One of my favourite drinks is Cointreau, the orange liqueur is a special drink for me. I prefer my Cointreau on ice, a very simple and uncomplicated drink, I would suggest elegance is understated.

Cointreau is an amazing liqueur, I keep mine in the refrigerator, I live in Perth so room temperature can be a little warm. Ok, as previously stated, I prefer mine on ice, so I don’t believe in mixing it down. To be honest, I have never mixed a Cointreau so I really do not know how to mix this drink. I have had shooters before, so I am aware of mixing Cointreau with other liqueurs in shot glasses. The B-52 is the example of the best known Cointreau based shooter.

The Cosmopolitan is a pretty decent example of a Cointreau based cocktail along with the Margarita and Vodka Sidecar – good stuff. So maybe I am incorrect, I have mixed Cointreau before. What I can say though, I have never mixed Cointreau with lemonade, orange juice or Sprite. Maybe that’s not how you mix it down, naturally, you sip it fast enough so the ice doesn’t melt and water it down. I just like chilled Cointreau, it is as easy as that.

Having received technical training, we always ensured we carried redundant equipment in case of failure of the primary device. A loss of the primary light in a cavern, sinkhole or cave was not a life-threatening issue when you switched to your back-up device.

Likewise, we carried redundant gas and regulators in various configurations in case of failure in an overhead or virtual overhead environment, you can’t always head straight to the surface. Needless to say, a redundant depth and bottom timer was required for obvious reasons. Even when diving recreational scuba, I carry multiple dive computers. This is especially important on overseas dive holidays where the option of fully desaturating is not possible to take possession of a clean dive computer during a trip.

Dive computers can and do fail, I have had a number of computer failures diving and would have been in real strife to effectively execute my decompression obligation otherwise. A two-week dive trip could be ruined by a dive computer failure; dive computers are not as reliable as one would think. So while some look at me strangely with two dive computers strapped to my wrist, as a former dive guide I have seen too many computer failures underwater to risk my overseas holiday for. I have a number of dive computers to choose from, why not have a redundant unit on holiday?

I have always had an interest in quality watches but recently I have have stepped up my collecting whilst I have some cash to spare. I was currently looking at the now superseded Oris Aquis Date model as a change from my normal dive watch.

The 2016 model had a very chunky bracelet and I am looking for a more overstated than understated dive watch to add to my collection. I want chunky as I have a number of understated timepieces and just want to round my collection out. Putting the two watches side by side, I can only see the bracelet size as the only notable differentiating factor with both models fitted with a folding clasp to secure the bracelet.

The bracelet is secured to the case by screws as opposed to the usual pins and I really don’t see the point of a leather strap on a dive watch, that is reserved for a dress watch. Fitted with a Oris Calibe 733; this is really a SW 200-1 automatic movement with 26 jewels, a 38 hour power reserve and a 4 Hz frequency. The SW200-1 is now the default movement now that ETA has limited sales to non Swatch manufacturers.

I viewed a blue dial with the dial indicators not numbered and a date window at the 6 o’clock position but possibly other colours are also available. In the end I chose the green version as I had a number of blue dials and as an occasional timepiece, green would be something different. There was a trend towards green when I was looking, so whilst the blue dial was excellent, the green dial offered something a little different.

Rated to 300 metres, the 43 mm stainless steel case has a screw-in crown, a display case-back and the dial is viewed through a sapphire crystal glass. The unidirectional bezel is standard for diving timepieces. The bezel is ceramic marked in minute increments to the 15 minute mark and then numbered at 10 minute increments. For me, I like collecting watches and I prefer new timepieces so I have to put plenty of research in to get the pricing I am willing to pay.

An interesting watchmaker is Junghans, the German watchmaker from Schramberg in the Baden-Württemberg region, known for the black forest and traditional villages. Founded in 1861 by Erhard Junghans, the company produced wall clocks before later breaking into wristwatches. Based on their company bio, they believe style is not loud, so they favour a highly restrained approach to design. They state their watches are consciously understated with a preference of underscore the personality and attitude of the wearer.

