This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
$0/
(min cost $0)
Login or signup to continue reading
He attends regularly twice a week, even though getting there can be a challenge. It's a highlight in his routine and it's disappointing if circumstances derail his plans.
He's 86 and a confirmed gym junkie.
"We had a woman who was still lifting weights at 105," he tells me.
He credits his gym routine with keeping him stronger and a little more mobile than he'd be without it. And certainly, he looks to be in better shape than the Pope, who's about the same age and decidedly frail. But, to be fair, he doesn't have the Vatican curate to deal with.
He's part of a free program, designed to keep the elderly mobile and less prone to falls. His wife, some years younger and in rude good health, is addicted too - not to the gym but to seeing her husband retain his independence by getting out of the house and jumping on a bus to go and do something he really enjoys.
Enthusiastic about the program - even a little evangelical about it - my father-in-law has been asking me to write about it for months. This week, I found a reason.
As you know, I'm on a cruise in South East Asia and, as you'd expect, the majority of passengers are well advanced in age. What's struck me is how bright, energetic and interesting most of them are. Eager to strike up a conversation, engaged in the onboard lectures, many preferring to take the companionways between decks rather than the elevators.
"I got an Apple alert on my phone," a retired farmer from Virginia tells me over breakfast. "It told me I was in a spike of physical activity. I never pay attention to my phone but this surprised me." He's walking and using stairs more on the ship than he does on dry land.
A couple of days ago, another passenger, still carrying the military bearing of his working life as a helicopter pilot, said he "did miles" on the deck and on the exercise bike in the ship's gym before breakfast.
For me, a lifetime's restlessness has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I have to walk, even when I'm writing. This may be hard to believe but writing, for me, is a physical activity.
I have to get up every few minutes and walk, pacing from one room to the other. It helps the words come and orders sentences.
This was a curse in the newsroom, distracting colleagues seemingly glued to their keyboards. Now, working remotely, I'm free to pace like a caged leopard without disturbing anyone.
And I'm hoping this lifelong addiction to movement will pay dividends, with greater mobility and better balance in my autumn years.
ECHIDNA AFLOAT
When last in Jakarta, more than 40 years ago, I was approached by a young fellow with a magnetic smile who wanted to practise his English. We struck up a conversation and he invited me to his home to meet his family. Misgivings were put aside and I took up the offer.
It gave me a rare glimpse into the city, beyond the soaring high rises, jampacked roadways and national monuments. On a surprisingly leafy and quiet street, I was shown to his modest but comfortable home and invited in. His family all bore the same winning smile as they fussed over me, offering drinks and food and asking questions about life in Australia.
I found those same smiles in Jakarta yesterday. On the faces of vendors in the street, museum attendants, bus drivers and people just crossing my path in the street. Despite the challenges of living in a city too large and too crowded for its own good, the willingness to smile was remarkable. We could learn a lot from these people.
I also found peace, in the old town where the Dutch colonial buildings have been restored or are in the process of renovation. A taste of old Amsterdam in the tropics. The normally busy public square in front of the crisply whitewashed old governor's residence was almost empty, the usual throngs conserving their energy during Ramadan's daytime fast. No traffic clamour here.
On that previous trip to Indonesia, I'd sat transfixed during a Wayang Kulit shadow puppet performance of the Ramayana story. Yesterday, during a visit to the Wayang Puppet Museum, housed in an old Dutch church, we saw it from backstage. Top marks to the puppeteer who operates the characters, narrates and conducts the gamelan orchestra at the same time.
Today, we are at sea, sailing between Sumatra and Borneo, on our way north to the equator and Singapore. My intention, after a long walk, is to find a quiet spot with a view of the sea and a book from one of the many libraries scattered throughout the ship.
And, after that, another long walk.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you have a regular exercise routine or use a fitness tracker to count your steps? Do you walk at least once a day? When offered a choice, do you take the stairs or the escalator or lift? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Penny Wong has declared that Australia's ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, will remain in the job should Donald Trump return to the White House. This despite the former US President ripping into Rudd and warning he "won't be there long" if he is "hostile".
- Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has found cereals were among the products worst affected by shrinkflation. Shrinkflation is a tactic used by companies to decrease the size of a product but keep the price the same often without consumers knowing.
