FFA Futsal Nationals Draw Is Available

The all important draw for the FFA's 2011 Futsal Nationals is now available.

Click HERE to go to the draws page on the www.futsalnationals.com.au website, set the Season to 2011, then choose your Grade (Age Group) and click GO.

The first day of competition is Monday ,10 January 2011 - evening games. To help you get organised, here's how it looks on the first day:

Under 11G
Victoria v Bye
6:10PM NSW Lightning v Western Australia Mpowerdome - 1
6:10PM ACT Cobras v NSW Thunder Mpowerdome - 2


Under 12G
Western Australia v Bye
5:20PM NSW Lightning v Queensland Mpowerdome - 4
6:10PM Victoria v Southern NSW Mpowerdome - 3
7:00PM NSW Thunder v ACT Cobras Mpowerdome - 4

Under 13G
8:40PM NSW Thunder v Queensland Mpowerdome - 2
8:40PM ACT Cobras v NSW Lightning Mpowerdome - 3
8:40PM Victoria v South Australia Mpowerdome - 4



Under 14G 6:10PM Victoria v ACT Cobras Sth Cross Basketball
6:10PM Western Australia v NSW Lightning Sth Cross Basketball
6:10PM Western NSW v Queensland Sth Cross Basketball
6:10PM Auckland v NSW Thunder Sth Cross Basketball



Under 15G NSW Thunder v Bye
7:50PM NSW Lightning v Queensland Sth Cross Basketball
7:50PM South Australia v Victoria Sth Cross Basketball

Under16G7:00PM Queensland v NSW Lightning Sth Cross Basketball
7:00PM NSW Thunder v ACT Cobras Sth Cross Basketball
7:00PM Western NSW v Victoria Sth Cross Basketball

Under 11B
Western NSW v Bye
6:10PM Queensland v ACT Cobras Mpowerdome - 4
7:50PM Northern NSW v NSW Lightning Mpowerdome - 3
7:50PM Victoria Magic v Auckland RIO Mpowerdome - 4

Under 12B
7:00PM NSW Thunder v ACT Cobras Mpowerdome - 1
7:00PM Northern NSW Far Nth Coast v Queensland Mpowerdome - 2
7:00PM Western Australia v Victoria Rangers Mpowerdome - 3



Under 13B Bye v ACT Colts
11:30AM Southern NSW v Auckland RIO Sth Cross Basketball
11:30AM NSW Thunder v Northern NSW Sth Cross Basketball
11:30AM Western NSW v Solomon Islands Sth Cross Basketball

Under 14B
Victoria v Bye
7:50PM NSW Thunder v Southern NSW Sth Cross Basketball
8:40PM ACT Cobras v NSW Lightning Sth Cross Basketball
8:40PM South Australia v Queensland Sth Cross Basketball
8:40PM Western Australia v Northern NSW Hawks Sth Cross Basketball

Under 15B

7:00PM Northern NSW Hawks v NSW Lightning Sth Cross Basketball
7:50PM ACT Cobras v NSW Thunder Sth Cross Basketball
8:40PM South Australia v Queensland Sth Cross Basketball
8:10AM Victoria v Western NSW Sth Cross Basketball

Under 16B
5:20PM Southern NSW v Queensland ANU Court 1 (INT)
6:10PM NSW Thunder v NSW Lightning ANU Court 1 (INT)
7:00PM South Australia v Northern NSW ANU Court 1 (INT)
7:50PM Victoria v ACT Cobras ANU Court 1 (INT)

Youth Women
5:20PM Southern NSW v South Australia ANU Court 2 (INT)
6:10PM ACT Cobras v Victoria ANU Court 2 (INT)
8:40PM NSW Thunder v NSW Lightning ANU Court 2 (INT)

Open Women
NSW Thunder v Bye
5:30PM Queensland v ACT Cobras AIS Main Arena - INT
6:20PM NSW Lightning v Western NSW AIS Main Arena - INT
7:10PM Victoria v Southern NSW AIS Main Arena - INT

Youth Men
Bye v Western NSW
7:00PM Southern NSW v Queensland ANU Court 2 (INT)
7:50PM NSW Thunder v ACT Colts ANU Court 2 (INT)

Open Men
Tasmania v Bye
3:50PM ACT Cobras v NSW Lightning AIS Main Arena - INT
4:40PM Northern NSW v Southern NSW Flame AIS Main Arena - INT

Athletes With Disabilities
Competition starts Tuesday 11 January 2011 at the Mpowerdome

The Beginning of Organ Transplants

December 29, 2010:
Today’s Boston Globe contains a long obituary following the death Monday of the first human kidney transplant donor. It recalls the story of a remarkable event 56 years ago that ushered in the age of human organ transplantation. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=ronald-lee-herrick&pid=147481890

But the Globe’s obituary of 79-year-old Ronald Lee Herrick, and related stories in hundreds of other newspapers (and NPR), fail to recall an important element of that achievement.

Here is what today’s reports tell us.

Dec 23, 1954: Identical twins are operated upon at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. A donor kidney is harvested from 23-year-old Ronald Herrick and transplanted by surgeon Dr. Joseph E. Murray into Herrick’s dying brother.

Richard, the recipient of the life-saving organ, survives, marries his nurse and later has two children. He dies from cardiac disease eight years later. Dr. Murray later receives the Nobel Prize for his monumental achievements in organ transplantation. Ronald's brother lives to age 79.

But the story didn’t start in 1954 with the Herrick twins. Years earlier, Dr. Murray had concluded that dog experiments had to precede any thought of kidney transplants in people. As Murray wrote in his 2001 autobiography, Surgery of the Soul, “The problem had to be approached systematically and—as is often the case in medical science—requires experiments involving animal models first. We started by transplanting kidneys between dogs.”

His dog experiments involved tissue rejection trials, finding the ideal place for the new kidney in the recipient’s body, developing techniques for reattachment, and so on. These were neither simple nor quick experiments, and they went on for a long time and involved operating on many, many dogs.

Again, Dr. Murray, from his book: “By the summer of 1954, as a result of these experiments, several animals had survived for years with [kidney transplants]. These animal behaved normally in every way. ... These animal experiments were critical to the ultimate success of our renal transplant program because I knew with certainty that a transplanted kidney ... could function normally indefinitely. That was a revelation and most encouraging.” A few months later, “the Herrick twins entered my life.”

Between approximately 1900 and 1970, dogs were the mainstay for physicians and surgeons involved in animal experimentation and surgical training. We owe a tremendous debt to the hundreds of thousands of dogs sacrificed to facilitate medical advances like the achievement being remembered today.

Readers may also be interested in a related blog, "A Holiday Book for your Favorite Veterinarian", posted December 8, 2010 on this site.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu.

What is that I Smell??

