take me back 'ome

Just got back from our sunny National Capital. First 'business' trip in utter yonks. They still stink, actually. Caught up with (read - had several thousand beers with) child no 1 and I can still flog him at pool. Child no 2 collected me at the airport which was mightily appreciated: it wasn't long into the journey that she was punching me even though we weren't playing punch buggy so I knew I was home.

In between actually doing some work I spent a couple of happy hours auditioning hi-fi gear: NAD amp and Paradigm and Monitor Audio speakers. I've had Monitor Audios in the past and liked them, but on this comparison (Paradigm 7's vs MA Silver 6's) the Paradigms came out way ahead to my ears - as the bloke in the shop pointed out, a better rock speaker. So the momentum towards new gear is growing. A few more weeks/months of auditioning and we'll be there. Then all I'll need to do is evict the rest of the family from the lounge room so I can listen.

I was going to do a post on Ian McFarlane's comment, reported in today's Australian, about how Asian countries should be running deficits like the US and Australia to keep "global propserity ticking along". He thought that those countries' preference for saving stemmed from the 1997 Asian economic crisis. I thought it went back way longer - in other words, I had always thought it was deeply cultural, like their preference for investing in education for their children - but a very quick Google seemed to support his view. This was disappointing (but I still think I'm closer to it).