I purchased a Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling for Christmas day 2020 as a big fuck you to the CCP and their poorly conceived tariffs. As it turns out, the Bin 51 was left in the refrigerator and not packed into the cooler bag for the trip over – oh well. Still, this Riesling isn’t going to be poured down the drain, we just get to drink it later. Coming from Western Australia, we have a few decent Rieslings here too, so does Penfolds Bin 51 stack up?

I think it does, the Leeuwin Estate Riesling is about as good as it gets, but is it in a different price range? Well, yes it is, but not in a positive manner. Instead I drank a Penfolds chardonnay out in the back garden with my father on a Friday evening. So, was the Bin 51 any good? Well, yes it was. We had a couple of bottles that night, the Bin 51 was one of these, it was pretty good evening actually.

In Western Australia, we are spoiled for chardonnay, we have some decent Riesling choices as well. South Australia is known for their Riesling with the Eden Vale region, but Penfolds Bin 51 isn’t my usual choice. I liked the Bin 51, the next question is, does it replace the Leeuwin Estate, Pewsley Vale and Vickery Rieslings I prefer? It will knock the Vickery down but won’t replace Pewsley Vale and Leeuwin Estate – not for me anyway.

Nice fruit and a balanced finish. Whilst I like a big wooded Chardonnay at times, I like to change it up too. I really don’t find much value in an unwooded Chardonnay, so when I need a break from chardonnay and sauvignon blanc isn’t doing it for me, the Penfolds Bin 51 is a decent compromise, it is a pretty decent Riesling and I do like to change things up.

A Solomon Islands naval base is a huge concern for the security of Australia, whilst Solomon Island Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare claims there will be no Chinese military assets in the Solomon Islands, we suspect differently. No longer is Australia protected by the distance of oceans. A military base is now within striking distance of the Australian mainland. 

If hostilities break out with China over Taiwan or the South China Sea, the east coast of Australia would be threatened by the Chinese navy, the Chinese air force could be stationed in the islands. The potential for missile strikes from naval vessels or a naval base or installation could be devastating for the country. If Australia is threatened, the Solomon Islands had better be aware that all firepower will be aimed at their islands – they are a target. 

One of the first actions of a conflict with China would be precision bombing of Chinese military and commercial assets on any of the hundreds of islands comprising of the Solomon Islands. That would involve RAAF F-35 fighter jets making a stealth flight to the Solomon Islands to drop laser guided bombs on Chinese assets. 

This would involve taking out radar installations, communication, logistics and fuel depots. This needs to include transport infrastructure so equipment cannot be transported on the roads, ports and airstrips. This is serious, whilst precision targeting is the goal, I would not expect cluster bombs or non-laser guided bombs so there will be no civilian casualties, homes destroyed or hospitals or schools hit.

When I started my blog back in 2013, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the Prime Minister of Turkey and was suppressing his people. Bashar al-Assad was using chemical weapons on his population in Syria and now we are waiting to see if Putin will use chemical weapons in Ukraine. 

It is 2022 and now the world is concerned the Russian invasion of Ukraine will escalate into a broader European war. Well, Russian forces are getting flogged by the Ukrainian military, whilst we are likely to see the superior manpower of the Russian military ultimately prevail, they are being embarrassed in the process. 

Russian soldiers are raping women, looting homes and businesses, murdering elderly people in their homes, shooting people in the street and sidewalk. Naturally they are lousy soldiers, they are pathetic, they are getting smashed on the battlefield, the Ukraine military are demoralising the Russian military.

The Russian army is poorly trained, poorly equipped, pathetically led and logistically incapable. With European and US weapons flooding in, the Ukraine military is getting supplied and engaging in guerilla warfare. This was always expected to become a fight moving from street to street in urban areas full of ambush and hit and run skirmishes.   

From what I can work out, Russian soldiers are pretty adept at shooting civilians. They are not so good at fighting Ukrainian soldiers, there they get caught in ambush after ambush and are incinerated in their vehicles. Their infantry is ineffective, they are competent at shooting unarmed civilians at point blank range or using snipers to shoot civilians on the street. 