Perhaps it is my retinas burning, for the sun actually came out for a bit today!  Un-friggin-believable.  It has been soooo dreary and nasty I was ready to start poking my eyes out with some scissors or something.  Good thing I didn't, or I would not have been able to see its brilliance!  It didn't visit for too terribly long, but I woke up to it so I was immediately in a great mood.  I also got to take the Bingos for a 30 minute walk in the park today....it was fantastic.

Another thing that made me happy was I got to go somewhere today!  Another vet student picked me up and we took her bird to Dick Vet for it's check up.  Besides the bird taking a massive crap on my jeans leg (I was given the job to hold her for all of 30 seconds), it was a good day.  There was a 5th year vet student doing EMS who took the bird's history.  The vet finally came in and was lovely.  I loved how he quizzed the 5th year on a lot of different things from behaviour matters to nutrition for the bird.  Then, my friend decided to get her micro-chipped and after asking and pleading a bit, he agreed to let us watch the procedure, but only after she was anaesthetized.  The bird is a young Senegal parrot and therefore not too big.  He felt more comfortable putting her under since the needle is rather large and the microchip goes into the pectoral muscle, unlike a dog where it just gets inserted in the scruff of the neck.  It was very cool indeed.

On the way home, we stopped by the pet store and I bought the Bingo Boyz some bones and a squeeky toy for Mugsy.  He is still squeaking away on that thing and it's about to get put away for the night especially since he is now intentionally putting it places he cannot get it out of and I have to go 'rescue' it after he starts whining..ahhhh. At least I'm able to keep them amused lately.

I suppose I should crack open a book now.  I'm feeling like such a slacker, but really did need a few days of nothingness.  It's time to get serious about some studying while I have all of this time off and nothing to do.

Over-N-Out for now

Ron Smiths Talks About the Capital Football High Performance Program Review - Part 3

In this interview, Part 3 of a three part series, Ron Smith talks about the key areas of his review into the Capital Football High Performance Program. They are very intersting and informative interviews - it's always that way with Ron Smith.

Our best performed ACT Rep team in 2010 - the Under 13 Girls. And they were very good! Some of these young players have already moved forward to the Womens' ACTAS program. Others will follow for sure.

Out of this team - our first Australian Under 13 Girls representative - Siena Senatore.  And if memory serves correctly, that's a top flight young NSW player (also an Australian U13 rep) she has to deal with and did so. It can be done! In the case of Ms Senatore, it was the product of years of work in Football, summer and winter, CF HPP, Coerver Academy (several years of it) for the high quality technical development that is second to none in the ACT region, and various other football activities that her parents got her too over the years, too numerous to list and of course, Futsal. Ron Smith's word "repetition" comes to mind. There are no shortcuts. In the end though, its the player that does the work and the harder you work if you have some ability, the more likely you are to succeed. And so it was for this young player. I can only imagine how proud her parents and brother must have been when her selection was announced. It can be done!

 Here we have the 2006 Socceross, a remarkable group of players, with a first rate coach and top class support staff - among which Ron Smith was a key person - the football analyst. One picture that defeinately belongs in the "pool room"! This is where all that "development" , all that "repetition" and an uncompromising ambition / committment to succeed, may take a talented young player. Without all this and before any other factor imposes itself, nothing is possible. It all starts in our backyard - our Clubs and ourCapital Football player development regime. That's why this review of our HPP is so important.

As I have mentioned previously, we do not attempt to tick off every paragraph of the report or recommendations. You do the reading for yourself when the report is released on the CF website.

Instead, we have a long fireside chat with Ron around the major themes or key points in his report and recommendations. The report stands as it is and how it willbe dealt with is for others. At this point, I think its far more important to listen to the author’s thoughts, underpinning philosophy and views on these matters, as it will assist us in understanding what he has recommended and why.

There are no hidden corners, what you hear is how it is. Ron’s research is thorough and he has a depth of football experience at the highest levels of the game, which enables him to bring a certainty of observation not available to most of the rest of us.

I must also again remind the NPL listener, that Ron’s not responsible for implementation of the recommendations. He has tabled his report and now its for others to decide what to do with it. In this case, it is for the CF Board to decide and the new Technical Director to undertake over the next couple of years.

As ever, now the report is done, the devil is in the detailed implementation.

So sit back, cup of tea to hand, close the door, hang the "do not disturb" sign on the door knob, put on the headphones, listen and think.

Download the Podcast here:

Ron Smiths Talks About the Capital Football High Performance Program Review - Part 2

In this interview, Part 2 of a three part series, Ron Smith talks about the key areas of his review into the Capital Football High Performance Program. They are very intersting and informative interviews - it's always that way with Ron Smith.

As I have mentioned previously, we do not attempt to tick off every paragraph of the report or recommendations. You do the reading for yourself when the report is released on the CF website.

Instead, we have a long fireside chat with Ron around the major themes or key points in his report and recommendations. The report stands as it is and how it willbe dealt with is for others. At this point, I think its far more important to listen to the author’s thoughts, underpinning philosophy and views on these matters, as it will assist us in understanding what he has recommended and why.

There are no hidden corners, what you hear is how it is. Ron’s research is thorough and he has a depth of football experience at the highest levels of the game, which enables him to bring a certainty of observation not available to most of the rest of us.

I must also again remind the NPL listener, that Ron’s not responsible for implementation of the recommendations. He has tabled his report and now its for others to decide what to do with it. In this case, it is for the CF Board to decide and the new Technical Director to undertake over the next couple of years.

As ever, now the report is done, the devil is in the detailed implementation.

So sit back, cup of tea to hand, close the door, hang the "do not disturb" sign on the door knob, put on the headphones, listen and think.

Download the Podcast here:

Biosecurity Assessment

I completed my first real practical assessment just before Christmas break.  It was on biosecurity and held out at Langhill farm.  There were three stations.  First you had to get your waterproofs and wellies on and head to a barn for the 'Gear Washing' station.  Then, you headed back, took off your waterproofs and went to the 'Hand Washing' station.  Lastly, was a short 'Oral Exam' on biosecurity.

Biosecurity is basically preventing the spread of diseases from people and animals.  There are enough diseases we can transfer to each other.  For instance, I could go to a farm, pick up the nasties from a cow, and if I did not properly wash and disinfect, I could go right home and give it to my dogs, or to the next farm and muck up a herd of cows.  So, it is a really basic, but extremely important concept.  Think: Foot and Mouth disease.  Bad stuff.  For this reason, they were very stringent on our technique.  We could get a total of 5 marks.  2 for gear washing, 2 for hand washing and 1 for the oral. You needed 3 out of 5 to pass.  If you failed any one part, you have to resit in late January.

