Has Mitchell Johnston bowled the ball of the series?

I think Cricket Australia is a bit excited here, but I do ask myself; has Mitchell Johnston bowled the ball of the series? I think Cheteshwar Pujara didn't do much wrong here, he played the line as Johnston moved the ball like a spin bowler at pace, he didn't stand much of a chance.

Now that the match ended in a draw, one has to ask, did Steve Smith wait too long to declare? The general consensus would now be yes; however, had the Australians held their catches, the outcome may have been different.

Should Shane Watson bat at number 3?

Shane Watson is an immensely talented cricketer; there is no doubt about that - he can bat, bowl and field. He should be in the team when fit; absolutely, no sane person would argue against that, the question then is, where should he bat?

A look at his statistics tells us that in his 54 test matches so far played, he has scored 4 centuries and 22 half centuries for an average of 35.51; not so great for a batsman coming in at number 3. His 22 half centuries are a good return; that's why I feel he is better suited batting in the middle order at number 5 or 6. 

To keep everything in perspective; stand in captain Steve Smith now bats at number 4, promoted up the order from 5 where skipper Michael Clarke normally bats. In 2014 alone, Smith has scored 4 centuries and over 1000 runs at an average of 84.33; he is having a break-out year, Watson is not having a break-out year. Both Clarke and Smith go on and make big scores; Watson does not and must bat down a couple of positions to the middle order.

Will Twenty/20 cricket change test match cricket?

Will Twenty/20 cricket change test match cricket batting? Watching some strokes in the current Boxing Day test between Australia and India, I watched stand-in Australian captain Steve Smith attempting to push the run rate along playing strokes more accustomed to the short form of the game. This also brought on his demise at the crease at 192, a pretty handy score attempting to play a shot on the stumps normally reserved for the the last over in the shortest form of the game instead of a test match on day 2.

At the other end of the spectrum, Indian batsmen Virat Kohli (162) and Ajinkya Rahane (147) played with a more traditional batting style. As a matter of course, the Indian batsmen generally have solid batting techniques. Rahane came to the crease with Kohli holding a 26 run head start, playing aggressively, Rahane overtook Kohli in the 80s to beat him to triple figures and ended the day with a strike rate of nearly 86 - pretty good stuff.

Wild Oats XI leading the Sydney to Hobart race

What an interesting turn of events, while Comanche was clearly the faster yacht out of Sydney heads, it would appear the race dominated by tacticians and navigators has entered a new phase - raw boat speed isn't everything. The Sydney to Hobart is a bluewater event, there is plenty of opportunities for a yacht to run down an opposition given favourable conditions - Wild Oats XI did just that.

Both Wild Oats XI and Comanche have headed out to sea far off the rhumline searching for wind, it appears the faster Comanche may have sailed into light airs and Wild Oats XI has powered on stronger breeze. Comanche is not far off catching winds and given the superior boat speed of the new maxi, a tacking dual up the Derwent River is a real possibility - this could be a real cracker of a finish.

Boxing day - the start of the Sydney to Hobart race

Boxing day is recovery day, the opportunity to view the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race from the comfort of lounge room is a long standing annual event.

The inaugural race held in 1945 took 6 days, 14 hours and 22 minutes; at the other end of the spectrum, the 2012 race record of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds is currently held by Wild Oats IX beating their 2005 race record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds.

This year, the brand new American carbon fibre super maxi, Comanche was setting the early pace, this yacht was simply awesome. Since 2005, Wild Oats XI has dominated line honours and is certainly the yacht to beat - is their dominance under threat this year?

Comanche set the early pace with a super fast run to the rounding mark outside of Sydney heads, onboard Wild Oats XI, they could be heard on the camera stating they were slow and seeking to change settings and sail trim. They weren't slow, Comanche was just so fast; however, the majority of the race will be spent punching into strong southerly winds, that may change the dynamics of the race.

North Korean cyber attacks

What is Bureau 121? North Korea's cyberwarriors, a shadow organisation unknown by most individuals even in information technology only came to light after the defection of a North Korean dissident to the south.