In combat, the Russian soldiers are not effective – they are just an occupying force that relies on overwhelming numbers to meet their objectives. In a military fight against a highly motivated are well armed Ukrainian military, they are inadequate in all facets of operations including tactics, ability, agility and application. The Russian military is being humiliated in front of the world, instead, as an occupying force, they are resorting to war crimes. 

So my local supermarket finally stocks illy lungo coffee, they have not previously and I have had to make do with other brands for the interim, even though I was aware illy produced a lungo coffee. I have been getting a little concerned, supermarket shelves are a competitive business where illy is getting shifted further away from eyesight to the lower shelves.

So, I purchased three packets of illy lungo to take home along with one satchel of my normal lungs choice. So when I returned home and put one of the capsules in my Nespresso machine, I had high hopes. illy is not a bad lung coffee by any shape of the imagination, it was certainly not as intense as I would have hoped. 

For me, this is disappointing as illy is known for its intense flavours. The notes were a little floral with jasmine overtones and a little sweetness. This was interesting, I really didn’t expect that, so this was certainly a surprise. However, ultimately the lungo is too watery for my tastes as it lacks the intensity of the Classico, Inteniso or Forte espresso capsules.

Oh, it is a sight to behold, after a complaint highlighted [uncovered] our shortcomings, there is stress, finger pointing, blaming, and, of course innuendo. For the best part, I was working from my home office during this covid period so I am immune to all of this stupidity. I have highlighted these shortcomings for years now, so this is no surprise to me.

Because I highlighted cronyism and incompetence, the inept management believed that I made the complaint. It is inconceivable to them that they are just hopeless, this is a conspiracy they have been subjected to by a clearly disgruntled worker. There is no way they could be as incompetent as has been made out, this is just an unfortunate set of circumstances according to them – I am just disgruntled.

What I am viewing from the sanctity of my home office is fumbling around, general confusion and plenty of fucking up. The very issues that got us into this mess have not been remedied. So we have no change in leadership, no change in strategic direction and no change in perceived outcomes. We just keep doing the same things and hope for a different outcome – who would have thought?

The first step in root cause analysis and problem-solving exercise is determining the cause of the problem. This has not been done, the very people who led us into this mess are supposed to be the ones to lead us out, but what we are seeing is more of the same. So they will be left scratching their heads, we do the exact same thing and expect a different outcome. Sure, they are doing some paper shuffling in an attempt to fool auditors – but they will see through that. They can then state they did their part without actually incorporating any change management principles whatsoever – laughable really.

So China is getting aggressive in a military sense, this is driven by the philosophy of President Xi Jinping. There are many nervous nations in east and southeast Asia that are feeling threatened by not only Chinese diplomatic communications, but actions.

There is the island building in the contested waters of the South China Sea, the crack-down in Hong Kong and the threats to Taiwan. China is flanked on it’s south western border by India, western border by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Further south there is Vietnam, Laos and Burma. North Korea provides a buffer to both South Korea and Japan where there are US bases in both those countries along with the Philippines and Guam. Further afield there is Hawaii, Midway Island, Deigo Garcia and a joint Australian/American marine base in Darwin. To the north of China is the vast country of Russia, an ally and nation with similar interests.

Whilst Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been staunchly anti-US due to his personal preferences, he has finally worked out Xi Jinping is playing him for a fool and beginning to seek US protection again. Any idiot knows you don’t allow personal preferences to influence international diplomacy, he is not that bright. Playing Rodrigo Duterte for a fool is a pretty easy game, this isn’t much of a scam, he is pretty much an easy target. The US has also been invited to build a base on the island nation of Palau, whilst still not out of the reach of Chinese missiles, there is also an option of a base on the Cocos Islands and Learmonth air base can be upgraded.

At this point, I don’t think there is that much hope for Hong Kong, there will be some diplomatic pressure but the CCP will dismiss this as internal affairs. Taiwan is a whole other issue, all regional powers need to stand up to CCP provocation to make it abundantly clear this aggression will not be tolerated. This is the likely flash point, Taiwan will defend itself, what is unsure is how good the Taiwanese defence will be, this will draw in allies from all around the Pacific and possibly Europe.