Gear Washing: For this, we got suited up, and had a bucket of mud to paint on our partner's waterproofs.  When our names were called (went in pairs), we approached the washing station.  We were given an index card with a dilution problem written on it.  We were to work this out in our head so that once we had all of the gunk washed off and it was time to disinfect, we would have known how much disinfectant to add to our water in order to be effective.  Now, I'm no math genius, so this part was actually what I was most worried about.  Doing long division in my head while concentrating on getting me and my partner properly cleaned off, caused me to sweat a bit. We had 5 minutes to completely wash off, scrub ourselves, disinfect and then hose off.  My partner and I managed to do this just fine and then gave our answers for the dilution problem.  We both felt we received both marks for gear washing.

Hand Washing:  Hand washing sounds oh-so-common-sense-easy and for the most part, it is.  We had been given the proper technique a few months prior and if you practiced, it was a piece of cake.  There were a couple of things that if you forgot, you immediately failed.  One item would have been not thoroughly wetting your hands prior to applying soap.  I took my time with the procedure and felt that I did fine on it as I left.

Oral Examination:  This was performed in a room one-on-one with the assessor.  You were shown a slide of something and then asked a question and given 2 minutes to explain and discuss.  Mine revolved around a farmer getting ready to leave for holiday, having a contract sheep shearer come to the farm while he was gone and what advice I would give him for employing this shearer.  I felt it went very well.

We received our marks the last day of the semester.  I was very well pleased with my 5 marks.  A lot of my classmates got 4's (mostly due to not getting dilution correct), there were enough 3's to go around and some flat out failed.  I think we have 10 people who have to resit and I'm fairly certain it is mostly due to hand washing,  but not positive.  They will do fine.  It was our first live assessment, so some people may have gotten a case of the nerves and completely blanked out on something.

We have our first major exams coming up in February and I could vomit right now thinking about them.  I have to get my study-on big time.  I don't want to just eek by and I REALLY do not want to have to be here in August to resit anything.

Off to get ready and head out for a bit on this rather dreary day....yuck.

Over-N-Out

Ron Smiths Talks About the Capital Football High Performance Program Review - Part 1

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday 28 December 2010 at 7:00PM.

In this interview, Part 1 of a three part series, Ron Smith talks about the key areas of his review into the Capital Football High Performance Program. They are very intersting and informative interviews - it's always that way with Ron Smith.

As I have mentioned previously, we do not attempt to tick off every paragraph of the report or recommendations. You do the reading for yourself when the report is released on the CF website.

Instead, we have a long fireside chat with Ron around the major themes or key points in his report and recommendations. The report stands as it is and how it willbe dealt with is for others. At this point, I think its far more important to listen to the author’s thoughts, underpinning philosophy and views on these matters, as it will assist us in understanding what he has recommended and why.

There are no hidden corners, what you hear is how it is. Ron’s research is thorough and he has a depth of football experience at the highest levels of the game, which enables him to bring a certainty of observation not available to most of the rest of us.

I must also again remind the NPL listener, that Ron’s not responsible for implementation of the recommendations. He has tabled his report and now its for others to decide what to do with it. In this case, it is for the CF Board to decide and the new Technical Director to undertake over the next couple of years.

As ever, now the report is done, the devil is in the detailed implementation.

So sit back, cup of tea to hand, close the door, hang the "do not disturb" sign on the door knob, put on the headphones, listen and think.

Download Podcast here:

What did you find in your Stocking?

Christmas mornings are for stockings but, oh, what a surprise my wife found in hers a few weeks ago! The morning of our first snow, Doris pulled out her knee-high winter boots from the closet when she discovered them filled with dog food pellets. Ditto the adjacent hiking shoes.

We recognized the signature trademark of the culprit, a fat-bellied mouse that we had caught a couple of months earlier after discovering a box of soap pads under the sink likewise filled to the brim with Eukanuba kibble.

Like many residential areas, Ithaca is increasingly host to the encroachment of wild animals, deer most prominently. We have deer on our lawn daily, and twice have had births beneath the trees behind our house. We’ve had to relocate a family of six baby skunks from our shrubs, a groundhog from under our tool shed, and a dead possum from the same location.

While conventional wisdom suggests that wild animals living in our communities result from our encroachment onto their natural habitat, we think the situation at the Smith residence (where we have lived for almost 30 years) is much simpler. Where we once had two young lively cats, they gradually outlived their hunting prowess over the past decade. And while our two young dogs would at one time patrol the property, our sole aging cocker now merely lifts his ears with interest.

Perhaps the same thing has happened in Washington, DC. About six weeks ago, I captured this photo of a red fox within 100 feet of the Capital building. Is Capital Hill also missing the daily romps of Senator Ted Kennedy’s two Portuguese Water Dogs?

Red Fox 100 feet from US Capital Building Dec 2, 2010

Ron Smith Talks About His Review of the Capital Football High Performance Program

As you are aware, the Capital Football Board commissioned Ron Smith to undertake a review of our current High Performance Program.

The NPL has interviewed Ron in recent times about the development of talented players and related football matters. Ron is a fascinating subject to interview, so much knowledge to impart on Football and so willing to do it. A national football treasure!

Well, Ron has completed his report and presented it to the Capital Football Board, who are presently considering it's content and recomendations. We are at an important cross roads with the development of our young talented players, and the decisions made following the "Smith Report", are likely ot have far reaching effects in our region.

The President of the Capital Football Board and CEO, with Ron SMith's agreement, kindly allowed the Nearpost Local to interview Ron about his report. The interview is broken into three Parts, the first of which will be broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) on Tuesday, 28 December 2010.

Let me say right from the off – The introduction of the new HPP arrangements was not an easy process and that did not help anyone in football. Here at the NPL we lent our support to the FFA intentions and CF’s efforts to put them into effect. The new arrangements for the HPP involved some change and some experimentation, and some disagreement across the football community. What some critics fail to appreciate is that the implementation of the National curriculum and development was not negotiable with the FFA. This put a lot of pressure on CF staff and those they rely upon to staff the programs (coaches). CF simply had to get on with it.

As a consequence, some parts of the HPP solution worked well, other parts remain as under-resourced as they ever were, some did not get off the ground, some could not accept the necessity for change, new problems arose, mistakes were made and some good decisions will survive into the future, which is probably about what you would expect. But it can't stay like this and in all fairness, clearly the Capital Football Board, by way of Ron Smith's report on the HPP, seeks to do better. We should support that intention.

Curiously, a few I have listened to declare, in my view quite foolishly, that we should not look back. These people usually never learn from their mistakes and are most likely to repeat them. They are best avoided at all costs.
A healthy Football organisation looks back, looks at others doing the same work and looks carefully at its specific environment before making decisions, gets the resources together to ensure it works, then changes step in an orderly way if new and unforeseen problems arise – but importantly, you keep looking and improving, the focus always on what is best for our young players – all of them. We are being outpaced by some of the other State Federations in the HPP sphere and that gap must be closed in order to give our young players the best opportunities to develop and achieve to the higher levels of the game, if that is their wish. Importantly, we must ensure all our young players are developed, for both their enjoyment of the game and the standard of Football in the ACT region. Why would we do otherwise?

