Isn't having a smoking section in a restaurant like having a peeing section in a swimming pool?

Naa because ya don't set fire to the end of ya willy before ya let er rip!!!

Saw a cartoon once. As a couple was being seated the question was asked: "First hand or Second hand smoke?"

I smoked from 18 to 54. I was up to 4 packs a day when I quit cold turkey. Now I can't believe how inconsiderate those smoking people are.
It's all in your point of view I guess.
And, Bad *** Wallace, that's the first post I've ever seen with an Aussie accent.
Good on ya!
I drank more than two beers and sang Waltzing Matilda a time or two with some of the Aussie brethren in Vietnam.

Old Jim,

I am a smoker, but I agree with you that most smokers are inconsiderate. I only smoke outside my own house, never where folks are eatin and never in the car which I share with my missus. You won't find one single butt in my yard from me.

You ever come to Australia, I find a bed, some beers and sing along with ya.

Bad ***,
About 12 years ago, I ran out of cigarettes one night. I had to go about 10 miles round trip to get more and pay way more than they were worth. I told myself "you should quit".
Yeah right, quit for the 12,327th time.
Got up the next morning, reached for a cigarette, said "No you're going to quit". This time it worked. Never smoked another one. Did eat about a ton of sunflower seeds over the first 3 months. I think the secret is making up your mind that you are doing it for yourself and not for other people. You can't quit when you are doing it for (pick one) your: wife, kids, mother, friends, doctor etc.
Gained about 35 lbs over the next year but still feel a lot better. Doctor said. "Tobacco will get you a lot sooner than fat."
The Aussie that I remember best was a Major in Aerial Surveillance. Having a senior moment right now and can't remember his name. Cool Dude tho. Loved the hat.

With that much sunflower, it is lucky you didn't grow feathers and turn into a flamin cockatoo.

Yeah I quit once, was the worst ****ed five minutes of ma life!! I tell you though with a single pack pushin $10 each I'm goin to get them out of my system by Christmas. That's a promise.

(I'll use the savings for that Sharps "Quigley" model.

Bad ***,
Since Americans have a love affair with all things Australian, that movie (Quigley, Down Under) was a hit here.
I am curious if you feel like it was realistic from your point of view.

The movie was plausable but probably not historical. Like in the US in the past and to a lesser extent today we judged and treated a man by the colour of his skin or his nationality or his dress.

I like Quigley because I can relate to his role in this story. To judge a man by his actions and deeds, to give his hand of friendship to the German gunsmith and the aboriginal servant, to rescue a damsel in distress and to bring wrath on the wrong doers with a 45/110 Sharps.

The flick was not overly popular here except among our shooting fraternity but neither was Paul Hogan in "Lightning Jack" the villianous rougue that just wanted to be famous with a big reward on his head.

Since you brought up Hogan, what is Australia's take on the Dundee movies?

Hogues is just bloody funny and reflects the rascal in us all!

My son was spoken to last week for stringin dunny paper across the street from pole to pole at 12 midnight. They turned around about 10 cars but a young girl came down the street and did a four wheel lock up through the paper. the noise woke up the neighbourhood and someone called the cops.

This was their way of having fun!

Hogues is just plain fun! and a real good laugh.

Lightening Jack? I don't think it made it up here. I've never heard of it anyway.
I got my first taste of Australia with Zane Grey and "Wilderness Trek". A whole lot of years ago. We all hear about the Asian Buffalo hunting you have. Are there very many of them? I understand that they are highly localized. In the North?

Old Jim,

Lightening Jack made it to Iowa several years ago, so suspect it was elsewhere before that as we're usually the last to get the latest releases.

Eric,

Apparently you folks know how to build cities and then live in them. From today's CNN web page:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Melbourne and Vancouver are the best cities in the world for expatriates to live in, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Both Australia and Canada fared well in the survey, with the west Australian city of Perth ranking third, and Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide tying in eighth place.

Toronto and Montreal also made the top 10, while Calgary was 16th. (Full list)

Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea came in last place, while the European Union was considered the best region to live just ahead of North America.

Conducted by the London-based EIU -- the business information arm of the Economist Group -- the survey assessed the level of hardship for expatriates in 130 cities.

It looked at 12 factors including housing, education, recreational activities and climate, rating every city on a five-point scale in each category, with five indicating extreme hardship.

Melbourne weather, notorious for providing four seasons in a single day was all that prevented it from receiving a perfect score of zero.

Port Moresby
On the other end of the scale, Port Moresby managed a hardship score of 80.

There, expatriates "must take extreme security precautions ... Education and health indicators are poor, corruption is rife and high humidity makes the climate oppressive all year round," the report said.

Rounding out the top ten cities were Vienna, Geneva and Zurich (all equal fourth) while Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Oslo were also equal eighth.

The Japanese cities of Osaka and Tokyo were the highest rated in Asia in equal 21st spot. Next best was Hong Kong in 44th place. The most livable mainland Chinese cities were Guangzhou and Shanghai at equal 73rd.

London was also rated 44th while Honolulu was the preferred U.S. city in equal 21st place. New York was ranked 52nd.

****,
I was just getting ready to go on vacation to Port Moresby.

Jim,

You better settle for a beer with Eric!!

Dan

I live about 20km north of Brisbane where the air is clean the beer is cold and the weather is perfect.

You can go for a 1/2 hour drive and have a beer in Beerwah, a burp in Burpengary and a short stop at Petrie, if necesary, on the way home!!!!

Shootin range is 32km away, gunroom 30m and the beer fridge 20 feet. Best mate, Jock lives within walkin distance, makes the home brew and is not a bad singer.

Wish you were here.

Sounds close enough to heaven to keep me happy!!!