Samuel’s Blog

Song and some tips

2 comments July 18th, 2008 at 11:00pm

Scott Burgess from Water Rats

Good evening Stuart,

I'm sorry to hear that Scott Burgess from Water Rats is going through marital problems, but to the same extent it doesn't really bother me, just like almost every other "celebrity" story. I do hope that his problems are sorted out quickly.

To answer your question, the show ended on the seventh of August 2001. It was a great Australian drama and I was sorry to see it go, but it was also good that the producers were informed that Channel Nine wouldn't be renewing the program and they therefore had a chance to write a good conclusion. The show ran for six years.

Channel Nine have been repeating the show in the wee hours of the morning in recent years, and I believe that it will be on at some stage tomorrow morning. I try to watch it when Nine repeat it, and I'm slowly building up a collection of the DVDs of the series.

I also noticed that a couple weeks ago the New South Wales police named their newest boat the "Nemesis", which just happens to be the name of the main police boat on Water Rats. All they need now is a "Harpie" and a car named "Water Police 200" and they'll have the full set!

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

2 comments July 15th, 2008 at 09:30pm

Pet of the week

Good evening Stuart,

I tuned in half way through your pet of the week segment and I didn't know that you were talking about a pet…so I was a tad shocked when I heard a woman telling you that "Bindi is up for adoption and people can pick her up from the shelter". The first thought that popped in to my mind was "Gee, the Irwin's are getting stanger".

Thankfully that wasn't the case. Bindi the dog sounds like an adorable pet.

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

June 27th, 2008 at 10:30pm

Text Message to 2CC’s Mike Jeffreys

2cc Jane’s “editorialising”. My saying is “I don’t rant, I editorialise”. Samuel

I like 2CC’s SMS functionality. It might cost me 55 cents to send them a message, but it’s immediate and it’s worth it, especially for things which don’t warrant a phone call.

Samuel

June 24th, 2008 at 07:24am

Coffee

Good morning Steve,

On Tuesday you were talking about the amount of coffee people consume per day, and you also didn't seem to like the cold coffee which was sitting on your desk at the time.

I usually have four or five cups of coffee per day, most of them will be after 3pm. During the day I'll probably take a very long time to drink a coffee while I work. The coffee which is on my desk at the moment is about 25% consumed and has been here for nearly two hours. I'll probably finish it just before lunch.

I'm quite partial to cold coffee, I think it tastes better than hot coffee but that could just be because I struggle to taste warm things.

It's great to have you on the morning show, I hope you've enjoyed your couple of weeks filling in for Pricey and that you come back again soon.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

June 19th, 2008 at 11:30am

State Of Origin

Good morning John,

After the 3am news you posed a question about how it is possible for the second state of origin match to have such a vastly different outcome to the first game. Well I'm glad you asked, because I've been thinking about that around this time of the year for the last few years and I have a bit of a conspiracy theory on the subject.

In this decade I count four years where the second game has been very different to the first. 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2008. (2005 almost made the cut but was a bit too close to include).

My theory is that the second game (at least) is thrown by the team that won the first game for the sake of maintaining public interest in the series, and therefore keeping the sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters and stadium owners happy. If, after the second game, either state is leading the series 2-nil, then the third game is of less general public interest because the result of the series is known and the final game is merely a chance for a team to get a clean sweep of the series, something which only the diehard fans will be particularly interested in.

Conversely, if the third game is the deciding match of the series, then it becomes even more interesting than the first two games. The amount of public interest (and therefore marketability of the game to advertisers and sponsors) is greater in this scenario, and is generally better for everyone involved.

I'm not convinced that my theory is accurate, but it does enter my mind for some serious consideration every year.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

June 12th, 2008 at 04:00am

And an email to 2GB’s Andrew Moore

Hi Andrew,

Actually this is the second time the scores have been level in the match, not the first. The first was nil all.

Love the call.

Samuel
Canberra

May 30th, 2008 at 09:00pm

A fog free day

Hi Mike,

After your parting wish of a fog free day this morning just before your insightful announcement that ACTION's new direction would not fit in before the news, I felt compelled to tell you how much I like fog. I've always been quite partial to a good fog.

I do remember one day in winter of 2006 at work on a particularly foggy day when I commented about the "nice fog" one of my co-workers informed me that there was nothing appealing about a fog. Naturally I disagreed, fogs are wonderful mysterious things that change the visual landscape in a different way every time, some bits are thick and other bits aren't…and it wafts, I love a fog of varying density that wafts. There is something very special about standing in a fog with a torch and watching the beam of light change as the fog wafts past.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart

1 comment May 28th, 2008 at 05:30pm

Underbelly

Good evening Stuart,

I was watching Underbelly last night and noticed something that I thought might interest you. At one stage during the show two of the characters were sitting in a car listening to Derryn Hinch talking about the latest gangland killing on your sister station 3AW. The radio was shown, and it said that they were tuned to 693 on the AM dial, however as the entire series is set between the years of 1995 and 2004, this isn't possible. During those years 3AW was broadcast on 1278 AM. They only moved to 693 AM on the 1st of May 2006 in an effort to improve their reception in some parts of Melbourne.