To be frank, the one thing that every person I have spoken to on the subject agrees with is that we should do all that is reasonable and possible to develop of our young players. The difference is the crucial "What" and "How" of it all. And doesn't that generate some heat!

In these interviews with Ron Smith, we do not attempt to tick off every paragraph of the report or recommendations. You do the reading for yourself when the report is released on the CF website.

Instead, we have a long fireside chat with Ron around the major themes or key points in his report and recommendations. Far more important to listen to the author’s thoughts, underpinning philosophy and views on these matters, as it will assist in understanding what he has recommended. There are no hidden corners, what you hear is how it is. Ron’s research is thorough and he has a depth of football experience at the highest levels of the game, which enables him to bring a certainty of observation not available to most of the rest of us.
I must remind the NPL listener, that Ron’s not responsible for implementation of the recommendations. He has tabled his report and now its for others to decide what to do with it. In this case, it is for the CF Board to decide and the new Technical Director to undertake over the next couple of years. As ever, now the report is done, the devil is in the detailed implementation.

And as ever, we at the NPL will keep a weather eye on the "development program" and report it as we see it. Can't say fairer than that!

Don't miss this series of interviews. Hope you enjoy it.

Christmas, Palestinian Style

I was in Bethlehem a couple of years ago just after Christmas. Although it's the city of our Lord's birth, Bethlehem is a tense place, situated as it is in the West Bank, so close to Jerusalem, in the midst of seemingly unresolvable religious and political conflict. Two students and I were walking to the Church of the Nativity and a Palestinian police officer had some fun at our expense. It was nothing serious, just annoying, and we went on our way. As it turned out, the church was temporarily closed for the evening. We were pretty disappointed, as our time in Bethlehem was limited. As we stood outside the church milling around, another police officer began calling to us. He and yet another office were at the bottom of a long stone staircase leading down to the street. They were both holding automatic weapons and he was motioning to us to come down. I have to say I was getting pretty nervous. So, we got down to the bottom of the steps, not really knowing what to expect, but still having a bad taste in our mouth from our last encounter with local law enforcement. What did this police officer want? He wanted to share with us a small fire that he had built beside the sidewalk. It was really cold outside, we couldn't get into the church, and we were just standing there. So he invited us down for some conversation and warmth.

I don't know if they were Christians or Muslims, but that night, outside the Church of the Nativity, two Palestinian police officers, in spite of the fact that they were holding automatic rifles,  managed to embody the hospitality, kindness, and gentleness that followers of Christ should emulate. I don't know anything else about them except for the few basic facts we were able to exchange across our language barrier, but that night it was Christmas.

Christmas Eve and a Surprise

I cannot wrap my head around it.  It seems so surreal that today is Christmas Eve!  Today is my last day of my small mammal EMS and I'm actually a bit sad.  I know, right?  Get ready...for the surprise.  It's coming....wait a minute....I have fallen in love with Hermie...........a.....rat.  Who would have thunk it?  Hermie has won me over.  He/she (not sure, thus 'Hermie' for hermaphrodite) just loves running up and down my sweatshirt, in my sleeves and peeking its little head out the end underneath my palm.  I have actually committed the first of all no-no's and not only considered adopting this bugger, but actually went out and bought all of the goods....cage and all!  Sigh....I'm hopeless.  I am now having buyer's remorse before I even have brought it home.  I want to believe that the life I can give him is better than what he has...although he seems pretty darn good.  Rats are very sociable and intelligent and from 99% of what I've read, should at least live in pairs.  I just don't think I have time for two, am concerned about the dogs adjusting (I mean, they ARE bred for ratting!) and am hoping to travel quite a bit this summer.  The rescue organization boards these guys and it is pretty easy to find someone to house a cage in their flat for a few weeks, but.....I still just don't know.

So, I'm going to talk to the owner today and have a good think about it.  I don't want to take it home and then have to return him for any reason, although that's what 'foster parents' do.  Fostering has crossed my mind, but then you take them out of the shop and therefore out of the sight of a potential adopter.

Another huge downside is their lifespan.  It's only like 2.5-3 years.  Ack...just when you start really getting attached, they croak on you!  They are very easy to take care of, but do require interaction every day, as you cannot think they will be happy in their cage forever.  I dunno.....this is a tough one for me.  I would like to 'borrow' him for 2 weeks or so and see what I'm in for.

Well, at least I didn't do my EMS at the Humane Society.......

Off to get ready to clean cages again. We have made enormous progress on organizing the place and am really proud of how it looks.  Now, if we could only talk some motivation into some of the more permanent volunteers to keep it that way.  One step at a time........

Cheers and Happy Christmas Eve!!

Over-N-Out

Dogs Are Good Medicine

What do some child psychologists, neurologists and family therapists have in common? They use dogs as adjuncts in their medical practices.

A two-page spread is yesterday’s Wall Street Journal features numerous photographs of health care professionals accompanied by the dogs they use in their clinical practices. (URL below) There is even a flashback to Sigmund Freud and his Chou named Jofi.

Veterinarians and physicians use the term “One Health” to describe the growing awareness that animals and people share many health problems. Diseases like Salmonella or influenza are well known examples, but even some environmental-induced cancers are similar in animals and people.

However, "One Health" also refers to contributions that animals make to human health. Whether controlling obesity through encouraging exercise, lowering blood pressure, managing stress or providing companionship to senior citizens, dogs and other pets often part of a holistic human health strategy.

Cornell-trained veterinarian Dr. Kate Hodgson works with family practice doctors in Canada, helping them understand both the health risks and benefits of pets as members of the family.

Dr. Hodgson is a prominent speaker at the One Health symposium to be held during the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Florida on January 17^th. Other participating Cornell-educated veterinarians are program chair Dr. Hayley Weston Murphy who is the chief veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta, and speaker Dr. Flo Tseng, environmental and population health expert at Tufts University. http://www.navc.com/ 

I present the opening paper on the history of One Health and also the closing paper of the day on future challenges and opportunities. The Wall Street Journal article will provide a good backdrop for my remarks, as well as for an evening address by American Medical Association president, Dr. Cecil B. Wilson.  

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703886904576031521407391768.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

Five places soccer fans go online

Sourced from http://www.ryanjknapp.com/blog/five-places-soccer-fans-go-online/

The title of this article says it all and I found it summed up my thoughts and observations. Hope you find this informative. Can't stop, involved in an interesrting discussion online with a few people about our A league - a couple of these people should be on the FFA Board or A League Club Boards!

Five places soccer fans go online
by Ryan Knapp on November 10, 2010

storytime: Two years ago I was (briefly) a part of a project for a website called Football Fans United, which was billed as a ‘place to unite all football (soccer) fans in the world under one roof.’ I was completely on board with this project in my naievity and soon after the project took off, the project failed. I was blown away by how a well designed website with a clear vision of soccer world domination went down so quickly.

