Mister Brisbane: Closing time
Gaming the system | Magazine memories | Cool as ...
I am now officially an “early bird”. My new job requires me to get up around 3am on Saturdays and Sundays, which is a struggle. However, I now find that I am automatically waking around 5am, sometimes much earlier, on the other days of the week. My body clock was already changing before I took up the job (which, I believe, is a sign of ageing) but the really early starts are still very taxing — especially when it means going to bed at 7 or 8pm. I’m coping pretty well so far, but I’m not so sure how I’ll get on when winter sets in.
The new hours also mean driving to work at a time when people are still out and about from the night before. I drove via Fortitude Valley (above) one Saturday morning, and at 3.30am a lot of (mostly young) people were still staggering home. Driving in that place at that time requires extra vigilance because you never quite know what the pedestrians are going to do. But I’m no stranger to the Valley in the wee hours, so there were no real surprises there.
What really disturbed me was seeing the lights on at a pub in my locality — and realising it was still open (and would be until 4am) because of demand for its poker machines. I believe in personal liberty, and I know that most people who play the pokies aren’t addicted to them. But, unless you are a shift worker — and not many people are — is there a good reason to gamble at that time of day? There must be a demand because I’ve since noticed that a club that, according to Google, is just 2.5km from the pub, is also open until 4am.
I can’t help wondering how many people spend all night at these establishments, throwing good money after bad. And if there’s one certain thing in life, it’s that, while some people win and have the sense to walk away, almost everyone who gambles loses in the long run. Sometimes they lose everything: their money, their family and friends, and their liberty. I tend to agree with my friend Stephen who recently described a visit to a casino as “a grim, soulless experience”.
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COOL WORLD
On the subject of fashionable slang words, which I raised a couple of weeks ago, Cathy writes: “The word ‘cool’ has been around for probably several decades now, and is used both as an exclamation of approval as well as to describe anything or anyone who is, well, cool. But the cool young things of today might be horrified to learn that they didn’t invent the expression. I remember in the late 50s and very early 60s, it was used by the trendsetters in much the same way as it is today. ‘Cool man, cool,’ they would say. By the mid-sixties, it was extremely uncool to use the word, and it was strenuously avoided. Until it made its comeback, as these things often do.”
READING MATTERS
I received a free copy of Reader’s Digest with a delivery of an online order, and it surprised me — not least because it is still being published. The Digest used to be a fixture in many homes, and doctors’ and dentists’ waiting rooms, when I was a kid. It pioneered much of the journalism — listicles, strange facts and “condensed” versions of other writing — and marketing tactics that persist today, even online. It was, perhaps, the first magazine I read regularly and one of the few I’ve subscribed to at some point in my life. With features such as Life’s Like That and Laughter, The Best Medicine, I guess it seems quaint and old fashioned now. The fact that they are giving it away suggests they are struggling to find a new audience — but they are not alone in that. I hope the Digest finds a way to survive, and not go the way of so many newspapers (including several that employed me) and magazines.
MIXING IT UP
I’ve heard of some strange combinations, but banana and Vegemite? That’s what my friend Tommy had on toast recently. I’m not sure whether it was a reaction to the social-media meme about Weetabix and baked beans, or maybe the one about the bloke who stuffed a crepe with salsa and put two fish fingers on top. Does anybody have a better — or worse — food combination?
SPICE OF LIFE
On the subject of food, Judith, a friend I met on a cruise, asks on Facebook: why is it that many people automatically put salt on their meals at a restaurant before even tasting it? “Do they not think the chef has already thought about the amount of seasoning needed?” It’s a fair question but, as I note in my response, it’s also the case that many restaurant waiters offer pepper from a grinder immediately after they serve you, and expect you to say “yes” or “no” before you’ve had a bite.
FEEDBACK
Last week, I asked whether Brisbane would be better off returning to the situation where it had many councils rather than one really big one. Adrian says: “I reckon you can reasonably split BCC into five new councils: a central council (retaining right to be called BCC and whose head retains the right to be called lord mayor) and four suburban councils. The need is also there for a GLA-style authority over the top.” [GLA is, presumably, the Greater London Authority.] Rae says: “After seeing how even the footpath construction methods change as you walk between council areas in Sydney, I think Brisbane’s single local government is one of the most positive aspects to the city.”
On the subject of the confusion surrounding 12am and 12pm, Warren writes: “I always just use midday/noon and midnight. Saves having to answer dopey questions from the crono-challenged.” Jill says: “The clock is at 12 for a second, then it is past. If you say 1am there’s no confusion, so why if it is 12? Learning time from a clock face helps. Knew a teenager who had a digital watch but couldn’t read a clock.” Patty says: “Logically, 12pm is one hour after 11pm.”
Lewis says the confusion arises because “pm is associated with night time”. Terry notes: “Years ago (maybe still if they’re flying) Thai and/or Malaysian [airlines] had flights leaving Brisbane for Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur just after midnight. So many people turned up on the wrong day they notionally scheduled the flights as leaving at 11.50pm or 23.50, even though they still left after midnight.” And Eric doesn’t like it when people say “3am this morning” (because “am” is always in the morning).
More on this matter next week.