Thursday, October 18, 2007

Edition #105 281/226

~ Published each Thursday ~

Enquire about Joining PWP

Email Outlook

Outlook Online << Click here if you missed any copy of “Outlook”.

Why YOU should join Parents Without Partners (PWP)

· Over 1,500 affordable activities a year

· Something on every day

· Subsidised children's activities every weekend

· A great new single lifestyle

· Meet people and make friends at PWP

· Membership is a passport to any PWP activities in Australia & overseas

· Members always have discounts at open functions

Everything you want to know is at the PWP NSW Website

BILLBOARD

-STATE-

PLEASE NOTE:

To renew your membership by credit card or to fax your renewal form, ring Kim on 9833 2633 between 10am and 5pm (if not available leave a message and she will call you back)

-BRANCH ANNOUNCEMENTS-

BRANCH COMMITTEES: Please Email ANNOUNCEMENTS or PROGRAM CHANGES to be published here…

-COMBINED BRANCHES-

-CITY-

Saturday 20th – Prospective New Members & Family BBQ

12.00 Carwar Avenue, Carss Park (off Princes Hwy)

Beaut park by the water with a playground and walking path. If you know any potential members please ask them to come along. We’ll supply the bread and sausages. BYO everything else.

Bookings are essential so that we don’t run out of food. Ring Alex now on 9554 3444

-HILLS-

-MACARTHUR-

-NORTHSIDE-

-THE COMING WEEK

-(in brief - see ‘Soleparent’ for details)

Thursday 18 October

Final Bookings for:Northside - Thai Gourmet Rest. 19 Oct.

HILLS DISTRICT

OPEN FAMILY SQUASH

NORTHSIDE

BUSHWALK

Friday 19 October

Final Bookings for:City - Lunch at Sydney Rowers Sun 21st.

CITY OF SYDNEY

DINE AT UNA'S RESTAURANT 133-135 Broadway

Also

OKTOBERFEST STAPLETONS RESTAURANT Sutherland

HILLS DISTRICT

ADULT HOUSE PARTY @ David's, Doonside

MACARTHUR

CAMPBELLTOWN RSL

NORTHSIDE

SPICY THAI GOURMET RESTAURANT Crows Nest

Saturday 20 October

HILLS DISTRICT

LEBANESE RESTAURANT DINNER @ Sahra Lebanese Restaurant, Parramatta

Also

YOUNG SINGLES BOWLING Blacktown

MACARTHUR

ADULT HOUSE PARTY @ Ian's, Bradbury

NORTHSIDE

BARBECUE - 5.30pm at Norman's, Mt Colah

Sunday 21 October

CITY OF SYDNEY

SYDNEY ROWERS CLUB Abbottsford

HILLS DISTRICT

ASQUITH DINNER

Also

FAMILY PICNIC BBQ & BIKE RIDING Nurrangingy Reserve, Doonside

Also

ADULT TENNIS AFTERNOON Caber Park, Winston Hills

MACARTHUR

FAMILY PICNIC AT BURRAGORANG VALLEY

NORTHSIDE

BUSHWALK - Lane Cove National Park

Monday 22 October

CITY OF SYDNEY

WALK THE BAY

HILLS DISTRICT

BUDGET DINNER

Also

BRANCH COMMITTEE MEETING Castle Hill Tennis Courts

NORTHSIDE

INFORMAL MORNING COFFEE AND CHAT Dural

Tuesday 23 October

Final Bookings for:City - Melbourne Cup Day Lunch 6th Nov.

CITY OF SYDNEY

PROSPECTIVE MEMBER'S EVENING

HILLS DISTRICT

SPORTS CLUB DINNER

NORTHSIDE

DINNER AND CHAT

Wednesday 24 October

HILLS DISTRICT

OPEN SOCIAL TENNIS

Also

KINGSWOOD DANCE

Also

PWP KINDY KIDS

Thursday 25 October

Final Bookings for:Northside - Portico Rest. Sat 27 Oct

HILLS DISTRICT

OPEN FAMILY SQUASH

MACARTHUR

'WELCOME' NIGHT @ Kathy's, Bradbury

NORTHSIDE

BUSHWALK

Friday 26 October

HILLS DISTRICT

ADULT HALLOWEEN HOUSE PARTY @ Jenny's. Glenwood

NORTHSIDE

CLASSICAL MUSIC EVENING St Patrick's Chapel, Manly

.STATE PRESIDENT'S DESK.

PWP KINDY KIDS

There are single parents with very young children in the 0 to 6 yo bracket – and the PWP Kindy Kids special interest group is great for the children to get together to play and for the parents to network. It does not matter whether you are a custodial parent or an access parent with young children – you are all welcome – mum and dads as well. We thank Elizabeth for starting the group off and now to Rebecca for taking the PWP Kindy Kids group to the next level. Check out your Sole Parent program, posted to all PWP NSW members, for the PWP Kindy Kids activities details. There are week-end as well as mid-week activities. Rebecca thanks for organizing some school holiday activities while the pre-schools are on holidays. If you can't make – then still make contact with Rebecca and register your interest and your situation. rebecca-lambert2006@hotmail.com

On behalf of fellow members Rebecca thanks for a great job coordinating PWP Kindy Kids.