What I´ve learned is trying to corral the world’s soccer fans into one specific website is like herding 30 kids in a U-6 soccer team. Good luck.

So, the oft asked question is ‘Where do soccer fans hang out online?’ I’ll give you my Top 5 places where they interact (and where I go) and let you fill in your favorites.

1) Message Boards - The old standby, message boards are still an absolutely huge source of interaction for soccer fans across the world. In the United States in particular, BigSoccer is by far the biggest (while many argue the quality of people on there.) It’s where Peter Wilt made his name as being one of the first CEO’s to ‘do social media’ when the term didn’t even exist. In Europe, message boards are all too commonplace, with each team having a myriad of fan driven message boards. BigSoccer.com is seen as one of the biggest active soccer message boards in the world.

2) Blogs (and not your official one) - In 2007 I started this career in soccer by writing a blog called Center Holds It along with Jeff Bull and Breton Bonnette. There wern’t many of us at the time, but there are absolutely loads of soccer bloggers now. Inherent in the American soccer landcape is the blog mentality. For years, mainstream journalism did not care less for the sport, so we as fans simply took their place. While leagues and teams are catching on, some of the most popluar blogs such as The Offside, still reign in over 1.5 million page views a month. Teams are starting to come around and use blogs for their own websites, but for me independent blogs still maintain a feel that has yet to be matched by official team blogs.

3) Facebook - I’m truly amazed at the openness of soccer players to connect with their fans on Facebook. The diference is many American soccer fans interact with you via their personal Facebook page and not a larger fan page. The soccer community is extremely small, but 90% of professonal MLS players have no qualms about friending you on Facebook and make it a point to connect as if you were a long lost friend.
While this may seem like a great opportunity for fans to break down the walls and players to grown their own personal fan base, teams no longer have the control over producing content about a specific player, but rather the fans simply can go, interact and ask the player themselves. While this is a large part in MLS, I can say this doesn’t happen in every country, where players fan pages number into the millions.

4) Twitter - Where would the soccer community be without Twitter in 2010. Soccer fans/bloggers/staff have jumped on the twitter bandwagon at an alarming rate. As mentioned with the blogs, this is due to the overwhemling nature of most soccer fans searching out more fans to talk shop. Twitter has exploded with fans of the beautiful game, talking about USMNT, USWNT, MLS and loads more. With the adoption of twitter as a mainstream form of communication, the soccer community will grow and flourish even more as new fans convert to the game and old fans connect across the United States.

5) Illegal streams (untapped) - let’s face it, the soccer world is full of fans watching games in unknown languages where you hope you don’t get a virus. This is a completely untapped market in my opinion. However, the shear fact the thousands of illegal streams out there are..well..illegal, means the opportunity to truly monatize and utilize those streams to connect with fans is extremely difficult. During the World Cup, fans flocked to these streams and were interacting with one another, even if the language barrier was evident.

What you do not see on here are stand alone soccer platforms. I’ve seen stand alone platforms come and go. I receive at least one or two invitations to try out different platforms and websites with the goal of uniting the entire world under one website which has poor functionality and no real uniting factor.

Success on the field and a strong digital push off the field is a winning combination for clubs

Sourced from http://www.ryanjknapp.com/blog/fc-barcelona-case-study-wins-prestigious-award/

We can learn from the big players in Football. I thought this little piece might interest you. It certainly made me sit up and take notice.

Just about every Football Club in the ACT region has a website. Many are not well designed or maintained - after all, its all done by volunteers. Nevertheless, a general audit of lots of Club sites will reveal a range of attempts to exploit a "website".But this is changing and changing quickly as our communities are becoming ever more involved and relaint on web based / digital commincations, not to mention that not so sleeping giant - social media platforms (facebook, twitter, increasong interaction with live Television, radio broadcasts and online commerical shopping etc). There are Web based products out there now that enable teams to be managed using email and SMS, together with "chat room" type functionality, the set up costs are free, no onging costs but you pay the SMS charges you generate, and your site supports advertising imposed on you by the organisation that runs it. If you can live with the latter, its a good way to start at team level. The FFA has pursued the introduction of MyFootball Club and S2S for Club Football operational matters (though the take up on the latter seems a bit slow). Now there is talk of "Sporting Pulse" beng a provider to Football Clubs. The convergence of technologies makes everything possible and some Clubs out there are getting their act together to leverage off this technology. But it requires some careful planning and good advice.

This is a big subject, so just for now, read this short story and consider how you might move your Club forward.

FC Barcelona case study wins prestigious award

by Ryan Knapp on November 12, 2010
We all know FC Barcelona have experienced incredible success during recent years. Not only have they been a dominate force on the field led by Leo Messi and company, but they have seen their value as a brand rise tremendously because of their success and also a strongly focused marketing effort, especially in the United States and in Asia.

At the end of October, the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) awarded the Gold Award to a research study produced at ESADE Law and Business School case entitled “FC Barcelona, more than a club” The ESADE is part of the Institut Ramon Llull located in Catalunya in Spain.


The study was written by professors Josep Franch y Jordi Montaña and a student in Marketing Management, Andreu Turró, according to Managing Sport.


The article (note, I’ve written to see if I can get a hold of a copy to read) goes back in time when Barcelona were the 13th largest club in the world in terms of revenue. With a strong focus on building the brand and also building the club and it’s players into a powerhouse, Barcelona was able to skyrocket up the charts and position itself as one of the most popular clubs in the world.
They have done a great job, especially in working with new media. Their newsletters are extremely informative and well designed, not to mention they come in an array of different languages. They also have at the moment over 6,000,000 fans on facebook and each simple post from their facebook page garners between 2,000 – 15,000 comments. Absolutely mindblowing.

Success on the field and a strong digital push off the field is a winning combination for clubs. While you can have a strong digital center to carry your team through those bad seasons, when they both combine, you can have a great case study like FC Barcelona.

FFA Futsal Nationals Not Far Away - And In Canberra!

The FFA Futsal Nationals will be conducted in Canberra in the period 10 - 14 January 2011.

This is a tremendous opportunity to see the nation's best Futsal players at age play this game. For those children that play the game in our local competitions, it is a terrific opportunity to watch, learn and enjoy. Better than Playstation!
It is also an excellent opportunity for any Futsal Coach in the ACT to watch how the coaches at the Nationals from all State and Territories campaign their teams.

Lots to learn, lots to enjoy, right on our doorstep and free!

All details can be obtained from the FFA Futsal Nationals website at http://www.futsalnationals.com.au/index.html

The important planning details are as follows, while the specific draws will be published closer to the start of the competition, so keep checking the website.