To send a clear and concise message to the CCP, like minded nations need to increase their presence in the South China Sea and Western Pacific. This includes NATO, we need German, French and British influence in the region to make a statement. Bolstering US bases in the region is necessary with NATO and democratic nations operating out of these bases. This will send a clear message to CCP powerbrokers, any attacks on US bases in the region is an attack on democratic nations and they will respond.

I make sure I try to support my local Chinese restaurant at the food court at the local shopping centre. I made sure I supported them through the Covid-19 pandemic and during this post-pandemic recovery. As life begins to return to normal in 2022, I make sure I support my local Chinese restaurant when I can.

We currently have G2G issues, that is government-to-government and not P2P [people-to-people] problems. I am not a large consumer of Chinese food, I like Asian food generally but have found Chinese food doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe it is the western style Chinese food I eat, I do eat in restaurants where I am the only westerner, that was unlikely during the covid period as all the international students had departed the country.

I am sensitive to Chinese food, it just doesn’t work for me for the best part, is it MSG? I don’t know. However, the food from this place just works for me, so when I am at the shopping centre, I eat there, I have no issues. It is true, I am a little choosy about what I select from the bain marie, I try to be careful as I am pretty sensitive as I get older as I am over 50 now.

The Golden Wok is a food court restaurant, they churn out decent quality bulk food at a reasonable price. This is not a fine dining restaurant, this is a food court at a local shopping centre, they offer pretty decent food at a more than reasonable price. I chat to the owner politely, we don’t have massive conversations, she knows who I am as I frequent their food court restaurant and I am happy to support her family restaurant where I can.

We are viewing a nasty situation on our television screens, in our newspapers and every time we log onto social media. The war in Ukraine is just terrible viewing, what Russia is inflicting on Ukraine is just criminal, there is no justification for this level of violence, this is disgusting.

What is heartening is the Ukrainian use of drones to engage in surveillance of Russian military assets such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. Prior to the invasion, a bunch of enthusiasts were off flying drones as a hobby and to photograph the area. Now, these very same people are flying drones and attacking Russian positions.

They can either be used as surveillance to identify troop or equipment positions and call in missile, tanks or aircraft attacks. They are now using the US switchblade kamikaze drone to attack tanks and vehicles. This is brilliant, we have a much smaller force engaging a numerically superior force with hit and run tactics that is causing mayhem.

The Russian soldiers don’t know where the next strike is coming from, they are just getting comfortable when a kamikaze drone pierces the armour of the turret and they are doomed. Likewise, they are in an armoured vehicle before they are hit and incinerated. With the war crimes the Russian army is committing, it is difficult to feel any sympathy for them, it is time to pay for their crimes.

We shouldn’t and can’t complain about the lack of wage growth in Australia when we as consumers do everything to undermine employment security.

We consumers create the market, companies such as Uber are evil, they cash in on an existing market where barriers to entry are high. Now drivers are exploited, they target the vulnerable who have little options in this low-cost model. If you purchase goods online then you are part of the problem, this creates online shops that do not employ retail staff. The often given excuse is bricks and mortar stores are a rip off, I believe in the online shopping model, if you can – buy locally.

I am a firm believer in developing a passive income, the majority of one’s earnings are derived through the sale of their labour through employment, especially in the early years before building new income streams.

This could also involve a business, a business is normally engaged in a transaction either goods or services. This could be a combination of the both, the business may design, manufacture and sell a product along with installation, on-going maintenance or repairs. Regardless of employment or business orientation, these goods and services possess a direct labour content. The development of a passive income is usually derived from investment such as share dividends, property ownership [rent], a financial product, interest from a term deposit, bonds or derivatives.

The passive portion involves not requiring a labour direct input after the initial purchase. Basically, one earns a return whilst they sleep or engage in fun activities. My preference is building a buffer during the early years and enjoying the income in the future. During their working life, the reinvest the income to compound their returns and can draw earnings down on this should they be out of work, injured or just seeking a break. Given enough time, this becomes their retirement income, now individuals are covered throughout their lives.