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Tens of thousands (including, increasingly, pre-teens) audition every year hoping to bare their naked ambition in front of national audiences on manipulative ‘talent’ contests and thinly-veiled marketing campaigns badly disguised as television shows. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/management/reality-tv-fame-game-or-career-crisis-20111026-1mj6q.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">A recent article</span></a> suggests this trend may have far-reaching effects on the Australian economy.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">I just don’t get it.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last weekend saw the third fatal shark attack off the Western Australian coast in three months. In the wake of the latest attack, the State Government, in their wisdom, has authorised a shark hunt with a view to killing what has widely been reported as a ‘rogue’ Great White.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">This edict <strong><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/shark-hunts-a-hollywood-response-to-real-horror-20111024-1mgb3.html" target="_blank" title="Click to read about the effectiveness of Shark hunts">flies in the face of all scientific advice</a></strong>, and in all likelihood the hunt will fail to capture/kill the shark or sharks responsible for the recent spate of deaths.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">What is much more likely is that ‘innocent’ sharks will be caught and die. What is certain is that sometime in the future, someone, somewhere off the WA coast will fall prey to a shark attack. Because when you dive into the ocean it’s a shark home game.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/kingie.jpg" border="0" width="194" height="149" style="border: 0pt none;" /></span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have fished off-shore and in Sydney Harbour and Pittwater for years and years.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have swum, surfed and cavorted in the ocean since I was four.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">I've even dived with Grey Nurse Sharks.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve seen sharks up close, in their natural environment and in aquaria.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">They are awesome creatures – one of the world’s last dinosaurs – and apex predators like the Great White are an amazing representation of Darwin’s evolution of the species and survival of the fittest.</span><img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/shark dive 001.jpg" border="0" title="Grey Nurse Shark - they're puppy dogs!" width="250" height="214" style="float: right; border: 0pt none;" /></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">All the evidence points to the fact that shark’s don’t want to eat humans; <strong><a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_sharks_like_to_eat_people" target="_blank">they don’t like how we taste</a></strong>. If they were actively seeking us out for breakfast, the average Australian fatality rate due to sharks would be <strong><a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/animals-conservation/conservation-science/australian-shark-attack-file/latest-figures/latest-figures" target="_blank" title="Click to see Australian shark attack statistics">well in excess of the current 1.2 people per year</a></strong>.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I feel terribly sad for the families of shark victims and one can only imagine the horror of the victims’ last moments.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">But is it fair for the WA State Government to tack up a <strong><em>Wanted Dead or Alive</em></strong> poster for Great Whites?</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Luckily in the Hunter, we don’t have to worry about swimming with sharks too much; but if you ever head to the coast to cool off, here are some <strong><a href="http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/Attacks/relariskreduce.htm" target="_blank" title="Click to view shark attack probability minimalisation strategies!">strategies to further decrease the already infinitesimal chance of ever been attacked by a shark</a></strong>.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">But there’s only one sure-fire way to avoid a shark attack: keep out of the water!</span></p>

<h2><span style="color: #993366;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></strong></span></h2>