VENUES


•Australian Institute of Sport Main Arena, Leverrier Crescent Bruce
•Australian Institute of Sport Basketball Training Hall, Leverrier Crescent Bruce
•Australian National University - North Road Acton
•Mpowerdome, Coyne St Chisholm
•Southern Cross Stadium, 7 Pitman St Tuggeranong

CHAMPIONSHIP DATES

DATE        ACTIVITY            TIME       VENUE

10 January Opening Ceremony 3:00pm   AIS Main Arena

10 January Opening Games      5:00pm    All Centres

11 January Competition Day 2 9:00am - 8:00pm All Centres

12 January Competition Day 3 9:00am - 8:00pm All Centres

13 January Competition Day 4 9:00am - 8:00pm All Centres

14 January Finals Gala Day      8:00am - 8:00pm AIS Main Arena

VENUE ALLOCATIONS


DIVISION MAIN COMPETITION VENUE/S

11                  Boys                                  Mpowerdome

11                 Girls                                   Mpowerdome

12                 Boys                                  Mpowerdome

12                Girls                                    Mpowerdome

13                Boys                                    Southern Cross Stadium

13                Girls                                    Mpowerdome

14                Boys                                    Southern Cross Stadium

14                Girls                                     Southern Cross Stadium

15                Boys                                    Southern Cross Stadium

15               Girls                                      Southern Cross Stadium

16               Boys                                     Australian National University (international court)

16              Girls                                      Southern Cross Stadium

Youth Men Australian                             National University (international court)

Youth Women Australian                        National University (international court)

Open Women                                         AIS Main Arena (international court)

Open Men                                              AIS Main Arena (international court)

Want to Influence the Game? Then Influence the Coaches!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) through the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 22 December 2010 at 7:00PM.

In tonight's program we focus on Coach education and coaching. Coach education is the greatest single influence (for good and sometimes not so good) in our game. Good coaching, good coaches and mentoring those that want to coach is absolutely essential to the development and growth of the game

We look in two places – here in the ACT , with a candid peak at one PL club that took the whole FFA development thing into serious competition. By contrast, we listen to a fascinating discussion between several US Women’s Professional Soccer League Coaches, courtesy of Amanda Vandervort of Soccer Science, as they talk about the women’s game in the USA and how they got into coaching. We need a lot more women football coaches in our game.

Here in the ACT, Capital Football has by comparison to past years, maybe decades, massively increased the number our of people in our football community undertaking courses of instruction in the current coaching methods required to support the FFA’s national football curriculum and national football development plan. If you want to influence the game, influence the coaches. We must continue to do all we can do to educate, support and mentor our Football coaches, from the local Under 9, the Under 15 Div 3, all the way through to our Premier League teams.

Coaches need access to training resources at every level of the game and in this respect the FFA must do more – the FFA’s S2S coaching support system, or perhaps the Football NSW’s Global Football System, are just two resources that can be made available down to club level coaches at remarkable little cost to the game, but for enormous return to the game. The FFA should bankroll this support to every coach in the nation. A small cost for a big return and the most direct way to influence coaches outside of coaching courses. But it looks like clubs will have to take the initiative.

Pat McCann has been at the forefront of Coach Education in the ACT region and his work has made a real difference. High performance programs come and go and sometimes it sticks and sometimes not, and not always the best use of a Technical Directors scarce time and effort. Influencing coaches, that;s the thing if we want sustained and continuing change and development in the game.

Interestingly, Pat is the current Head Coach of Woden Valley FC Men's Premier League teams. In this capacity, Pat has brought all the new thinking into this club which was desperately in need of change. The messages he gives the young players mirrors the FFA new directions and it works. Similarly, Ed Hollis the Head Coach of the Woden Valley Women's Premier League does exactly the same thing for the female players. One Premier League club, one consistent and coherent approach directly in line with the direction the FFA is taking player development. Makes sense. Given the young age of many players in the club (male and female), the focus is on development almost as much as it is “winning”. How can it be otherwise. The players benefit, not by a big pay day, as this club like most others in the Premier League don't have a lot of money, but through development of their football talent in a Club setting. Doesn't get any better.

The Women’s Professional Football (soccer) game in the USA is incredible, but probably just as fragile as it is here in Australia. Our system of development for women players is different to the USA, where it is underpinned by the fantastic Women's College Soccer programs. Some of our young female players are currently on College Sports scholarships to play in the US College Soccer Leagues. We have nothing like that in Australia. In this interview, we listen to the following WPS coaches talk about their game in way that makes perfect sense to anyone following the game in Australia. The coaches participating are:

• Emma Hayes, Chicago Red Stars Head Coach


• Pauliina Miettinen, Sky Blue FC Head Coach


• Lisa Cole, Boston Breakers Assistant Coach


• Denise Reddy, Chicago Red Stars Assistant Coach


• Nicci Wright, Washington Freedom Goalkeeper Coach


• Anne Parnila, Sky Blue FC Assistant Coach

Alas, something put the electronic zap on my interview with Pat McCann at Capital football’s offices and the sound quality is not as it should be, so you may need to persevere, but I assure you the content is worth it. I'll see what I can do do improve the recording. This interview will not be broadcast till the sound quality is improved.

The Soccer Science interview was done on Skype. But its all good to go.

So kick back, glass of Christmas cheer to hand, headphones on and listen.

Download the Pat McCann interview here:

The Amanda Vandervort interview with the US WPS coaches is here:

Library Holiday Hours

The Albertsons library will be open limited hours during the holidays and Winter Intersession:

• Dec. 20 - 22: 7AM to 7PM
• Dec. 23: 7AM to 5PM
• Dec. 24 - Jan. 1: CLOSED

Winter Intersession (January 2 - 16) hours:

• Monday - Thursday: 7AM to 7PM
• Fridays: 7AM to 5PM
• Sat/Sun: 10AM to 6PM

We will be closed January 17. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 for the Spring semester. Library hours are posted at our homepage, on our calendar page, and via our nifty mobile page. You can also scan this QR code that will direct you to our mobile site:

Albertsons Library mobile
(What's a QR code?)

Indentured Servant for a Week

Today, I officially started my EMS, which stands for Extra Mural Studies.  In the UK vet schools, you are required to do a LOT of EMS. Our first two years are comprised of pre-clinical, or animal husbandry, EMS of 12 weeks total.  The following 3 years, we have to complete 26 weeks of clinical EMS.  Bear in mind, these weeks are all on our own time during breaks and the summer.  So, that is 38 weeks total of EMS.  Can you say...not enough time to work and make any cashola?

