The Dave Files: Part Something or Other

Apparently there's a rumour that this blog was supposed to be about this "bear" called "Little Red Dave", affectionately known as LRD or even just "Dave". In honour of this, a photo from the Dave Files just to remind us all why we're here.

This photo was taken in the beautifully-restored city of Dubrovnik in 2001, probably about May. After trekking up through Northern Greece, through Macedonia and Kosovo and then moving down through the glorious Montenegro I arrived, broke, in Croatia. Restaurants, ATMS, other tourists, local men looking down on me because I was a poor backpacker and wasn't dressed well enough: all the trappings of modern civilisation again! As I took a taxi from the border through the mountains, the cab driver stopped to give me a wonderful view of the city. I'll also attach this photo, although it doesn't do the view justice. It was taken on an old film camera and then scanned and has lost a lot of resolution in the process.

I absolutely loved Croatia and didn't stay there long enough. Firstly because I had had to leave Montenegro because I ran out of money (yes, I actually went to Dubrovnik just to use the ATM!) and went back there as soon as I'd cashed up, and secondly because I was racing to get to Italy before the peak tourist season. If I'd known that it's always peak tourist season in Italy, I wouldn't have taken the freezing ferry from Split and would have made my way to Zagreb instead. Still, beautiful country. Would love to go back.

My inspiration for post titles is gone

The Wet is here! What happened to the build-up? It just never really happened. I'm disappointed actually. There's nothing better than a steaming day with the pressure building minute by minute until it finally breaks in a spectacular electrical storm. It seems to have gone from the Dry straight to raining. I find it not a little ironic that while Darwin is experiencing so little storm activity, Brisbane is being wiped off the map with its worst storms in like 30 years.

Haven't been moving around too much lately, mostly due to work and Uni. I have finally finished the great all-consuming research project, the popularised version of which is in a post below. I also spent the last two weeks in Nhulunbuy (Gove Pensinsula, north-east Arnhem Land) doing some work at the indigenous community of Yirrikala. It was not the most successful trip but it was great to see a part of the country I would probably not see otherwise. Here's a photo of Nhulunbuy from the lookout, which is on a Yolgnu sacred site nearby.

I also managed a short trip to Galiwinku, an indigenous community on Elcho Island and the home of Gurrumul Yunipingu. They've recently had a festival there complete with the Chooky Dancers, Saltwater Band and Gurrumul. Wish I'd been there to see that.

Wisdom teeth: is there a better argument against intelligent design?

My teeth hurt. I mean, my teeth really hurt. Not only do I have two wisdom teeth floating in my sinus cavity pressing against bundles of nerves, but one is currently engaged in an attempt to move all my other teeth slightly to the right to give itself room. The pain is constant, the pain is grinding and, while the pain is not overly bad at times, its persistance is enough to drive me into a slow insanity.

And as I sit here, doped up on painkillers that seem for some reason not to be working and contemplating all those aspects of our physiology that are now redundant due to the great force that is evolution, I ponder how anyone could believe in creationism or intelligent design. I mean, seriously, God thought, "I know, four useless teeth" or, "how about an appendix?" Useless, painful and possibly deadly. Yeah!

Just a thought.