North Korea, led by a young man of the internet age is particularly ambivalent to criticism, none more so when Sony Entertainment prepares to release a satirical movie of Kim Jong Un. A cyberattacker hacks into an administrator's account undetected, downloads a large volume of information then proceeds to release damaging emails embarrassing the corporation including pay rates and remuneration. Is this the North Korean version of Wikileaks? Then Sony folds and the release of the movie is cancelled - NK 1/Sony 0.

Taliban outrage

Terrorists are cowards, this isn't anything new, this is sadly and unfortunately a documented fact.

However, the Pakistani school massacre is a new low for the most cowardly elements of the human race. I am loathe to use the term humanity, they show none of that. But what do you expect from a bunch of pedophiles, taking pre-puberty girls for wives, sex slaves or sold into human trafficking?

Australia and Pakistan share a common interest in sport, we both share a love of cricket and play test series nation against nation. We come from different cultures - granted. However, our common interest in cricket ties the nations together in a bond that may transcend sport.

The internet cafe - will there be any left in 5 years?

There was an explosion of Internet cafe businesses in the late 90s right through to the mid 2000s, now you are stretched to find one but they are still around.

With everyone carrying either a smartphone, tablet or phablet in their pocket or briefcase, they already have sufficient computing power to browse the web, purchase goods online, creat documents, spreadsheets, a database or presentation, they just need to hook onto a WiFi connection. With 3G and 4G technology, you carry a mobile connection around with you. You might even see a laptop computer being used.With restaurants, shopping malls and just about every business now offering free WiFi, one has to ask, why would anyone pay to use a computer? 

Indeed you might ask, why would a business invest in expensive computer hardware when nearly every consumer supplies their own computing equipment? One of the great rubs was an Internet cafe never actually sold coffee. After all, what business owner would want to risk a user knocking over a full mug of coffee over a keyboard, game controller or printer? Geez, you might head into an actual cafe like Dome Cafe, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Gloria Jeans, Seattle's Best Coffee or Starbucks and actually order a pretty decent espresso coffee and surf the web for the price of a coffee.

Why I hate diving Suunto

I am currently diving with a Suunto D6 dive computer as a back-up to my old but reliable VR3 computer. Now, one can imagine a significant size and weight difference occurs between the two units, that doesn't concern me.

What really gets my blood pressure running on repetitive dives is the D6 is way too conservative for repetitive diving. Now firstly, you ask, why are you using a VR3 for standard recreational diving, why not I say, not every dive needs to be a mixed gas decompression stop dive with multiple gas switches. You have the computer for such dives but you complete plenty of standard dives too. If you are diving deep wrecks then that is what is required, if you are diving reefs on your holiday, why switch to another computer?

However, with the D6 as a back-up computer, you seem to have a hell of a lot of hang time while your specifically designed decompression computer is deco free. On one recent repetitive dive, it was the fourth dive of the day, the VR3 indicated 27 mins of no-decompression time remaining, your D6 is just going into deco but you keep going, you check your SPG and have ample gas remaining, hell, you are not even at your turn pressure yet.

The dive is well under 30 minutes duration, yet you are forced to ascend to a shallower depth, you are not seeing what you want on this expensive overseas dive trip and you are less than impressed. The D6 is hammering you, already you have 12 minutes of hang time and three quarters of a cylinder of gas remaining. Not that 12 minutes is an issue because you are really deco free and could ascend directly to the surface - not that you would. No one else on the dive has a pseudo decompression ceiling despite diving the exact same profiles, they are not diving Suunto.

You did two dives in the morning with an hour surface interval, back for lunch and a three hour surface interval with a one hour surface interval between dives three and four. That's a fair bit of bottom time in a day with multi-level dives, relatively conservative profiles and extended shallow water stops for added safety. It is not over doing it to any great degree. The gas is air, unfortunately in 2014, not every facility offers nitrox although with a Suunto dive computer, nitrox or not, you are still penalised.