My first 12 weeks, or animal husbandry EMS, is designed to give students an opportunity to handle and learn about different species of animals prior to 'working' on them.  We have to do: 2 weeks Cattle (to include 1 week UK dairy), 2 weeks Sheep (to include 1 week UK lambing), 1 week Pigs, 1 week Poultry, 1 week Dogs and Cats, 2 weeks Horses, 1 week Small Mammals, 2 weeks 'Free Choice' and 1 Day livestock market.
Because the students are SO young here due to the difference in education systems, they most likely have not had the animal handling experience that the students in the US have.  They basically start vet school out of high school, where we are post grads.  We are allowed to apply for a certain amount of exemptions, but there are specific guidelines to qualify.  Since I grew up with, showed and managed horses, I applied for exemption for my 2 weeks of horses.  I managed to get 2 weeks exemption for my Free Choice.  This is fine, it just means I can't use my free choice to investigate something new, or getting more experience in something I am really interested in... I will have to use it doing horses, which I am VERY comfortable handling already.  Oh well, I like horses, so that is ok with me.  And, I actually have no other experience, so the EMS deal suits me just fine.

I started my 1 week of small mammal EMS today.  I am working at a small mammal no-kill rescue organization.  Apparently, rabbits are the most neglected animals in the UK.  There are approximately 32 at this unit.  They also have hamsters, rats, guinea pigs, mice and ferrets.  Some of the animals are being boarded over the holidays.  What's interesting, is their website states that they do not believe in breeding animals, yet today they accepted 10 baby hamsters from a 'friend' who is a breeder and shows them.  Yes, you read correctly....he shows hamsters. So, he kept maybe one or two and dropped off 10 because they were useless to him.  They are 4 weeks and adorable, but this obviously goes against what they believe and this is a 'regular' drop off, so I'm a bit confused as to the message being sent.  I'm sure there is more to the story, so I'm trying hard not to be judgemental.

The rabbits are absolutely adorable and all seem happy, relaxed and clean.  I even held a rat today that was pretty darn cute.  I am basically serving the role of cleaner and feeder.  I cleaned a ga-dozen cages, fed animals, watered them, swept and mopped the floor and gave moral support to the other 3 vet students.  It was absolutely fah-reeeezing in the joint.  There is no central heat (and it's verrrry cold here), just a half-working space heater.  This is my major complaint, besides the fact that the bathroom was completely and utterly disgusting.  We had to pour the nasty, crap water from cleaning the cages in the toilet and it splashes all over it. I will let my bladder perforate before I use that toilet. Plus, there is no light in the bathroom and the sink is literally ripped away from the wall.  I really was wishing for some rubber gloves the entire time and will invest in some.  I'm not saying I expected cage cleaning to be the most glamorous job, because it's not, but done in a clean and warm surrounding environment is different than what I experienced.

I don't like to complain, because they are doing a great service and the best they can. This is simply me being grossed out about an environment I am not used to and would make some relatively minor changes to improve things greatly.  That's all.  I don't mind dirty, just not a fan of unclean...make sense? Like, just give me a clean, well-lit area with a big enough sink to clean the nasty stuff properly and not be surrounded in.....funk...and I'll be happy.  Got it?  Good.

With that... tomorrow is a new day and I'll wear warmer clothing.

Over-N-Out

A Very Interesting Discussion About Women's Football

Sourced from http://www.amandavandervort.com/blog/

Amanda Vandervort is well placed to speak about the game and some of her work is unique and thought provoking (and that really is saying something in Football!) - some of bio details read as follows: 

"I was a four-year scholarship goalkeeper for the University of Wyoming Cowgirls soccer team, from 1997-2000. I was selected team captain as a junior and senior, was voted the teams Most Inspirational Player in 1998, and earned the 2001 Pokes Strength Award. ....I studied Communications with a focus in Technology Education.....
In 2001, I moved east to work as the Grad Assistant Soccer Coach at The College of New Jersey, where I assisted with recruiting, scheduling, traveling, fund raising, and practice/game planning and coaching. We made it to the NCAA Elite Eight as Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions and NJAC Champions. Off the pitch, I earned my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology
.... From 2003-2007, I was the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at New York University, where I was responsible for planning, organizing, conducting and evaluating all aspects of NCAA Division III varsity women’s soccer program including recruiting, scheduling, coaching, ordering equipment and hiring/supervising assistant coaches.
I’m currently on the NSCAA Board of Directors and work as the Chair of the NSCAA Women’s Committee. I hold my USSF B Coaching License and NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. .."

I found this interview on Women's Football (soccer) that I though you might find interesting listening.
The recording has been done over the internet on Skype, which explains a slight echo in the audio.

The Podcast provides the following information about the program:

"The leaders of the soccer conversation on WomenTalkSports.com got together on April 18, 2010 to discuss the state of womenâs soccer. We discussed the Womenâs Professional Soccer as a business, the upcoming 2010 season, the international and cultural influences on women's soccer, as well as differences in media coverage.

On the call were:
- Megan Hueter, WomenTalkSports cofounder
- Amanda Vandervort, web coordinator for Womenâs Pro Soccer and author of Soccer Science
- Jennifer Doyle, author of From a Left Wing
- Jenna Pel, author of All White Kit
- Jane Schonberger, WomenTalkSports cofounder/editorial lead, editor of PrettyTough.com"


Download the Podcast here:

Prepare Junior Football Teams for the 2011 Season - The Woden Valley SC Lightning Tournament

Its time to start planning the pre-season activities for your Junior Club or team.

Soon after the Junior Clubs have finished their gradings there is one local pre-season tournament that has been making a name for itself and providing an excellent opportunity for coaches and players to start their preparations before the season begins - it's the Woden Valley SC Lightning Tournament. This tournament is for U11 to U16 Girls teams and U11 to U15 Boys teams.

There is likely to a couple of others running similiar tournaments around the ACT. IF you know of them, let the NPL know and we'll give it some publicity.

The WVSC Lightning Tournament is a day of Football. It's good fun and good football.

Boomerangs FS Lead the Way in the NSW Futsal Super League

The ACT based Boomerangs FS is the only Futsal or Football team from the ACT competing in higher level competition within Football NSW - in this case the Football NSW's Futsal Super League.

Go to this link http://www.boomerangsfs.com.au/

Boomerangs FS has established a solid pathway beyond the ACT into a higher level of week to week competition for our serious Futsal players, than is possible is the ACT competitions. In doing so, the Boomerangs FS make a tremdous contribution to the technical and competitive development of our young players. The follow on effect is enable many of our players to become more competitive at the FFA Futsal Nationals.

Boomerangs FS is a first rate piece of work by local Futsal and Football people - Eddie Senatore and Kristian Collins. They don't just talk about doing something - they have done it! More power to both of them and to the parents and players that comprise Bommerangs FS. The Boomerangs FS are further supported by a solid group of Futsal coaches, a number of whom coach ACT age teams at the FFA Futsal Nationals.

When they play in Canberra its a gala day of Futsal and well worth the time to go and watch. They play on the international size courts, which is just fantastic.

