Monday Night TV

Last night's TV was a wonderful mix of programming on ABC 2. Four Corners "The Deal" was a fascinating (though not too in-depth) look at those long days after the election when the Independents decided who to back to make a government.. The telling comment by Rob Oakeshott is " Look I think both where our guts have been the last few days is the right call for the nation in the full knowledge that it's a blister on both our arses."
Damned no matter which side they chose.


Paul Barry's Media Watch expose on the Woman's Day article followed this as hilarious, light relief, though the subject is really very serious. Anyone with half a brain these days can mock up photos and report on things which haven't happened. Does anyone out there actually believe these magazine articles?


Of course the night was not complete without QandA with a great panel of "Dangerous Thinkers". Describing these people as Dangerous Thinkers is somewhat over the top, but that seems to be what we all want these days. Tariq Ali, Geoffrey Robertson and the feisty, worst Mum in America- Leonore Skenazy were great TV.


However, I then just had to catch some swimming action in Delhi, which featured fish-netting the floating thingy's from the pool before Australian won the Relay Gold. Go Aussies Go!

"How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer" documentary

What a great documentary! The idea that six degrees of separation links everyone in this mad world of ours is both an inspiring and somewhat frightening concept. This documentary, screened on ABC TV 1 (Aunty) on Tuesday 28th Oct 08, gave a fascinating insight in to the science/maths involved as well as a real example to ponder. Download the episode here (part of the Future Makers series).

40 packages were distributed around the world with participants required to send one to a Harvard Geneticist. 3 made it to him through links with 6 steps.
What the documentary didn't discuss was exactly what happened to the rest and how does that affect the theory of networking. So Aunty, please a follow-up doco.

Other sites of interest to six degrees of separation include the Oracle of Bacon and the Charity Site set up originally by Bacon following the oracle's success.

Now back to the books - Am reading the latest "Artemis Fowl" before the teenager can get his hands on it.