So you had to ascend to 8 metres to complete your dive whilst everyone else stays at depth, you are above the 2:1 pressure gradient threshold and off-gassing whilst monitoring the VR3 on your left wrist. I don't mount the two computers side by side anymore as the bulky aluminium bodied VR3 was scratching the bezel of the nice shiny D6, so that computer is mounted on the right wrist instead.

At 50 minutes, you glance to your right wrist to check how much you have reduced the deco time, it won't be too much as a 3 metre stop is required and you are too deep to off-load too much time, maybe a minute or two. You can imagine my surprise when I realised that not only have I not reduced any deco, the time has now blown out to over twenty minutes.

Ascending to 3.5 metres, you know you have to maintain the shallowest depth for the greatest pressure gradient and to maintain that depth, that means no looking around and enjoying the shallow sections of the reef, there is to be no depth changes. Any one who has deco to do on a Suunto knows 20 minutes is not really 20 minutes; time remaining is drawn out and even though you are monitoring time with your other computer, in the Suunto world, time stands still.

Exiting the water at the 80 minute mark, I had performed a 30 minute stop at 3 metres, about 25 minutes at 8 metres and the rest at 20 metres depth. The next day, my D6 remained my back-up, it was however tucked away in my bag on the boat but no where near the water, it was now no longer an in-water redundency.

I was also careful not to wear it in the shower that evening just in case I ended back in deco from the water pressure of the shower head and having to stand in a trickling shower for another 30 minutes to reduce the water pressure while my computer cleared.

Claiming sexism - really?

This was not a clever strategy by Australian Prime Minister Abbott claiming his Chief of Staff Peta Credlin is a victim of sexism. Firstly, the issues seem to be internal, not the opposition making any claims, secondly and most importantly, if she has an issue, she needs to come out and make a statement - she hasn't.

What he is effectively doing is telling the electorate he is leading his government in a similar vein to Julia Gillard. Broken promises, gender issues, all he needs is leadership speculation and we head back to a time warp. He needs to differentiate his government - he is not doing that in an effective manner. This is an internal issue that has been catapulted into the public domain - get it sorted and do it quick.

# I'll ride with you

I'm really liking this show of solidarity and support for Sydney's Muslim population, this act of a lone and known instigator of trouble has the potential to cause a community backlash that may harm the Muslim community causing increased tensions in the future.

The show of support in the wider community has been outstanding, however, serious questions need to be asked in regards to Man Haron Monis, originally known to police for writing letters to the families of dead servicemen seven years ago. There is absolutely no criticism of the police, they investigate and prosecute crimes whilst the judiciary interprets and implements the law.

  The tipping point apparently was Friday's high court ruling that failed to overturn his conviction, he was required to perform community service and placed on a two year good behaviour bond. He is also implicated as an accessory to the murder of his wife who was stabbed and set alight.

He has been charged with in excess of fifty counts of indecent and sexual assault and was currently on bail awaiting trial. Serious questions need to be raised regarding the judicial system in Australia, why is this guy running around the streets? What do you have to actually do to actually to be remanded in custody?

Terrorism hits Sydney

The terrorist siege in Sydney has certainly woken up the nation, the police were fantastic - on the scene within minutes of receiving the call. While authorities may have originally thought it was an armed hold-up; the gunman forcing hostages to hold up an Islamic flag certainly dispelled that theory - terrorism had arrived in the centre of Sydney.  

Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans to the west, south and east plus the Arafura Sea to the north; we thought we were immune to terrorism due to our isolation - that myth was dispelled forever. When the Islamic State sought to behead an Australian on Australian soil earlier this year, planned to be uploaded to social media - that act of barbarism was thwarted by authorities. Australia has been on high alert since September this year with an attack deemed likely although no specific threat was identified at the time. 

The human face of the hostage siege, hostages were rotated through duty to be displayed on the shop window. I have been somewhat disappointed by some commentary on social media, while no doubt has been raised as to the origin of the siege, I hope Muslims living in Australia are not targeted in a manner that could be linked to intolerance, bigotry and racism even though this act could be considered an attack on our values, ideals and lifestyle. We need to be strong and rise against the challenge as we have done before.