If we put our minds to it, we can bridge this dreadful Football and Futsal development gap in the ACT. No sense in just "admiring the problem"!

This is the current standing for the Boomerangs FS in the NSW Super League. Very impressive and only their second year at this level of competition. If they secure first place in the Club Championship, Boomerangs FS will be elevated to the prestigious NSW Premier League. Now what keen young Futsal player wouldn't want to be part of that experience? Wow!

Canberra United V Brisbane Roar Game Postponed

Capital Football have advised that the Canberra United , W League fixture against Brisbane Roar this weekend has been postponed.
No problem, gives us extra time to prepare to beat them! Pity though - given our recent success in the rain at Deakin, I reckon we were red hot specials to win.

The details given to Capital Football by the FFA Manager, W League Operations is as follows:

Please be advised that due to recent bad weather affecting the surface at Perry Park, Football Federation Australia has rescheduled your Week 7 Westfield W-League fixture as follows:
Original Fixture Brisbane Roar v Canberra United Saturday 18 December 2010 4:00 pm Perry Park
Fixture Brisbane Roar v Canberra United Tuesday 21 December 2010 3:00 pm Perry Park

Culled wine and Christmas cheer

You know you are a veterinary student when you start changing words, unbeknownst to you, that reflect what you are studying.

Take, for example, the other night.  I attended a Christmas party at church where someone brought home-made mulled wine.  If you are a true follower (and I hope you are), you know that I discussed this particular evening.  Well, it just so happens that the editor-in-chief (ahem, that would be me) almost missed the fact that I wrote 'culled wine' and it almost made it to press.

For those of you that do not recognize this term, let me explain 'culled' for the layman.  If we are talking about dairy cows, when you say you are going to cull some of your cows, you are going to get 'rid' of them.  This is typically accomplished by euthanasia or slaughter. There are many reasons to cull, including: poor mothering, can no longer produce calves, abnormal teats (therefore is not a productive milker), mastitis, old age, etc. So, when writing about my evening, I wanted to share with everyone that I had had some culled wine. Yeah, that probably doesn't taste nearly as good as what I had.

This brings me to tonite.  I went out with some friends to the same 'At the World's End' pub I have previously written about.  And, I visited with the same Gray-hem at the store across the way. I popped my head, he had his back to me, and I said 'hiya...could you please tell me where the World's End is?'   He started mumbling about how disappointed I was going to be before he even turned around.  I mean, I WAS right across the street.  When he finally saw me, a huge grin came across his face.  I asked him if he remembered who I was (a stupid tourist over the summer asking where the pub was when I could throw a rock at it) and he smiled and said, 'why uv curs I dew. Yew rrrr da wun hew axed me last time'.  I took the crowd over to see him again after dinner and we got some more fabulous pictures.

I went to dinner with three classmates and a fiancee. That should be the name of a movie, or something.  It's the first time I met him and he is adorable. They make such a cute couple and she is so happy with him here. They leave for a whirlwind tour of Germany and other parts for the next 3 weeks, so I'm sad to see them go tomorrow.  I look forward to hanging out when they return in January.

It was pretty darn cold tonite. We went down to the German Market and had a blast. We drank some mulled wine (just called it 'culled' again first...)and played on a trampoline.  Many, many belly laughs were had and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Downtown has some lovely decorations and I am getting in the Christmas spirit.

Tomorrow will be bittersweet. I will be wishing many of my classmates a Merry Christmas and at the same time, saying good bye to some new friends for a bit.

Merry Christmas to everyone and Safe Travels!

Over-N-Out

The Nearpost Local Goes Global - No Wiki Leaks - But A Trumpet Worth Blowing!

The Internet is a wonderful thing. It's very important these days for Football Clubs and Capital Football to be aware and attentive of their Internet presence. Websites that have old content, are not maintained or refreshed on a regular basis, or information not provided in a timely manner, really works against Football these days. A few smart Clubs in the ACT region have started to attend to this as a matter of urgency for season 2011. Good thing too!

Good information and debate is essential to keeping people in touch with the game. Lack of timely information too often means an unwillingness to tell people what they need to know and let them form a view. We don't need that in Football at any level.


The Australian Community Radio Network, and 2xxfm do so much good work for Football - and like real Football at the community level - they do it for free - all volunteers. I thought I might say something about it.

Sometimes, people in positions of authority in Football need to be reminded that this game belongs to all of us and we all have a right and an obligation to question decisions, ask for explanations and expect candid, open, truthful responses. Mostly, that's what we get. However, its easy for people in positions of authority in Football to come to the completely dumb arsed conclusion that only they are "in the know", or that "others couldn't possibly know more than we know", as though others can't think it through or have the collective expertise to work it out and proffer other workable and coherent solutions to Football problems. Behaviour you see organisations anywhere I guess. This is a big mistake and does nothing for Football.

Sometimes, not often, but every now and then, it can be incredibly hard to get a minor local Football official or apparatchik with egos only matched by their stupidity, to give you the time of day. Its as embarrassing as it is offensive. Most are without ego and concerned only for the game and those that play it and they are the bedrock of the game.

Curiously, I have often found that a national coach, Football expert or administrator or elite player (past and present) will simply go out of there way to have a yarn, talk Football, ready to share their knowledge with the rest of us. These people advance the game and our understanding of it.

But back to the Internet, websites, Podcasts and Community radio in support of Football.

Radio Station 2xxfm (98.3mhz) provides an extra-ordinary coverage of Football both at the National / International and Local levels. The Nearpost program is a two part endeavour - Nearpost National (Eamonn Flanagan and co) followed by Nearpost Local (self and guests). Then their is the Farpost, which provides live broadcasts for major games played it the ACT. That's is a remarkable effort and I can tell you this - a lot of people in our community listen and follow the Blogs we set up to support the programs. There's a message there for Football administrators - some get it and value it, a very few play silly buggers (and get nothing in return - everyone's loss).

Capital Football is damn lucky that the volunteers that make 2xxfm a reality are prepared to keep advancing Football and keep our Football community in touch with the game. I know the CEO Capital Football values the support given by 2xxfm to Football every week of the year, she makes herself available for interview, speaks candidly and that's just the way it should be - good leadership. The Club coaches and office bearers we deal with are overwhelmingly fantastic, which is as good as it gets for Football.

What is happening here in Football the ACT region  is of interest to people all over the planet. Australians and in particular, citizens from the ACT or those that have lived and followed / played Football in the ACT region, like to stay in touch. Not for nothing do they call our game the World Game!

At 9:00AM this morning, the stats collected on the Nearpost Local Blog for the last 24 hours indicated that a lot of people have read the articles and / or downloaded / listened to the Podcasts.

This is where they were located:

Australia
United States
Germany
Portugal
United Kingdom
France
Russia
Spain
Netherlands
Slovenia
Brazil
Canada
Italy
Latvia
Indonesia
Israel