They have some interesting designs, Junghans certainly embraced the bauhaus movement to create some iconic designs. Max Bill is of the most notable of the bauhaus designers, a wall clock is displayed in the Museum of Modern Art. The iconic Max Bill watch released in 1961 has inspired a minimalist design approach that has been copied by numerous watch manufacturers. They have other watches in their collection from pilot watches, Meister, Radio Controlled, Form and Driver Series but are known for the Max Bill.

I love diving in the small resorts and out of the way islands of the Philippines; for many, their only Philippines diving experience is Puerto Galera and Anilao, this is a shame as the Philippines has so much more to offer the diver.

The dive shop within the resort is small, exactly how I like it. The term resort is a bit of a misdemeanor, this is more of a guest house, small and friendly, exactly what I was looking for. Diving here is pretty casual, the dive guide was a young fella and we headed out to around the island for the first dive. We had plenty of depth for the first dive, what I noticed at these locations was there wasn’t the sloping reefs found pretty much throughout the islands, you were descending and ascending through blue water, I love these conditions.

Yes, there was a bit of current around, but I have never seen a current as anything to fear, just another challenge to overcome and besides, a current usually brings the fish out. Yes, swimming into a current at depth increases your gas consumption but as there was only the two of us, I wasn’t concerned. I arrived at the dive resort Monday morning and departed Friday morning to Iloilo City for my afternoon flight back to Manila. I logged thirteen dives during those three and a half diving days with all but two dives deeper than thirty metres, I want to return in the future.

When discussing issues on newspaper and electronic media forums, I see a plethora of people attempting to shut down informed and lively discussion as they pursue their private agendas attacking individuals and not their argument – this corrupts press freedom.

The function of the press in a free and democratic society is to perform a check on the executive and judicial processes of government. In a democratic society, a free press serves as a regulatory function holding government and bureaucratic leaders accountable to the public preventing power without responsibility. Educating citizens so  informed decisions can be undertaken maintaining transparency and public scrutiny. A free press publishes issues of importance to ordinary citizens allowing freedom of speech and advocacy with an exchange of ideas maintaining a watchdog function.

Sadly, without a free and independent press; the responsibility for public information and dissemination resides solely the government. As has been seen in so many totalitarian regimes; this process is abused allowing the government to control the issues and discussion. But when allowed to function freely, the press acts as the building blocks of democracy. By keeping citizens informed, individuals have access to government allowing transparency.

One has to remember, the news is not only watched and read by its citizens, the authorities do so as well. Public opinion and influence are formed by the press, the very reason why politicians and government spokespeople appear on news services, talk-back radio and in print media. They are well aware that public perception is important and need to reinforce their message by appearing in media that may not support their views, they need to sell their policy.

When they are able to function freely, local newspapers and radio and television stations can be important building blocks of democracy. In addition to serving as a watchdog on local institutions and alerting the public to safety issues, they can help citizens understand and access their distant government. We all know it is difficult to gain access to political figures and discuss important policy, we all ave the opportunity to watch the news or read the newspaper.

The news is watched by the authorities as well as the citizens. When the government tried to shut down the station at one point in order to control its political influence, the public and sponsors protested, and the government had to let it reopen. This civic information is the fuel of democracy. The people become better educated and take more responsibility for their own well being. The media can act as a safety valve by offering a forum for diverse voices to be heard. 

The kitchen is old school, this is what I love most about this place, the wood fire, the view from the kitchen window out over the grass on the yard to the rear fence. When I gaze out the window in the morning, we have kangaroos grazing on the lawn by the rear fence. The fence is a new edition, we were sick of people sneaking in and stealing our possessions and its sole purpose is to keep unwanted people out.

There is no telephone there, these days we all carry mobile phones but prior to that, this was a telephone free house. We have no internet, I can go down to the holiday house and work offline and I love it. I have finally updated my phone plan and now have mobile data, previously my mobile phone was restricted to phone calls and text messages and that was exactly what I wanted. I was left with no choice, despite my protests, Telstra updated my plan against my wishes and I am now connected.