Diners Club International

I have an intense interest in business case studies, the discussion of first movers, early adapters and followers frequently comes up in such discussions. The first credit charge card was Diners Club International; despite their early success as a first mover, they are now pretty much obsolete in Australia.

Diners Club is a pretty good example of a first mover, an innovator that has been left behind in a marketplace dominated by American Express; a competing charge card plus Visa and Mastercard, the leading consumer credit cards. Being first to market doesn't necessarily ensure success; indeed, later adaption does hold a number of distinct advantages.

Then there is the rapidly expanding credit card business model with Visa, Mastercard and American Express issuing credit cards via retail department stores like Myer and David Jones, airlines like Qantas and Singapore Airlines, department stores like Coles and Woolworths and car manufacturers like Holden and Ford. These cards are linked to reward programs allowing consumers to redeem points at department stores, airlines and specialty stores among other things.

Some history, as the story goes, Frank McNamara was out to dinner with his wife, much to his embarrassment, he left his wallet in a different suit pocket and his wife had to pay the bill on his behalf. The next day he discussed his credit idea with the restaurant owner, between them, they came up with a charge card and account; within months, he had nearly 30 restaurants on the books.

The company was appropriately named The Diners Club; later, this name would alienate potential clients. The business indeed went international with vendors in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and Africa adapting the Diners Club business model. I recall my father having a Diners Club charge card throughout the 1970s and into the 80s, these days his card of choice is Visa.

So, Diners Club International was a charge card; that is, credit may be accrued over the course of a month, however, the account total must be settled at the end of each month. A pretty fair deal, if you don't live beyond your means. Changes in attitude to personal debt saw rapid growth in consumer credit. Paying off a credit card bill every month suddenly seemed uncool, accumulating short-term debt long-term at unsecured rates of interest was suddenly very much in vogue.

The major competitor of Diners Club in the United States was American Express, running a similar charge card business model. A number of factors contributed to the dominance of American Express; these are, a concentrated marketing campaign explaining to consumers to "don't leave home without one" with the American name on the card with the green representing American greenback banknote colour.

The rise of consumer credit has left the Diners Club International business somewhat exposed, the charge card model does not allow the continued accumulation of debt. Consumers don't seem concerned with ballooning credit card debt, minimum monthly repayments, increasing debt limits and decreased abilities to make repayments in this consumer orientated economy. The name confuses consumers believing the card can only be used in restaurants and not as a general charge card, after all, a Visa or Mastercard is now accepted in all restaurants almost without exception.

Acceptance of Diners Club International at retailers is low due to misconceptions over the name with finally the fee structure on similar levels to rival Amex but higher than competitors Mastercard and Visa. Amex has sought to reinvent itself with a strong rewards program, credit cards and finally a debit card. Diners Club International might still have a decal on the glass at selected vendors alongside the Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover and Amex decals. Despite being the architect of the charge card, their span of control and market share, Diners Club International is pretty much limited to a decal on shop windows these days.

Video rentals - an obsolete business model

Many business sectors have a lifespan influenced by technological advancement or economies of scale. We once had a corner shop, a butcher, a baker or delicatessen in most streets selling basic groceries, nowadays supermarkets offer economies of scale, convenience and prices small business are unable to compete with.

So too with technology, are there any photo processing businesses left? The local video rental library morphed into a DVD and Blu ray rental business and is soon heading to obsolescence. Online video streaming brought about by fast Internet connections with media companies distributing movies on demand, pay television through telephone cables. There is no need to drive down the DVD rental shop, select a couple of movies to watch in a certain time-frame and race back to return them before late fees are applied.

You can now watch a movie or TV show at your leisure, how many times did you return a movie un-watched so as to not incur late fees? The media companies are not only technologically advanced as compared to the DVD shop, they incorporate economies of scale.