<h2><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of the things I don’t miss about Sydney is dealing with the ever-increasing volume of traffic.</span></h2>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Oh sure, occasionally you can end up waiting 5 or 6 minutes at a level crossing for a train full of Hunter Valley lifeblood (otherwise known as coal) to pass by, once in a blue moon </span><a href="/index.php/shows/2nm-breakfast/maxs-photo-album" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">an accident might occur that warrants a slightly inconvenient detour</span></strong></a><span style="font-size: small;">, and admittedly the northern exit out of Singleton can back up in the afternoon; but until you have taken an hour to travel two kilometres because someone has broken down in the Harbour Tunnel at the same time as someone else decided to lose a wheel on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, or until you </span><a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/the-worst-cbd-commute-times/story-e6freuzi-1226107020336" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">average less than 20kph on your regular morning 15km commute</span></strong></a><span style="font-size: small;">, you haven’t enjoyed the pleasures that Sydney traffic can bring.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Even on weekends the hordes of traffic moving kids to sport, going to and from shopping centres or heading for the beach can mean a hot, slow Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon spent in a traffic jam. And good luck if you’re thinking of driving into town and looking for somewhere to park that doesn’t cost a hefty slice of your weekly wage.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/rearview.jpg" border="0" width="606" height="192" align="left" /></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">So when I came to the Upper Hunter one of the joys was the lack of traffic and the abundance of parking spots. Which is why I was surprised to find myself yelling out of my car window with a genuine case of road rage the other day. In short someone failed to give way to me at a roundabout, forcing me to jam on my brakes, then proceeded to dawdle along at a speed well below the speed limit, then turn off the road some 200m later. Before I knew it I heard myself yelling “MORON!” at the top of my voice.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">I am no stranger to road rage – driving in Sydney it becomes an occupational hazard – and my rationale has always been that if people drive in a manner that is inconsiderate, rude, or just downright dangerous, it needs to be pointed out to them in order that they might not repeat the manoeuvre in the future. And my golden rule of road rage is that you can say whatever you like, as long as you stay in the car. </span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Sticks and stones etc.</span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/150308 1230 pokhara.jpg" border="0" width="191" height="231" style="float: left;" /> <img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/300308 1622 kathmandu.jpg" border="0" width="117" height="240" style="float: right;" />I thought I had left this aspect of my behaviour behind, but apparently it is still in me. I’ve been wondering whether that is a good thing or a bad thing and you know what? I can’t decide. If a motorist’s bad driving is not reined in the results can be fatal. You could argue that it is up to the police to, well, police bad driving, but they are more often absent than present.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">So if you hear someone yelling “MORON!” in traffic one day, don’t worry, it’s probably just me trying to save your life.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">If you see any traffic incidents, accidents, delays or blockages that we should know about and share with other drivers, please call the 2NM studio on 65431 9 81.</span></p>

<h2><span style="font-size: small;">Waking up ludicrously early each day to bring you breakfast has its pros and cons. I’ve always maintained that the early morning is the best part of the day; nothing beats watching a sunrise, and at the other end of the day I (usually) get to go home when everyone else in the office is just getting stuck into their working day.</span></h2>

<h2><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">

<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/rose spider.jpg" border="0" title="Surprise!" width="195" height="127" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0pt; BORDER-TOP: 0pt; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: 0pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0pt" /></span></span></p>

<p> </p>

</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the things I miss out on is an early morning walk.</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">I realised this last weekend when I did get to take a stroll on Saturday morning.</span></span></h2>

<p> </p>

<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh sure, my hand had been forced by having left my car in town the previous night following a few drinks at the <span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><a href="/index.php/whats-happening/2nm-gallery?start=2">Boss of the Year awards</a></strong></span>, but chances are I may have gone for a walk that morning anyway. Yes I may have.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;">Having enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in until 6:30, and watched the sun  peek over the trees next door, I stepped out...</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p>

<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">...to the accompaniment of the neighbourhood birds’ dawn chorus, and the smells of nature, fresh from the now-cleared overnight downpour (and what about that lightning storm!)</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img class="caption" src="/images/stories/MaxPhotos/desk roses.jpg" border="0" width="197" height="152" style="border: 0px none; margin: 4px; vertical-align: text-top; float: right;" /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I headed along the streets of Muswellbrook I was quite literally stopped in my tracks several times by the visual and olfactory assault of the numerous flowering gardens on my route.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">If I had walked straight to my car it would have taken me about 15 minutes; as it was my now leisurely stroll lasted at least half an hour – all because I had taken time to stop and smell (and look at) the roses (and other flowers!).</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Spring has definitely sprung in the Upper Hunter!</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This weekend you can check out some of the best gardens in Sandy Hollow, Denman and Giants Creek, as part of Muswellbrook Carnivale in Spring. </span><a href="http://www.muswellbrookcarnivale.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=category&amp;layout=blog&amp;id=37&amp;Itemid=60"><span style="font-size: small;">Click here for more details.</span></a></span></span></span></p>

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