Mister Brisbane: Old and new
It's not just an "encore" edition, there's some current content and fresh feedback
Do you thank the driver when you get off the bus? I do, but I don’t know why I do, since I rarely thank other people for doing their job. Is it because — until recently, where we’re required to use only the centre door — we often walk past the person at the wheel on the way out and feel obliged to say something?
Who should we really thank? I’ll start with the emergency services, first responders and health workers. Can you think of other people who habitually go above and beyond and whose efforts are underappreciated?
NAMED, NOT ASHAMED
I got a message the other night from somebody pointing to this news.com.au article which embeds a tweet from me opining about the pre-show entertainment at the recent NRL grand final (which, as you may have heard, was held in Brisbane for the first and probably last time). They asked: “Are you the Brett Debritz quoted here?” As I am, as far as I know, the only Brett Debritz in existence, the answer is Yes.
A couple of weeks ago, I experienced something that used to happen reasonably regularly — I saw my name attached to something I’d said about a show I really enjoyed. (Oliver Hetherington-Page’s No Bang Theory, which is on at the upcoming Wynnum Fringe festival.)
It’s nice to have the ego stroked occasionally. Especially when it comes as a surprise.
COMPUTER LITERACY
I went out to buy a new computer. I didn’t have much option because the other one was falling apart. I can’t complain; it’d been around the world with me and lasted more than four years — which, I believe, is twice as long as I should expect from any technology these days. I was going to buy online, but I got into the ridiculous situation where stock availability could not be guaranteed, nor could a delivery time.
Even when I did get to [insert name of well-known retailer here], I couldn’t get my first choice of laptop. The store’s computer insisted that there was one in stock, but the assistant couldn’t find it.
I’m happy enough with the one I’ve got, but it sucks that an almost-$1,000 device doesn’t come with a specific set-up instruction sheet. The included flyer begins with the phrase “Depending on your product …” and then explains what to do if it has a touch screen (which it does not). These companies spend millions on research and development, on parts and labour, and on marketing, but can’t compose and issue a separate sheet of paper for each model.
WHAT’S AT STEAK?
March, 2020: The steak sandwich is back, just the way I used to like it. In my most recent suburban sojourn, I had a late lunch at the Stellarossa cafe at Arana Hills. I originally wanted the spaghetti carbonara, but apparently they were all out of pasta, so I had to panic order at the till, and opted for a steak sandwich instead. “I nearly ordered one of those,” my luncheon companion said, “but I thought it would have that terrible thick bread they always use.” “They” being just about every other cafe.
So, while this wasn’t the no.1 greatest steak sandwich of all time, it certainly took me back to my youth, when a thin piece of steak between slices of “normal” toast, plus a few bits of vegetable matter, was a perfectly acceptable dining-out experience. Does anybody know another place where they don’t fancy-up the old favourites?
SHIP SHAPE
This from April 28, 2020. I’m republishing it because I’m crazy about cruises, and can’t wait to set sail again.
A few months ago, it seemed that there was a news story every second day about Brisbane’s new cruise port, which is due to open late this year. Then came the virus, and the incidents aboard the Diamond Princess and Ruby Princess, and there’s not been a lot of positive news about the cruise industry since.
The Port of Brisbane has been mostly quiet, with its most recent tweet about the cruise port being on March 8, focusing on the recent visit by Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. Three days earlier, it retweeted a post from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noting that the $177 million new cruise port was supporting 250 construction jobs. According to the official website, it will also bring 760,000 visitors annually and contribute $1.3 billion in net expenditure to the Brisbane economy.
It’s no secret that I’m a cruise-ship fan, and I will go to sea again — when it’s absolutely safe to do so. I’m supportive of the new cruise port, especially if it means more cruises will leave from and return to Brisbane — even if the site near the Luggage Point sewerage works (which, I believe, will be deodorised when ships are in port) is not ideal.
FEEDBACK
From Ted: “Beg to differ with this statement: ‘… Coca-Cola and KFC is the same all around the world’. This is simply not true. They are MEANT to be the same but the reality is they are not. Coke in Thailand definitely is not the same as the stuff I bought sometimes in Australia. And on the extremely rare occasion I eat KFC here (Thailand), I often take it back to the counter because the pieces are dry and have obviously been sitting in the hot tray for far too long. They are always happy to cook me a fresh batch, BTW, so I am not dissing KFC, I am just saying standards of franchises around the world differ...”
Author’s clarification: I know there are variations of these products, but in my experience (which spans scores of countries) the basic products — in the case of KFC and Coke, the original-recipe chicken and the ‘Classic’ cola — are the same worldwide. There are extra products for different markets to suit different tastes.
Janelle on whether school kids visit farms and factories any more: “No sadly. Most of the 1970s/80s factories are almost gone. We went to Nanda, Sandgate Fish Corp, Pauls Milk, Golden Circle & day at Ekka. This doesn’t happen now. Kindys do go to a farm out past Cashmere. Easier to organise incursions than excursions these days for schools.”
Noel notes that insurance and other costs associated with bus trips might be a reason why there are fewer field trips these days.
POSTSCRIPT
Don’t forget this is happening on October 8: for the first time in Brisbane commercial-radio history, two stations are swapping frequencies. News Talk 4BC (disclosure: I work there) is moving to 882 on the AM dial. It will, of course, still be available on DAB+, the web and the 4BC app, and Radio App.
PHOTO FINISH
This creature has evolved to look exactly like a tree leaf. So I think it’s fair to say that a carpark is not its natural habitat.