DVD retail shops still exist, one suspects their cost structures remain high with suburb by suburb coverage with real estate and associated costs forming a significant and increasing burden. During the 80s and 90s, many small video rental entrepreneurs were forced out of business by the large chains; we are now seeing the large multi-media consortium doing exactly the same to them.

Pintrest

I have starting to play around with Pintrest, it is an unusual social media concept very much like an electronic scrapbook. The advantage is now any interesting articles, pictures or graphics may be pinned to a board and now saved in bookmarks as I had previously done.

I often wonder how firstly someone comes up with this idea initially and then proceeds to build an electronic platform, organise finance, entice investors and then get people on-board as users. What I have found out is this social media platform is very engaging attracting plenty of fans around the world.

A Master in Management or an MBA?

It was once a non-decision, if you wanted to get ahead in business, you undertook an MBA. These days, is a Master of Management (MiM) rated just as highly as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) by many employers, so what is the difference?

Whilst primarily a European qualification, the MiM has spread to South East Asian universities as professional experience is not required to apply. As such, MiM programs tend to have a younger cohort whereas MBA programs gain value from the professional experience students bring to course discussions and case studies. So, MiM programs are primarily designed for students in early career stages directly preceding an undergraduate degree with MBA programs, by contrast, targeting people with management experience of at least five years of workforce experience.

According to analysis, MiM and MBA programs tend overlap by about 30% with both programs providing an overview of general management topics, fostering team work utilising case studies simulating real-world problems as well as written exams and essays. The MiM tends to focus on the theoretical side of management with the MBA requiring strong analytical and mathematical skills; as such, MBA programs primarily emphasis practical application. The MiM tends to be shorter in duration than the MBA and tend to run cheaper course fees than the MBA.

Ultimately, the MiM is a qualification for young and ambitious people who perceive their initial bachelor degree as insufficient for early career progression. MBA students have begun careers requiring updated knowledge, analytic tools and networking opportunities or may have hit a career wall seeking the qualification to gain a promotion or change jobs and/or industries. The question now remains, do employers rate the MiM as highly as the MBA?

Anilao rubbish

I was appalled at the volume of rubbish in the water after a recent trip to the well-known Philippines macro dive location of Anilao. Floating in the water was all kinds of plastic from bags, wrappers and packaging of various sizes. It was not only disgusting, it is harmful to not only the local marine environment but to the broader regional marine eco-system and ultimately the dive tourism sector.

Anilao is the first choice for most Manila based divers for weekend dives, just a short road trip towards the port city of Batangas before veering off to the Mabini peninsular. Batangas is the port connecting the island of Mindoro to Luzon; it is busy, heavily polluted and reasonably close.

Not that far from Batangas and Anilao the somewhat famous village of Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro, known for diving and nightlife. If the Philippines wish to become a world renowned dive location, the issue of marine rubbish must be identified and acted upon immediately. No reasonable person wants to go on holiday to swim through rubbish infested water when pristine sites beckon.

Of the South East Asian competitive markets, Malaysia is outstanding diving that is well organised and managed, Thailand has been the tourism leader for decades in terms of volume, Indonesia is excellent diving and emerging as a place to dive, Vietnam is improving dive infrastructure and slowly gaining in popularity while Brunei still sadly lacks.

Triumph & Demise: The broken promise of a Labor generation

Attending a recent lecture at the University of Western Australia, I had the opportunity to listen to and chat with the editor of The Australian Newspaper. With much anticipation, Paul Kelly outlined the structure of his latest political commentary; Triumph & Demise: The broken promise of a Labor generation. 

He spoke about the failings of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd government with the current and future consequences on Australia discussed at length. He argues leadership was, of course, an important issue; however, the real problems stemmed from enormous and systematic policy failure. 

Paul spoke about the legacy of the Hawke government and why Hawke and not Whitlam must be the standard future Labor governments aspire to. I must say, it's difficult to disagree with Paul’s analysis. I look forward to reading my signed copy of the tumultuous 6 years of power of the Labor party that wasted the goodwill of the Australian people.