I hope you have a good long weekend, and a very dignified ANZAC Day.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

2 comments April 24th, 2008 at 10:00pm

Golden Point

Good evening Gibbsy and Russell,

After the drawn AFL match on Sunday, Tim Watson on Channel Seven was arguing the point for golden point extra time, but I can't really understand why. I like the idea of having a draw and in the case of Sunday's match I think it was a fitting outcome. The Bulldogs clawed their way back into that match a couple times, and at the end Richmond just couldn't get ahead again.

I really think that Golden point is a cheap and nasty way to end a match for the sake of having a winner. I much prefer the draw, or in cases where a result is needed such as a final, a fixed period of extra time followed by a penalty shootout if the scores are still deadlocked.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

April 21st, 2008 at 07:00pm

Boycotting Beijing

Good evening Stuart,

I agree with you that our athletes shouldn't be forced or coerced in to boycotting the Beijing Olympics, I think it is entirely their decision, but to the same extent the rest of us have a choice and I have made mine. I will be completely boycotting the Beijing Olympics, I will be ignoring and switching off all coverage and reports about it. I am considering attending the torch relay here in Canberra wearing a t-shirt which reads "Boycotting Beijing". The ludicrous claim by China that the Dalai Lama is creating the violence as part of a plot against them was the final straw for me…such an action would go against everything the Dalai Lama believes in.

I hope you had a good Easter weekend, thank you for your email last week, I enjoyed my Easter weekend even though I didn't have running water for most of Sunday.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

March 25th, 2008 at 10:30pm

The government’s advice and songs for astronauts

Good morning John,

This line that the New South Wales government have trotted out about leaving Sydney during their half day shutdown of the city for World Youth Day seems to be rapidly developing in to their new excuse for everything. They used it for APEC, now World Youth Day, I suppose next it will be "the trains wouldn't be so crowded if you didn't all live here and try to catch them, so get out of town".

Also you were asking for songs to play to astronauts. Well I think it would have be a song which fills them with confidence that their mission will be successful, so I think the best option would be David Bowie's Major Tom (better known by its actual title “Space Oddity” — thanks for the reminder Pen 15). There's nothing more reassuring than "something's wrong, your circuit's dead, can you hear me Major Tom?"

And speaking of people named Tom, congratulations to your Tom on his move to the weekday show with Jim Ball. I chatted with him briefly a couple times during the week and he seemed to be enjoying it.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

3 comments March 22nd, 2008 at 02:30am

Showbags

Hi Glenn,

Yesterday you asked for ideas for showbags for the New South Wales government and for petrol companies. I would suggest merging the bags because they both want your money, aren't willing to tell you how they come up with their prices, and employ people to spend a long time telling you absolutely nothing when interviewed.

Do you think that BP will follow the New South Wales government's lead and setup an enquiry into why there is a "discounting cycle"? If that person from BP expects us to believe that they don't know why there is a discounting cycle then I think he's starting to believe his own spin.

Enjoy the Easter show.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

2 comments March 21st, 2008 at 11:00am

Fitz on a roll?

Good morning Sandy,

Please give Fitz his morning sedative before he starts singing. It sounds like he is very excited for some reason.

It's nice to hear you both together on the breakfast show, hopefully it will happen again some time.

Oh, and Fitz, the Waratahs have no chance of defeating the Crusaders.

Happy Easter!

Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberran in Sydney

March 20th, 2008 at 06:00am

Superannuation Insurance

Good morning Jim,

I was listening with interest to the story you read about the superannuation firm signing up their customers to an insurance policy simply by sending them a letter.

It may be perfectly legal, but it sounds to me like a legal form of fraud. Whoever thought up the law which allows superannuation funds to assume that they have the permission to do virtually whatever they like with the compulsory contributions must have had a screw loose, as it makes it just a bit too easy for the people in charge of the super fund to siphon off a few percent of the takings to their cousin's company, or anywhere else they like.

I have to admit that if my super fund had done this, I probably wouldn't have noticed because my statement arrived about a fortnight ago and I didn't open it until I noticed it beside me while an ad break was running on the television a couple days ago.

It's sad to think that we've reached a point where you almost need a lawyer to read through the gibberish in the fine print before you sign anything, for fear of giving your life's earnings to the director of a super fund, or a bank, or any other institution that makes you sign something.

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

Article: Opt-out Insurance Becomes a Super Trap: Sydney Morning Herald, March 15

March 18th, 2008 at 04:00am