European crosswalk courtesy

When you travel through most European countries, well Western European countries at least, I am amazed at the courtesy shown by both motorists and bike riders to pedestrians at crosswalks.

It took me nearly two weeks to get used to, when you come to a crosswalk all traffic stops. Even if the crosswalk light is just turning green and you are not at the crosswalk yet, motorists still wait. I would come to a crosswalk and hesitate because I wasn't sure if the motorist would stop.

After a while, I finally became confident enough to step out before I had seen the vehicle pull to a halt. After following the lead of other pedestrians I would hesitantly step onto the road. No vehicles tried to sneak through and wiz past you. Even push bike riders would stop, it was fantastic and totally different attitude to pedestrians to what I am used to.

Recovering flight miles

I already had to claim missing points from my Perth to Johannesburg flight, now I have more air miles to claim - this will be an issue.

The easiest way to go about this is to register your frequent flyer program as you book the the flight, I missed that opportunity as I had no idea of my route. Next best option is to enter your frequent flyer number in at the check-in counter but that was way above the ability of the check-in staff.

Next option is to follow up when I am home but since I have limited time on break I don't want to blow needless time following these air miles up. My final option is to delegate this task to the labour hire company who employs me, this stuff-up is their making so they need tto make this right.

To be honest, I don't have much confidence in these guys so I see this being harder than it should. But, the mine site where I am employed through this labour hire company is intent on keeping these guys accountable.

Their contract is in danger, the mining company looks after their direct employees and contract staff as if they are employees. This isn't the first time this has happened so they will be looking to redeem themselves so they can begin with redeeming my air miles - they have plenty of kissing up to do.

A 2006 Lamont chardonnay

For some inexplicable reason, I have collected a number of 2006 chardonnay from local producers, whilst a couple had moved past their best drinking, this fine example of an aged chardonnay is Lamont from Perth's Swan Valley.

This one we enjoyed in the back garden over a barbecue on a hot day. You could argue that a summer style white wine would or should be a sauvignon blanc or a semillon/sauvignon blanc or sauvignon blanc/semillon blend.

Fortunately, this isn't the first and only wine of the afternoon, there are a number of us at the lunch drinking wine so you really only get a glass out of each bottle, maybe two if you are lucky but you always show up for family with a decent drop. Sure we might get into a little bit of a pissing competition trying to out do each other - there can be no losers here.

According to the tasting notes, they describe this chardonnay as well made, with positive fruit and oak contributions; the origin of the grapes is not shown and not easy to recognise - perhaps no bad thing. But we know Lamont is a Swan Valley producer, so they don't need to list the vineyard on the bottle.

This chardonnay has a nose of toasty vanillin oak indicating this was matured in French oak with a tightly structured drink with tight acidity with the tasting notes identifying cream stone fruit. I really like Lamont chardonnay as this is an old style chardonnay utilising the malolactic process to produce that buttery taste - I love it.

River transportation on the Rhine

I love to see the inland waterways of Germany used for transporting general cargo. In such a technological advanced country such as Germany, you can bet they have assessed multiple criteria to make a judgement on the economic viability of river transport - you can guarantee that.

Filling the roads full of trucks is an issue, the cost and usage of fuel, congestion, inefficient usage of resources and the potential for accidents with vehicles. The advantages of riverships to transport general goods draws its advantages from logistics principles of bulk cargo, efficient dispatch and centralised centres.

I love seeing the riverships operating on the Rhine, this is a beautiful river that is utilised in an efficient manner transporting not only cargo but people too. The banks of the Rhine are home to villages, vineyards and castles among other attractions. It would be a pretty good job working these riverships up and down the Rhine for a living.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Audemars Piguet is synonymous with quality horological excellence; since its 1972 release, the Royal Oak has been a highly sought after timepiece. What is certainly encouraging for independent brands, Audemars Piguet remains a private company with the founding family retaining a controlling interest in the business.

The Royal Oak is distinctive, there is no denying that, the Royal Oak was the first steel luxury watch nicknamed the jumbo due to its 39 mm diameter, considered large at the time.

The design was ground breaking, I am looking at the Royal Oak from a historical perspective being three years old when the Royal Oak was released. The design was futuristic from an early 1970s perspective, Audemars Piguet may not have known it at the time, but they produced a cult classic.

The octagonal bezel with exposed mounting screws is certainly an acquired taste, for some it may resemble a stop sign on your wrist. The Royal Oak was allegedly inspired by a diver's helmet retaining a space age utilitarian design resembling the space race and subsequent moon landings.

The Royal Oak was also the first of the luxury watches within the sports watch category based on stainless steel and not precious metals as a more industrial design over luxury.

Whilst I just don't get it, what I will concede is the Royal Oak is highly distinguishable; with so many identical designs abounding, the Royal Oak is an iconic design that remains in high demand by collectors and enthusiasts.

This timepiece may have been copied by many; however, this is an original design that retains its originality and industrial design inspiration with others trying to cash in on its success. 

Circus Animals - Cold Chisel

After the success of Cold Chisel's 1980 album East, their follow up album Circus Animals released in 1982. I would probably rate Circus Animals as my favourite Cold Chisel Album behind East as I feel the whole album is a little more polished that the raw and powerful East.

Cold Chisel, well known for the pub rock blues, I have heard the term boogie blues bandied around, but to be honest, I don't really know what that is. A google search informed me the boogie definition is a blues style played on the piano with a strong fast beat. That possibly makes sense as key songwriter and pianist/keyboards player Don Walker had plenty of influence on the sound of the band. 

As a young teenager knowing nothing of Cold Chisel, I purchased the single Forever Now at my local record shop for $1.99 and was amazed at the quality of the B-side Bow River. Later on I really related to the lyrics of Bow River describing the 12 hour days and "the money I saved won't buy my youth again."

My favourite song of the album was When the War is Over written by Steven Prestwich, described by John Farnham as the best pop song ever written when he covered the song at a concert. Forever Now was the song that got me interested in Cold Chisel, I already knew the most famous Cold Chisel song Khe Sanh, back then, I just didn't know it was them who sang it. 

The songs from the album:

1. You Got Nothing I Want.
2. Bow River.
3. Forever Now.
4. Taipan.
5. Houndog.
6. Wild Colonial Boy.
7. No Good For You.
8. Numbers Fall.
9. When The War Is Over.
10. Letter To Alan.

A perfect strategy?

There is no such thing as a perfect strategy, there are no perfect organisations either, I totally agree with Sanjay as I doubt anybody would ever argue that point. 

The crafting and execution of strategy is the pinnacle for many CEOs and senior managers tasked with creating shareholder value. I have often been told you don't need a perfect organisation or strategy, you just need a better strategy and implementation than your competitors - get that right and you will outperform your rivals.