A fantastic smooth shiraz from Penfolds McGill Estate in the Barossa Valley, Bin 28 is a softer style shiraz that many prefer. I can’t claim to be a wine connoisseur, I do know the style I prefer and the complexity of the wine.

A fantastic smooth shiraz from Penfolds McGill Estate in the Barossa Valley, Bin 28 is a softer style shiraz that many prefer. I can’t claim to be a wine connoisseur, I do know the style I prefer and the complexity of the wine. In my family we have long argued over Bin 128 and Bin 28 and what is the superior drop. I suggest Bin 28 is smoother and more complex whilst Bin 128 is big and bold. To be honest, it depends on the day, but I am happy with either.

My current preference is Bin 28; however, this is also associated with being easier to obtain so I have more opportunity to drink than Bin 128. Both are shiraz so it is a fair comparison, albeit in completely different styles. Bin 28 sources fruit from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Wrattonbully, Fleurieu, Robe, Mt Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek. This is very much a blended wine, although there is seasonal variability due to the cool and wet winter flowing into spring. Bin 28 is matured for 12 months in seasoned American oak hogsheads, this gives fine oak flavours without being overpowering. According to the winemaker notes, this shiraz is drinking well now right up to 2030 and probably beyond.

Prices aside, reputations too, if I had a selection between the Heuer Carrera 160 Years Limited Edition and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, what would be the better looking timepiece to adorn my wrist?

Both the Carrera and the Daytona have sub-dials located at the 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions, although I find the Carrera dial cleaner. The Heuer logo is largish, the Carrera name is a decent size and the sunburst dial is clean.

The Rolex crown is the 12 o’clock marker on the Daytona, a whole bunch of other information such as oyster perpetual and superlative chronometer, officially certified as well as the Cosmograph name fills five lines – that’s way too much. There is also the Daytona name curved around the 6 o’clock sub-dial in red that detracts from the dial in my opinion. The ceramic tachymeter on the Daytona is wide, maybe too wide whilst the Carrera bezel is more conventional and suits the sunburst dial.

Both have in-house movements, the Calibre 4130 in the Daytona has 44 jewels and a 72 hour power reserve, the Carrera Heuer 02 has a column wheel and vertical clutch and 80 hour power reserve – pretty decent. For me, the Carrera is the more elegant of the two, Heuer has a serious reputation although that reputation and marketing was pretty much wiped out when Heuer was purchased by the TAG Group and rebranded. Still, prices aside, the Carrera 160 Years Limited Edition would be my choice for a very elegant timepiece.

Bing is a fairly useless browser, but company networks may prefer Bing over Mozilla or Chrome despite both being better, so you might just be stuck with it. The Microsoft owned browser attempts to latch itself onto any program, I am frequently resetting preferences to turn off this useless search engine. I would prefer Opera as a search engine, I don’t use DuckDuckGo, but know many prefer this option.

What really annoys me is when I type in a search such as observations in an undemocratic world, even plagiarised content is displayed as the fourth option. This really grates on me, if you Google the same name then you get original content. To be fair, since I also link to Pinterest, two pages of Pinterest pins are displayed. However, this leads to the original content and may include Tumblr links too – just so much better.

I can’t admit to be a big drinker of tequila, however, should I look to drink tequila, then a tequila sunrise is my choice of cocktail. Ok, so what is a tequila sunrise? A tequila sunrise in its most basic form is a shot of tequila, orange juice and a splash of grenadine. Firstly, the tequila, the alcoholic portion of the drink is the critical ingredient.

I started drinking my tequila sunrise with El Toro tequila, pretty much the most basic and arguably the worst tequila on the market. For me, El Toro is akin to methylated spirits, I reckon this could have been used as a propellant on the space shuttle to assist the solid fuel boosters. The orange juice for me is the critical ingredient, clearly 100% orange juice is required, no scrimping on the major component of the cocktail. 100% orange juice is the key to offsetting and enhancing the tequila – these days I prefer brown tequila.

I challenge the notion that the HR department made an unfortunate mistake when I was denied the opportunity to apply for internal positions.

They stated they didn’t know the rules. I say rubbish, they knew exactly what the requirements are and thought they could get away with it pleading ignorance when challenged. I pose the question, are they corrupt or incompetent? I have been denied the opportunity to participate in selection for promotional positions as per the written instructions from the Commissioner of Industrial Relations. This is an unlawful act, when I said act I mean Act; that is a law as ratified by the Parliament of Western Australia.

So how did this come about? The individual who was slotted into the position was not equal to myself in position within the organisation, they were a level lower. I have the ability to write a compelling narrative addressing required selection criteria, the very criteria that candidates are graded against. The individual who was slotted into the position is not good at addressing selection criteria, my argument is that if the two of us were assessed by an impartial panel purely on selection criteria, then I would be the successful party.

Another point worth noting, an unsuccessful applicant must wait a further 12 months before applying again on the next intake. Bragging? Certainly not, the evidence shows that I was successful in my two applications on the first occasion, the record also states that I was promoted in the minimal time requirement. Five years is the minimum timeframe for the first level and a further year at that level for the second level. Just a side note, the selection panel was chaired by the now General Manager of the organisation.

