Whilst the mind was drifting towards a better a job and my stomach was asking what’s for dinner, a black car slipped into parking bay next to me.

If I hadn’t turned my head to the right – an intense stare hopefully intimidating the traffic light – ordering the change, I wouldn’t have seen the black Lamborghini Murciélago.

Now I don’t drive a 4×4 or truck, just a general average working class slave wagon – a Toyota Yaris – to be precise

The Lamborghini parked next to me was sooo lowww!!! The roof of this car was probably no higher than the Yaris door handle.

Here in Brisbane there are plenty sports cars. It is not uncommon to see Porsche – mostly Carrera and Targa. Even that Audi R8 V10 has joined the daily traffic jam.

And there is Ferrari.

Whilst the Ferrari body styling is definitely better than the Porsche, but what really bugs me is the way the car is always squealing. Initially I figured the girl had gotten the accelerator and brake pedals confused and that was why the engine was revving so high.

Hopefully you noticed I said “girl“. A really young blond with so much foundation on her face that if she dented the Ferrari, she could use the excess as body filler!!  I’m convinced she was a “P plate” taking daddies car for a spin.

Then I moved to West End where a Ferrari and fossil live and no, the car is always revving very high.

Back to the real sports car – the Lamborghini Murciélago

I was still admiring the black paint work. It’s not the usual black that manufacturers use but just different. It is too hard to explain – you have to see it.

As lights changed, the Lamborghini appeared at the next set of lights. My Yaris was still thinking about moving forward. Humans can do the 100 meters in 10 seconds. The Lamborghini covered the turn and stop in maybe two seconds.

What was really amazing was that the black beast lunged forward with very little effort – no Ferrari squealing whatsoever.

The closest similar sound is probably a brief sigh from a Jaguar XJ12.

Two weeks later on Charlotte Street I saw my baby

Lamborghini Murcielago

Do you think I could use my Yaris as a trade-in?

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For some this might appear as staged tall story packed with impossible inaccuracies, but for some residents of Brisbane, it is a daily gauntlet of duck and dive for cover ;-(

Let us begin…

Whilst escaping the office for a bite to eat, I found myself sitting on a Cathedral Park bench.

Being just before noon, the park was pleasantly quiet – peaceful – the shade much more inviting than the office aircon.

Here St. Johns Cathedral replaced my dull and somewhat depressing LCD monitor with source code and customer complaints.

Initially, many meters ahead of my park bench enjoying the sun was a couple of magpies.

Normally ferrous and generally impolite wildlife, they wandered ever closer and closer to my bench. It didn’t take long before I realized that these birds wanted my lunch.

Every bite was met with an advancement of the magpie front line.

Slowly as I chewed, their approach became more and more uncomfortable
- for me !!! Maybe it was the fear of being out numbered – ambushed.

Magpie cyclist attack damage

Magpies have been known to derail cyclists and demolish high heels. It was only a week or so ago that I saw a magpie force a crow to crash land on the paving. A couple meters more and the oncoming Turbot street traffic would’ve been involved. Possible broken windscreen?

Magpie territory warning

Very confident protected specie – perhaps arrogantly confident?

I could easily have stretched my arm out and given Captain Magpie a good old slap, but as the beady eyes filled my view, I capitulated (because of legal ramifications!).

Late last year a copper got fined $2000 for shooting an aggressive magpie.

The magpie couple probably didn’t fill in their 2008 tax return and even if they had, they probably wouldn’t have received the ATO $900 tax refund this month.

With no tax refund to bank on and starving, maybe the couple had a couple chicks to feed? Who knows.

Sorry and somewhat apologetic, I left them with what remained of my lunch. My butt hadn’t even left the park bench when the magpies dive bombed the lunch.

This was yet another successful Magpie Attack.

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An easy sell – how many times haven’t you wished your boss – that old fart – to hell?

So understandably and probably unfortunately, good old values have gone to hell!!! As we all know Christianity as a religion is dropping in popularity – see Religious Tolerance . Some will dispute this saying that the flock is growing and indeed they might be right. But proportionately to the world population, Christianity is definitely going down.

Think about it – how many times have you ever seen a queue at your local church ?

