Is gin making a comeback?

I like gin, I have been a gin drinker for a long time, but to be honest, I don't drink a lot of gin. Yet I am still going to reach for a gin based drink given the opportunity. Is gin making a comeback? I certainly hope so.

What I am noticing in Perth at least is gin bars are popular again. One of the more famous movie lines was Humphrey Bogart playing Rick Blaine was "of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world and she walks into mine" in the Warner Bros classic Casablanca. Despite the excellent gin options available, I'm not much into cocktails and prefer just a gin and tonic, a fairly ordinary choice really. With winter coming to an end, the days are getting sunny again so it is time to head out for a little sunshine - roll on summer.

Retiring overseas

With now just a little over ten years left until I can officially retire on my self managed superannuation fund, I know living in Australia full time is going to be way too expensive. I have friends living overseas throughout South East Asia and although I don't want to limit myself to Asia, I view their circumstances with interest.

I enjoy summer in Perth so I fully intend to spend the summer months in Australia, that does increase my costs as I have to maintain a residence in Australia for a whole year whilst also paying for accommodation overseas. That being said, I am looking to travel whilst still active, as I age my mobility is expected to decline somewhat so I need to retire earlier rather than later.

So at age 60, I should still be fit enough to travel on a budget as there is still so much I want to see and do and require a relatively active body to enjoy such a retirement lifestyle. I am really looking forward to retiring and starting the next phase of my life.

What's the point of working right up until you are too old to enjoy it. I understand the need for belonging and working purely for the enjoyment of achievement. However, I am more than willing to forgo future some income for lifestyle, you have to enjoy life now and not look too far into the future but still follow a solid plan. 

Hillary's Explorer

Did a newly minted Rolex Explorer prototype make it to the summit of Mt Everest in 1953 on the wrist of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? The general conscious is it did, but has the advertising of Rolex actually acknowledged this historical fact? We conclusively know that Buzz Aldrin's Speedmaster Professional made it to the lunar surface in 1969; Neil Armstrong's Speedmaster Professional was never actually worn on the lunar surface and was instead intentionally left in the lunar module due to the failure of the Bulova mission timer.

The Explorer was released back in 1953 and Rolex has heavily promoted the rugged appeal of the timepiece with plenty of alpine and mountaineering photo shoots in printed advertising material. What we do know is that Rolex sponsored the 1952 Lambert expedition whilst Hillary's expedition was led by John Hunt. Chief sherpa Tenzing Norgay was part of both expeditions, that is an historical fact that isn't in dispute with the Lambert expedition in 1952 getting to within 200 metres of the summit before they were forced to turn back.

As the mountain was conquered and opened up to subsequent expeditions; plenty of Rolex Explorers have now perched over the highest point on Earth on the wrist of well funded mountaineers. No doubt, so have many other timepieces. But the question remains, was the Explorer prototype there first? There may be evidence to conclude Hillary wore an Oyster Perpetual with a leather strap on at least part of the expedition.

There is some discussion as the Explorer was released in the year of Hillary's feat; this might not be an issue as Hillary could well have worn either a prototype or first release. The concept and prototype models would have been well advanced by this stage at any rate regardless of actual release date. However, Rolex implies in it's advertising that the timepiece went to Mt Everest but doesn't actually mention the actual feat in their advertising.

There is some discussion that Sir Edmund Hillary may have actually wore a timepiece manufactured by English watchmaker Smiths. If this is true, why has the marketing of Rolex promoted not only mountaineering but implied Hillary and Norgay wore an Oyster Perpetual on their wrist on the summit and possibly perpetuate a myth. The truth is, I don't know but I do find it interesting to speculate on why they don't seem to directly mention that a Rolex was on the wrist of Hillary and Norgay on the summit of Mt Everest in 1953.

Magpie swooping season begins

Those bastard birds are at it again, it's spring and magpie swooping season is in full swing again and no one is immune. We are all a legitimate target in the eyes of magpies - stay away from our nests. We won't be climbing any trees to get anywhere near their nests - but there is no negotiating with an angry magpie.

You are walking down the street or riding a bike and hear the woosh of wings behind you, it's spring and the magpies are protecting their nests from any and all possible intruders. Whatever you do, don't look around, children have lost sight in one eye, those beaks are sharp and the impact is brutal.