Ross F State President. Ross F, State President. rossemail@gmail.com

.PWP DOES IT AGAIN.

CHAMPAGNE BY THE POOL

Maureen always hosts a lovely night out by her sparkling pool.It creates a great atmosphere with the pool lights adding that crystal glow to the night. She has a great place for a party and her parties are always well attended. Guest who bring a bottle a champagne are especially welcomed by Maureen - it matches her tastes and add a strawberry and you now have her favourite drink. Maureen thanks for the great parties you host.

-YOU CAN HELP YOUR PWP-

WANTED – NEW BRANCH MENTOR(S)

Have you been involved in a PWP Branch or State committee(s) in the past and understand how things work – and have some links (family or friends) to areas outside of Sydney where you may visit or have a weekender or live part-time – and would be interested in help support the formation of a new branch in that area – then we are interested in supporting you and providing support information & marketing materials that will help develop a local branch. There could other strategic partners in that area that could also help (i.e. social worker of local council or community health).

If you can help in this area email our State President Ross at rossemail@gmail.com

-EDUCATION & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT-

EASTERN SUBURBS COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDI

There is a great diversity of adult education courses offered by this college. A great selection of creative interests as well as career development programs. Ph: (02) 9387 7400 Email: info@escc.nsw.edu.au Web: http://www.escc.nsw.edu.au

-ABC HEALTH NEWS-

CALLS FOR RETIREMENT AGE TO BE EXTENDED Details

SOLARIUM BUSINESS DOWN AFTER CANCER PATIENT'S CAMPAIGN Details

30 MINS EXERCISE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT DIABETES Details

CHLAMYDIA INFECTIONS ON THE RISE Details

HOME HELP FOR MENTALLY ILL REDUCES BURDEN ON HOSPITALS Details

FEDERAL GOVT PUBLIC HOSPITAL FUNDING DECREASING Details More details Even more details

AMALGAM IN TEETH IS SAFE

Amalgam - used to fill teeth - has been blamed for fatigue and brain damage in children. But two recent studies should reassure parents of children needing fillings. Details

-ON THE WEB-

ASTHMA FOUNDATIONS AUSTRALIA

A lot of information about asthma – a good reference for parents of children who suffer from asthma.

www.athmafoundation.org.au

-CHILD SUPPORT-

CALL RECORDING - IMPROVED SERVICE FOR CUSTOMERS

From June 2007, separated parents calling the CSA have benefited from the introduction of call recording.

* Most calls to and from CSA are recorded and may be monitored to increase customer confidence and help improve customer service.

* Call recording will be used for quality assurance and to review customer interactions when investigating and resolving customer complaints or reviewing an objection.

-VOLUNTEERING-

* During 2004, 6.3 million Australians, 41% of adults, volunteered a total of 750 million hours of labour for non-profit organisations of all sizes

* This voluntary contribution was equivalent to an additional $13.3 billion donated to the non-profit sector

* In 1999-2000, when the contribution of volunteers (then estimated at $8.9 billion) is added to the financial data, Australia's nonprofit sector contributed $42 billion to the national economy. This was equivalent to the contribution of the mining industry

-SCIENCE ONLINE-

4D ULTRASOUNDS MAY TEST ABORTION LAWS

Ultrasounds that produce video-quality moving images of the foetus have changed the debate about late-term abortion and is challenging current regulations, an Australian ethics expert says. More

EARTH GETTING STEAMIER AND STEAMIER

Greenhouse gases are making the earth's atmosphere wetter and stickier, which may lead to more powerful hurricanes, hotter temperatures and heavier rainfall in tropical regions, UK researchers report. More

'DESIGNER MICE' WORK WINS NOBEL PRIZE

The gene-targeting technique that helped scientists create 'designer mice' has won its developers this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. More

==== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ====

The New Moon is Thursday October 11. Mercury can easily be seen above the western horizon after sunset, on Saturday October 13, the crescent Moon is just above Mercury. Jupiter is the brightest object in the western evening sky, not far from the red star Antares. In the morning sky, brightening Mars is now an obvious reddish object to the north below Orion, and starts the week very close to the brightish star mu Geminorum. Venus is readily visible low in the eastern morning sky. Saturn and Regulus are visible just below Venus, forming an attractive pattern. During the week, Venus approaches Saturn, and the planets are at their closest on the morning of Monday October 15. More

-October 18-

Birthdays:

1919 Pierre Elliot Trudeau (L) 15th Canadian PM (1968-79, 1980-84)

1925 Melina Mercouri Athens Greece, actress/politician (Never on a Sunday)

1926 Chuck Berry St Louis, rocker (Roll over Beethoven)

1926 George C Scott Wise Va, actor (Patton, Bible, Taps, Hardcore)

1939 Lee Harvey Oswald JFK assassin, born

1956 Martina Navratilova Prague Czech, tennis (Wimbledon 1989,79,82-87)

1958 Jean-Claude Van Damme Belgium, actor (Kickboxer, No Retreat)

On this day...

