Congratulations to the team at 612ABC who had across-the-board audience increases in the seventh Brisbane radio survey released today - and especially to Spencer Howson who is now No.2 in breakfast, less than a percentage point behind the Nova crew. There's more here.

Global warming really must be happening; I read it in the paper. I wonder where that leaves certain skeptical columnists?

On Nova 106.9FM this afternoon, the DJ referred to it as the station with "less ads". No, it's the station with fewer ads.

I've begun a debate about arts funding over at my other blog. If you want to have your say, click here.

I don't like mucking about when I go to the shops. I'm not one of those people who, on his death bed, will say, "I wish I'd spent more time clothes shopping." OK, so I'm not a fashion plate, but I am efficient. Yesterday, I bought two pairs of shoes in approximately seven minutes. The shoes are basic black work shoes and the two pairs are identical. Why? Because, in the past when I've found something that's comfortable I've never been able to find another pair. In this day and age, you're lucky if you can find the same brand twice.

As I said on my other blog:

And the Michael Cole Award* for most boorish behaviour by a visiting celebrity involving a bottle of liquor goes to Johnny Knoxville. In other ARIA Awards news, didn’t Queenslanders Bernard Fanning, The Veronicas and Troy Cassar-Daley do well? I thought it interesting, though, that the two awards based on actual record sales went to industry “outsiders” (i.e. people who don’t fit the image that the music biz likes to present and don’t get played a lot on mainstream radio) - dance act TV Rock featuring Seany B (biggest-selling single) and reborn boy band Human Nature (biggest-selling album)..

* Michael Cole was the star of The Mod Squad who, in a tired and emotional state, swore during the Logies telecast in 1973.

I just received an email to tell me that my US-based Live 365 radio station, variously Radio Bert and Radio Notional, has clocked-up 250 listening hours (which, apparently, is pretty good for this sort of thing). If you haven't tuned in yet, click on the Radio Bert link. It's still mainly just pumping out music, but there will be more spoken content soon. One day ...

When I was very young it was fashionable in some cricles to blame Gough Whitlam for everything that was wrong with the country. Then briefly, it was all Malcolm Fraser's fault, and now they are still blaming Paul Keating 10 years after he left office. We can look forward to the blame when a retired John Howard shoulders all the blame. If he ever retires, that is.

When I first encountered recycled toilet paper, I actually tried to work out how they recycled toilet paper. It took me a while to realise that it was toilet tissue made from recycled paper.

I've spent the whole afternoon reinstalling Microsoft Windows on one of my computers after it picked up some amazingly virulent viruses, and I think I can confidentally say: I HATE BILL GATES. After spending 15 years with Windows, and more than 20 years playing with personal computers (starting with a Commodore Vic20), I reckon the user experience has become progressively worse. I've said it before but I really mean it this time: my next computer will be an Apple Mac. If nothing else, at least then I can transfer my hate to Steve Jobs.

I believe that in hip-hop they call it a "call out" - mentioning one of your rivals in an affectionate way. Well, Cole Porter and Noel Coward were doing it many decades ago - as evidenced in Queensland Musical Theatre's production of Porter's Anything Goes at the Cannon Hill Anglican College. Details of the show are here.

I wonder what is more offensive: A South Park episode featuring a dead Steve Irwin with a stingray barb through his chest or the way the very young, still grieving Bindi Irwin is being thrust into the spotlight for commercial gain. I wonder what will happen when other media catch up with the treatment the Irwin issue has received at the hands of satirical newspaper The Bug.

And now for something completely different - the guys from South Park in a tribute to Monty Python. It's here on YouTube. Well, considering what I wrote here a couple of days ago, it's on YouTube at the moment.

I couldn't bring myself to read it all, but the Daily Mail apparently has the scoop on what Nicole told Keith after he revealed he'd been drinking again.

The death has just been announced of Tommy Johnson, the tuba player who put the frights into the theme for the film Jaws. He passed away on October 16. There's more on my Celebrity Deaths Archive.

Today on Spencer Howson's show on 612 ABC, we spoke about La Boite's final production for 2006, Sex: Cubed (more about that in my Brisbane News review; Queensland Theatre Company's 2007 season and why I didn't win a Queensland Media Award.

Apparently the Queensland Media Awards were held last week, and I'm pretty disappointed that my name wasn't among the winners. Sure, I didn't enter, but I think my contribution has been so outstanding that they should have sought me out. Who else in the Queensland media has had the guts to confront the issue of mindless leaf-blowers? Who else dared expose the psychic pedestrians who loiter in our streets up the no good? Who has tackled the institutionalised sexism in Brisbane's wait-staff who insist on giving the change to me even though my wife has paid? Who exposed the fact that most supermarket checkout operators don't know a zucchini from a cucumber? Me! That's who. Where's my award?

More bad news in the paper today about Queensland's crumbling infrastructure. It annoys me to think that the morons we've elevated to public office have spent 30 years crowing about how many people are moving to our state while doing nothing to cope with the influx. Our vegie patch will die because soon we won't be able to water it. Or will we? I have a cunning plan: rather than just collect grey water in a bucket in the shower, why not run a pipe from the bathroom to an irrigation system in the backyard and take the world's longest shower until the watering is done? I know it's irresponsible, but no more so than the level of reckless idiocy we've had in high places for decades.

YouTube has been asked to remove 1000 sports clips from its site because they may violate copyright rules. The good news is that I have waived my rights to this clip of my guinea pigs on YouTube, meaning you can watch it as often as you like.

In Vancouver, apparently, there's been some "juvenile and hostile" behaviour towards female firefighters as they strip down to don their protective gear before racing out to do their job. So what answer have the authorities come up with? Buying all firefighters four pairs of "gender neutral" boxer-style underwear, of course. Plan B is to provide gear firefighters can slip over their normal work clothes so they don't have to strip down. It would simply make too much sense to weed out the purveyors of the "juvenile and hostile" behaviour, I suppose.