I preferred old style, I would generally get up late on weekends, make breakfast and eat it out the front on the veranda sharing some of it with the resident magpies. As soon as they see me, they run across the road, jump the boundary fence and get ready. I hold the food up for them as they sit on the rail and watch me, apparently magpies recognise faces so never antagonise them as they can be very aggressive if they are threatened. Likewise, they can also be your best friend in the bird world once you get to know them.

In what has already been an interesting week where Senator Linda Reynolds will enter mediation with Brittany Higgins and David Shiraz for publishing defamatory material against her and preventing her from publishing further material. Brittany Higgins had previously been a prolific social media user with Twitter and Instagram her accounts of choice.

Senator Linda Reynolds has settled with the Australian Capital Territory government, received a formal apology for comments made by former Public Prosecutor Shane Drumgold and received $90,000 in compensation that includes legal costs. Former Public Prosecutor Shane Drumgold accused Senator Linda Reynolds of [suspected] political interference after she sought transcripts of the testimony given by Brittany Higgins in the trial. Shane Drumgold later withdrew the accusation during a Board of Enquiry of how the trial was handled. 

Both Brittany Higgins and David Shiraz have now returned to Australia from France to enter face to face mediation with Senator Linda Reynolds beginning today. Should both Higgins and Sharaz fail to apologise and refrain from publishing defamatory material, then they are looking at a six week trial in the Western Australian Supreme Court. What Higgins may learn is defamation, whilst a tricky business, may be her undoing. You cannot just make unfounded accusations in social media, whilst David Sharaz and Brittany Higgins believe they excuse power, they may just be horribly wrong.  

The Autavia was first introduced by the Heuer Watch Company in 1933, this was a dashboard timer that was in production until 1957. The name Autavia is a marriage of automotive [Aut] and aviation [avia] and was used on the dashboards of both racing automobiles and aircraft.

The Autavia was then released as a wristwatch in 1962, this came in the form of a racing chronograph to time race laps until production stopped in 1985. The entire Heuer catalog contained chronographs, they did not not have a three hand watch as they were a strong motor racing timer. They had the Skipper, a yacht racing chronograph based on the Carrera, whilst I love chronographs, the three hand version of the Autavia is pretty special, this is a great looking timepiece.

The Autavia Isograph was released in 2019 as a three hand watch, this is somewhat a difference to the classic Heuer Autavia that was only a chronograph. So, this isn’t a reissue, this takes one of the most popular Heuer models and creates a new persona. The COSC chronometer certified Calibre 5 movement features a carbon composite hairspring that is anti-magnetic and anti-shock.

This isn’t hard to imagine as the Autavia morphed from a dashboard timer to a wristwatch, the Autavia features large Arabic numerals, a grain (fumé) textured dial, a quick release strap, a 42 mm stainless steel case and bidirectional ceramic bezel. This timepiece is striking, it looks pretty good and will pop on the wrist.

Plastics in the ocean are in my opinion a greater threat to humanity than climate change. Whilst climate change is hotly contested by some, plastics dumped in the ocean are highly visible and a greater threat to life on earth. We are polluting our world, people just don’t care, they do not change their behaviour, nothing is happening. I am certainly no climate change denier, I believe more should be done to address these issues, this is the most pressing issue for humanity.

They have found plastic at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest section of the ocean. I haven’t seen the whole world, but parts of it and I have seen are horribly polluted by plastic waste, this is an absolute shame. Jon Sanders in his last circumnavigation of the world took water samples in some of the most inaccessible locations on the planet, the results were not good.

Plastic is the scourge of our time, this is the world’s population fault, they are quick to discard plastic into streams and rivers that flow into seas and oceans. Plastic bags blow across streets, parks and fields; we just let it happen. There are no excuses, we are creating this hazard to our health and we are sleepwalking into oblivion. This is an issue that can be addressed and rectified by every person on earth, all our individual efforts can make significant progress to make this problem a relic of history.