When it first happens, it really does catch you unaware, it does throw you. When you are abused at work by a screaming fool, especially when you are not expecting such a response, it leaves you a little rattled initially.

It says more about them than it says about you. They tend to be pathetic losers who are miserable in their own lives, they take out their frustrations on you as they are so angry with their career. Sure, you document the abuse immediately, I don’t make a complaint unless it occurs three times, it isn’t bullying until a pattern is established. Then you have to decide, do you take them out the back and sort them out yourself.

Based on my personal experiences, they prefer to verbally abuse you in front of everybody, this strokes their ego. I, on the other hand prefer to operate with no witnesses, I certainly do not make threats in front of others and I also quietly offer to sort this matter out on-on-one with nobody else around. But one has to ask, why do they hate you so much? They are angry at your success, they dislike you and they think you need bringing down. Naturally they engage in malicious office gossip bad mouthing you at every opportunity.

I take another approach, a) I never bad mouth them, b) I never mention them to anyone, c) if the conversation is discussing them, I don’t get involved and d) I never think of them. I do not let their miserable attitude upset me and if I am around them at work I am happy and courteous – that makes them angrier.

Yes, sure, we can step out the back and sort them out but that creates more issues. They are miserable at your success, so you never let them drag you down and this jealousy is driving them. If you crack them on the jaw, you may then have to defend yourself when they report you, there may be police involved. All their efforts are for nothing, you are outwardly happy and unaffected. They are pathetic and want to make you like them, make sure that doesn’t happen. They are sad miserable losers and the happier and more successful you are, the more miserable they are – I win again.

The Rolex DateJust is pretty much the quintessential Rolex watch. While Rolex is known for their toolwatches, the DateJust released in 1945 still has an oyster perpetual 41 mm that is case water resistant to 100 metres – not that I would be wearing this in the water.

Red Back was my favourite beer back in the late 80s and early 90s. I stopped drinking beer for well over two decades, so it was a while between drinks.

The America’s Cup defence was an amazing time in Fremantle in the late 80s as the 12 metre yachts fought for supremacy on the water and Fremantle was pumping. Fremantle was the place to be, it was going well in Western Australia. The Sail and Anchor Hotel in Fremantle was one of my favourite pubs not only in Fremantle but in Perth. Whilst they had a decent selection of beers available, Red Back was my choice of beer in the Sail and Anchor Hotel and well advertised at the time.

Red Back is a wheat beer, the flavours are creamy and pretty well defined. This was the first craft beer in Australia, Matilda Bay Brewing Company did a great job back then. These days it isn’t easy to find Redback beer at a liquor distributor, or what we call a bottle shop. Red Back has fallen out of favour with distributors and we are all worse off because of this. It is so hard to find in Perth, then I found Redback at my local bottleshop hidden in the corner, you walk in and ask for it and the staff have trouble finding it – go figure.

The Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 is modern reissue of the 1955 manually wound 6087 chronograph. As one of the holy trinity of haute horlogerie, this timepiece deserves examination even if it is way out of my price range, this is truly an example of high-end watchmaking.

The distinctive cow horn lugs attach a calf skin leather band by Italy’s Seraplan to the stainless steel case with sapphire crystal caseback to view the 21 jewel 1142 chronograph reference. The modern reincarnation is still a hand-would movement, very interesting as the trend has been to automatic movements. Have I been to a boutique and inspected this timepiece first hand, at time of writing, the answer is no. Like so many others  the coronavirus has grounded me and I don’t have the opportunity in my place of residence.

I generally walk out of a boutique with one of the catalogs so I have a manufacturer reference to provide information, I have no Vacheron Constantin reference material right now. I now possess a half decent library of manuals to assist with writing of  technical specifications and the history of the brand. More so, I visit retailers when I am overseas as I wish to remain anonymous to a degree, the Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 is a high-end timepiece with a high-end price that is way out of my league.

When I have viewed other Vacheron Constantin timepieces face-to-face, you can see the finish that isn’t justified in print. I reckon the Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 looks pretty special in print, so I will be excited to actually handle this equisite timepiece and strap it to my wrist. More so, I would just like to hold the timepiece in my hand and appreciate its engineering as an expression of modern art.

My tablet is probably one of my most important possessions, this allows me to be mobile and write about my experiences. I try to carry it around with me everywhere, I can snap photographs and start writing a post if I feel I have something to say. You can be just enjoying the moment, you can be sitting alone in a park and enjoying life. Without recording the moment, then it is more than likely lost so I am happy to be working on some content.

On this occasion I am sitting down the park in the town or Margaret River in the South West of Australia on a warm summer day. In a short while, I will be off to Leeuwin Estate for some wine tasting before heading over to Voyager Estate nearby to have a look at what they have on offer, as I have been to Voyager Estate before, I know the wines are fantastic and the grounds are superb. The trip back will be via Fermoy Estate where I am a wine club member and maybe Hay Shed Hill. As I am the one driving, I will have to use the spittoon but that is ok, I have to be responsible behind the wheel as I don’t want to write about experiences behind bars.