With GoPro cameras, we are seeing some pretty decent pics and video footage of attacking magpies. As kids going to school walking across the park, we would carry sticks to wave over our heads to keep the magpies at bay. These days, magpies are photographed and videographed in attack mode and we don't try to whack them with sticks anymore - they are still annoying though.

Jeepney rides - they just aren't fun

The jeepney is a third world mode of transport reminiscent of a bygone era. Whilst I hate them, I am also cheap so this is my selected mode of transport in the Philippines, especially in provincial areas.

One of my most common jeepney rides is when I head down to Anilao from Manila, this saves paying for a private car ride. Catching a coach style bus from Buendia station to Batangas Grand Terminal sets you back about 150 peso and takes approximately two hours.

On one trip, there was a video on board with a Manny Pacquiao v Miguel Cotto fight replay. The guy is, of course, a national hero so his triumphs are routinely telecast. Heading into the twelfth and final round, the program was changed to some American NBA rubbish depriving me of witnessing the third and final knockdown of the fight - I would have to say, that was my most frustrating ride.

Arriving in Grand Terminal, then it is time to board the jeepney, they jam every one on board and won't leave until they fill it. This could take over an hour jammed inside waiting with bags and dive equipment, a total waste of everyone's time, yet no one complains and they just accept it.

A crampy and bumpy ride ensures sucking in exhaust fumes as the outlet pipe isn't routed properly, this could take an hour leaving the passenger feeling sick - what a ride. However, what I like about the jeepney is their cheapness and being able to ride in a vehicle with common people, yeah, they don't complain and just get on with it - that's what I like about riding in a jeepney. 

Starting a business or getting an MBA?

Getting involved in small business, you get involved in marketing, you get involved in accounting, you get involved in strategy and you get involved in sales, it goes without saying that you get involved in public relations.

We all know you don't need to have an MBA to start a business, there are no legal requirements and plenty of people are engaged in small business enterprises without university qualifications. So should a person take on the effort and expense of this post-graduate qualification?

Firstly we need to look at age, current earning potential, time lost from work, opportunity cost and tuition fees. Then we need to take a good hard look at the school offering the MBA qualification, its reputation, quality of instruction offered and entrepreneurial programs the institution offers.

The younger you are, the more opportunity you have to earn the costs back but this is counteracted by the less management experience encountered. The reputation of the institution is important insofar as venture capitalists are attracted, industry experts brought in and the mentoring potential in terms of quality of industry experts.

In an entrepreneurial business venture, the development of ideas that are peer reviewed in venture labs by students, industry experts and faculty staff. One imagines a through analysis allows review of the idea will result in reworking the plan to get exciting ideas off the ground.

The Stanford Venture Studio and their Startup Garage, INSEAD's Centre for Entrepreneurship and the IE Business School Area 31 are programs  Stanford's venture lab holds weekly meetings with business founders, venture capitalists, industry experts and faculty staff to develop new ideas.

Business plans are developed from prototypes, value creation is analysed and the idea tested and peer reviewed with input from faculty members and industry experts. The current crop of start-up businesses revolve around e-commerce and developing online platforms.

A number of leading universities are strongly promoting entrepreneurship as coursework opening labs where ideas are floated and refined. If you have a good idea and you peer review the business plan with input from industry experts, you could easily seek a return on the investment far exceeding the opportunity cost of staying employed.

A 2015 Upper Reach Tempranillo

Staying home on a Saturday night, I decided to crack the top on a 2015 Upper Reach Tempranillo and I was pretty happy I did. These days you can't pop a cork, but you can certainly crack a screw top.

I am a pretty big fan of Upper Reach so I'm pretty confident bringing a bottle home from their Swan Valley winery. Not that it is an issue as cellar door sales includes tasting so you already know what you are getting. Checking the Upper Reach tasting notes, they tell us this has perfumed notes of cherry, berry and a hint of tomato leaf.

To be honest, I have no idea what this means as I can't say I have ever eaten tomato leaf, but what I do know that this turned out to be a reasonable drop. Tempranillo is a Spanish style well suited to Western Australian, namely Swan Valley conditions as a lighter to medium bodied style wine - I like it.