The only religion which is growing in real terms – worldwide population, is Islam.

Thankfully for the remaining Christian flock, Brisbane has the absolutely awesome St. John’s Cathedral.

St. John's Anglican Cathedral

Construction of this stone masterpiece started back in 1906 based on plans from a late eighteen century architect and only completed now in 2009. The stone masons used the churches very own Gatton quarry – on the way to Toowomba.

Going up the stone stairs onto the porch, you’re met by the narthex West wall supporting the Millennium Window. Above the beautifully decorated stained glass windows is the immense stone-vaulted ceiling.

Cathedral entrance

Every butt joint is intentionally unique. This finish and attention to detail takes your breathe away. But wait that’s not all.

Stepping further along the Nave Altar the pulpit appears. Behind the pulpit is the Cathedra – Archbishop’s Seat and finally the sanctuary holding the high altar.

Nave-Altar-Cathedra-Sanctuary

Breathless you sit and admire the view, perhaps reflecting on the meaning of life – the number 42

Unfortunately you cannot stay here at St. John’s Cathedral forever ;-(

It is always a good idea to chuck the milk before it lands on your porridge and embarrassingly has a better grip on the cornflakes than your very own dentures. Preservatives like 200, 220 etc do a great job but even the church accepts that there is that final expiry date.

With the current worldwide economic crisis, some have skipped the Hell Express hearse and gone straight to the crematorium for a bottling. Understandably, Anubis who patiently manages the gates to afterlife, could have saved this lost soul.

Never fear, even with the aging population in Australia, none of the coffin manufacturers have ever had an unhappy customer. Now that’s good value and peace of mind – great package deal.

So please come visit Brisbane Australia, we’ve got all souls covered.

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Shorncliffe beach park

Shorncliffe is a very nice quiet place to be. One could almost say a retirement village on the beach.

So I went for a walkabout looking for camp site and a place to cool off.

Pier looking back towards the beach

Initially I figured the pier would be perfect. The sea water and necessary shade to kill the 35+ degrees all within meters of each other.

And what did I find in floating in seawater – also enjoying the sun?

Blue bottle jellyfish

In Australia and New Zealand, this jellyfish is called the “blue bottle” due to its color.  In other countries, they called it the “Portuguese Man o War“.

This apparently lightly armed jellyfish normally has 6-inch (15 centimeter) tentacles but they can grow to around 10 meters long !!! This growth is being caused by the warming of the oceans.

These tentacles are filled with a long string of barbed hooks. Once wrapped around the meal, the poison is released paralysing the prey.

If a human gets snagged, it releases the poison using nematocysts.

To reduce the pain, don’t touch the area because that releases more poison. The best thing to do is wash the area with some vinegar.

Now the blue bottle jellyfish might sting you and that will definitely hurt, however this “Portuguese Man o War” has a deadly cousin which conveniently is also a blue color!!!

The Box Jellyfish – alias Chironex Fleckeri - has the potential to inflict fatal stings. Once stung, the pain is so excruciating that you’ll probably go into shock and drown before reaching the beach. You have virtually no chance of surviving this venomous sting.

Sea filled with an armada of blue bottle jellyfish

I posted the YouTube video here. The video ain’t that great but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s impossible to know if a box jellyfish is hidden within the jellyfish armada.

So here I am – the Brush Turkey ripping up the garden, the crows damaging my hearing and the jellyfish hogging the pool – still want to visit?

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Entrance gate to Brassall Place

This recently finished development is absolutely awesome – offers a great lifestyle advantage. Most new real estate developments have the residences sitting uncomfortably close to one another.

Brassall Place is definitely different – you can breath easily and are highly unlikely to hear your neighbor fart or orgasm

Pool - just add 36-32-34

Road between the Brassall units

Neighbor to the right of Unit 29

So Sunday afternoon turned into an in depth property investigation. Not wanting to be disturbed, I choose unit 29 of the complex. This lovely two bedroom with SLUG, face brick and backyard, unit is located far away from the gated entry. Students would love this – guaranteed quiet helps studies. I was student once upon a time ;-(

Entrance to the 2 bedroom Unit 29

The complex is conveniently located close to shopping centers, transport and enjoys a wealth of park areas. Being not too far from Brisbane is great plus, especially when one considers the cost of realestate.