1890 John Owen is 1st man to run 100 yd dash in under 10 seconds

1892 1st commercial long-distance phone line opens (Chicago-NY)

1922 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) established

1962 Dr Watson (US) & Drs Crick & Wilkins (Britain) win Nobel Prize for Medicine for work in determining structure of DNA

1968 John Lennon & Yoko One fined for marijuana possession

1969 US Federal govt bans use of cyclamates artificial sweeteners

:-) Spanish Class

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."

"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz.."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval;

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine

("el computador"), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.

The women won.

-Afterthought:-

The essential ingredient of politics is timing. – Pierre Trudeau

-TECHNOLOGY TIPS-

Craigslist: Are Newspaper Classifieds Dead? Article from Tourbus.com

Craigslist is sometimes blamed (and praised) for killing the traditional classified ad business, some call it the next eBay, and others use it for job postings. Craigslist was founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark, internet entrepreneur. Often described as an online community, Craigslist is a site where you can find jobs, housing, goods, services, romance, local activities, advice and lots more.

Newmark says he started the site "to give people a break" and over a decade later, it's clear that the bare-bones but very useful site does just that for many people. Craigslist was originally limited to the San Francisco area, with want ads, items to sell, and even personal ads. But with San Francisco "help wanted" ads for a relatively humble $75.00 per ad ($25 for NYC, LA, DC, Boston, Seattle, and San Diego) and all other services offered for free, Craiglist has gained in popularity, expanding to 450 cities in 50 countries.

Craigslist generates income solely from help wanted ads, and offers a month's posting of a job ad at significantly lower cost than traditional print ads, and even lower cost than the leading career websites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder or Hotjobs. In fact, a Wall Street Journal report in 2000 hailed Craiglist as the "most efficient job-recruiting website nationwide." Craigslist's success with it's help wanted ads proved that both employers and employees wanted a cost-effective, no-hassle way to fill openings in the job market.

Newspaper publishers who have traditionally charged high fees for their "help wanted", "for sale", housing and personal ads are seeing that business dry up, and many of them blame Craigslist. Given that Craigslist serves 30 million people a month, and generates over 8 billion page views monthly, that claim doesn't seem far fetched.

Craigslist versus eBay

One fundamental economic shift that's come with the popularity of the Web is the buying and selling of items between individuals. The success of both eBay and Craigslist's "For Sale" section is testimony to how popular online person-to-person commerce has become. Both sites have their positives and negatives. Craiglist, for starters, is free to post goods you want to sell. eBay charges fees to list your wares. Since eBay is strictly a site for buying and selling merchandise, the reputation of the site hinges on the safety of transactions made on it, so many measures are taken against fraudulent activity. Craiglist is more of a free-for-all with an open-market type of feel. Therefore, Craiglist's motto when it comes to buying goods on its site is more-or-less "buyer beware".

Another difference, arguably good or bad depending whom you ask, is that Craigslist, unlike eBay, allows for the bartering of goods, and also for the sale of services. These services can range from computer geeks for hire to other more "personal" services.

Craigslist - Not Without Controversy

Newmark has created a for-profit web site with a communal feel. He has a policy of not policing the website, instead giving users the choice to "flag" any content deemed inappropriate. With enough user flags, the posted content is deleted from the site. This exercise in democracy has not been without controversy, however...

In 2005, Craiglist was in the midst of controversy after New York vice squads uncovered a prostitution ring which used Craiglist as an advertising venue. In 2007, a house in Tacoma, Washington was vandalized and stripped down to nearly its foundation, after a Craiglist ad offered users to come to the home to "take anything you want." Problem was, the ad was placed without the owner's consent.

There is ongoing debate about the often inflammatory comments posted on the "Rants and Raves" message boards. These posts often contain racist and misogynistic language, an unfortunate by-product of the nobler intention of the site's attempt to give some sort of unpoliced forum to users who can post anonymously.

Controversies aside, Craiglist has proven itself as a popular and economical way for people to network and connect, in a variety of contexts. Craigslist is an engine for social interaction, and commerce greases the wheels.

Have a look at Craigslist Sydney here

Computer Problems?………..Hardware failure?

Computer running slowly?…Don’t understand your software?

Internet problems?…………..Don’t know what to do next?

· Help to buy, set up and use your computer

· New or refurbished systems to suit your budget

I have refurbished computers, each internet ready and available now. Fully protected with firewall, antivirus and antispyware installed. Keyboard, mouse and monitor supplied. Ideal first computer or child’s computer.

Please contact me for more details:

Ring John: 9626 9093 or 0408 416 466

Email: getugoing@hotpop.com

Approved by PWP SMC - I maintain (gratis) PWP NSW computers and software

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