- A man has been accused of animal cruelty after dozens of snakes, dead and alive, were allegedly found in his van during a traffic stop. Officers pulled over the 22-year-old man in Bundaberg, Queensland at 7.10pm on March 2 and asked to examine a container that was holding two pythons, police said.
THEY SAID IT: "Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far." - Thomas Jefferson
YOU SAID IT: The Coalition's push for nuclear energy seems destined to fizzle out if the comments from the burrow are any indication.
Horst writes: "I would suggest to every politician who's pushing for nuclear power to start working on it by finding a place for storing the nuclear waste and get agreement for it from the occupants of that land. And I'd ask them not to rattle on about it any more until they've taken that first hurdle."
"You're bang on about Dutton's nuclear aspirations, John," writes David from Burradoo. "If he were to actually come out with something truly practical and commonsensible like, say, massive government investment (via loans which would be recouped) in putting panels on all available roofs, and local storage hubs, he would help reduce emissions, help the poor punters about whom he weeps tears of blood, and do it a darn sight faster and cheaper than this pie-in-the-sky nuclear dream."
Narelle writes: "We've had 18 panels of rooftop solar for about two decades, and the feedins paid for them before the rate plummeted. I can't give you exact data but they certainly offset our bill, especially in peak winter and summer when we run the air con. As for that Ted O'Brien interview - what he said was for me negated by the volume of word salad. Not only did he continually shoot himself in the foot, but he was just plain rude. We've loved the Echidna from day dot, and are thoroughly enjoying the adventures and musings of Echidna Afloat. Please continue to make our start to the day that bit more special."
"Come on, John," writes John, "I'm sure I've heard Ms Ferguson suggesting that there was a need to 'unpack' an issue when an interviewee was hoping to get away with generalisations. 'Mansplaining' vs 'I'm-in-charge-hereplaining'?"
Old Donald writes: "Resources? Free solar and free wind: where is the hitch there? This still must be the luckiest country on earth so far as natural power potential is concerned. Luddites don't get it. They never will. The facts are that we have what we need and they are what we can exploit successfully, with few if any threats, risks, whatever ... Bill Gates was spot on!"
"We used to live in Jakarta back in the 1990s, where, inter alia, I helped establish the Australian Independent (formerly International) School," writes Angela, who has rooftop solar. "The first word you learn in Bahasa is 'macet' (pronounced 'matchet') - means traffic congestion. I do hope you saw some of the beautiful old Sunda Kelapa boats all brightly painted. My little son walked up the plank on to one of them. The plank was only a foot wide and I lacked the courage. You mentioned OpenNEM. There's a nerdier site called WattClarity which will give you much more info. The latest on why the wholesale price is currently dropping - the bidding process that all suppliers use and the gas providers gamed - quite legitimately. Might be worth having a look at."
Lee writes: "I was disgusted at Peter Dutton's attack on the CSIRO. While they came out to protect themselves, Australia's chief scientist also said Dutton was wrong. I don't think nuclear is for Australia, I wouldn't want to live near a reactor. I wouldn't want to be the town where they bury or store the waste. We have put solar on. When the kids lived at home it dropped our bill by about $600 a quarter. Apart from the set-up costs it is free and comes everyday, even in winter. There is a problem getting rid of old solar panels but this is being worked on. It isn't anywhere as problematic as getting rid of nuclear waste."
"I'm what's commonly known as an early adopter," writes Amanda. "Our family installed our first set of solar panels about 25 years ago - at a then huge 2kw and an eye watering $30,000 to install plonked straight onto the house mortgage - we were considered the biggest domestic installation in a suburb south of Sydney! Fast forward to now, the panels are still pumping out energy and probably only just running out of warranty. The average home has twice that installation and the price well that's just kept coming down. Nuclear might be smart for other countries but definitely not here in the lucky country. Dutto is definitely Duddo on this one."
Lorraine writes: "I've lived near a nuclear reactor for the last 45 years and it's been there for over 60 years. I'm still waiting for my $275 power bill cut. In the meantime my bill is going up more than $275!"
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Donald Low
Mort Laitner
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
visit website