The 2 bedroom unit kitchen at Brassall Place

In the Brisbane CBD, you’ll be lucky to find an investment property for less than AU$500,000. Moving further out towards the suburbs, the cost of properties does come down but there is a lack of real lifestyle value.

Probably the biggest advantage of this property development in my opinion is the open space arrangement of the 68 units. This was clearly illustrated in the earlier photo. Whilst this is always very nice, it’s the bottom line that counts.

The table below gives the property breakdown.

All above is within walking distance of the shops, schools and transport. For us blokes (and if you love fishing), the Bremer river is on your doorstep.

I’m not sure on whether or not there are still any units available for sale / investment – best to check that with No Limit, but rental opportunities are still being advertised on www.realestate.com.au or contact Jim, the onsite manager.

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It’s Sunday afternoon and you’re sitting on the deck minding your business reading a stock market self help guide book.

Hopefully the share market wisdom buried somewhere within the text and tutorials will give you all the answers you need to hopefully dig yourself out of the short selling financial stock market hole you successfully and skillfully dug for yourself.

Then without warning a dark and somewhat sinister shadow blasts past within inches of your sensitive sun baked head.

Within a split second not only has your financially sensitive heart missed a couple beats, you’ve also lost your stock market guide book page !!! CPR has hit rock bottom – liquidated.

As with the herd mentality, financial ruin should be shared – CEO’s excluded

Seriously peeved, you look for somebody to blame.

Before my eyes a Brush Turkey had landed and started destroying a newly planted spring herb collection.

Backyard brush turkey in Brisbane

Not only does the stock market have damaging inconsiderate financially destroying wildlife, so too does my Brisbane backyard. Within minutes, this turkey had scratched a hole that made the domestic dog bone burying skills seem amateurish.

Damaging video evidence is included here.

Whilst I might have lost my bookmark in the turmoil – at least this turkey didn’t hide in the boardroom – deserves to live another day – escaping the dinner plate.

How about a well stuffed Bear Stearns – grilled just right ?

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Down under we’ve got the Sydney Opera House and the Coathanger in New South Wales.

Not wanting to be out done by the blokes south of the border in New South Wales, Brisbane has the Egyptian God Anubis

Anubis waiting for a couple dead souls

Guarding the corner of Wharf and Anne streets in the Brisbane CBD, this part jackal, part tradesman, hoodie and all is a most welcomed addition to the Brisbane architectural void.

Sure Brisbane has plenty of statues – ANZAC square etc, heritage sites but nothing really original, new or blatantly different – well, that was until Anubis arrived !!!

Made from steel, with its feet firmly rooted in concrete, the Egyptian God Anubis is focused, but gently intimidating as it guards the gates to the afterlife.

The Egyptian god statue Anubis is skillfully formed out of unforgiving, uncompromising cold steel

Maybe Anubis has always been there – measuring the worthiness of those crossing the intersection to enter the realm of the dead – moving onto the afterlife.., embalmed perhaps in a vehicular collision?

A statue that not only looks good, but has a higher purpose?

A chilling thought – so strong is it, I walk on the other sidewalk, hopefully Anubis can’t see me?

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Property prices are determined by what somebody is prepared to pay. So if a couple – who really want to stay in a particular area – are prepared to pay a ridiculous amount for a Queenslander, this purchase pushes up the valuations for the entire area !!!

Later, the next sale in the area expects the same and more and so the vicious circle of real estate is born ;-(

Now add an auction to the mix – with a little emotion on side – and the property prices skyrocket even further !!

But wait that’s not all.

Rates are tied the property’s land valuation. This last week, the rates in Brisbane increased between 9 to 60 percent depending on the land valuation. After a week of criticism by owners, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman defended the rate rise as needed to fund the Brisbane city capital works programs.

This increase also affected residential owner occupiers and property investors differently.

Obviously, investors will push up the rental to cover the increase in rates. This will put even more pressure on tenants who’ve already had to bear two interest rate hikes and their effect on the weekly rental.

Property prices keep going up. Interest rates and property rates go up.

When will this madness end?

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