Maccers - I'm (really) lovin' it

I admit it: I'm "officially" a fan of McDonalds.

Their food tastes good, I understand their employees are treated well, I applaud that they do a lot of charitable sponsorship and get involved in communities. Sure they've shot themselves in the foot a few times but name me another company so much in the public eye that hasn't done so at some stage.

They're also easy targets given that they serve up fried, highly calorific food, especially in America where obesity is a problem (but is clearly increasing elsewhere). Take that "Super Size Me" movie, for example. Now I haven't seen it but I have read multiple synopses of it. Why did Spurlock choose to publicly pursue McDonalds and apparently only them? What about Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Wendys, KFC, Panda Express and all the rest*? Why not eat on donuts for a month? Or deep fried chicken?

*Here's a quiz of the top selling fast food chains in the US - see how many you can name.

It doesn't take a genius or a Hollywood movie to figure out that constantly eating that sort of food will be detrimental to your health. I don't ever recall McDonalds promoting themselves as everyday food or even regular food. Society has given such these fast food companies this image because we choose to eat there so often. I remember as a child that Maccers was the ultimate once in a blue moon treat. But there was a time a few years ago when I was consistently working long hours in Berlin - I had to pass both a McDonalds and Burger King going home when changing trains, so inevitably grabbed a couple of cheeseburgers. Of course I had my rationale and justifications (read: excuses) but it still comes back to choice.

Back to my original theme. I like McDonalds, I do. This will sound like an odd thing to say but Maccers has made a "positive contribution" in my life and I'm happy to admit it.

Ireland, pre-Euro conversion, so late '90s. Maccers ran a promo offering two cheeseburgers for a pound. A friend and I would go in, one of us would sit down while the other went to order: "6 (sometimes 8!) cheeseburgers and a large coke please." Yes, we shared the coke but you miss the point which was for staff to think all that food was for one person. Inevitably they'd stare at us quizzically like you'd grown a giant McNugget as a second head, said curious stare turning to daggers once they realised they'd been cleaned out of cheeseburgers for a while with lots of other customers ordering them.

Is breá liom é.

Germany, just a few years ago, the €1 cheeseburger. Coming home late (see story above) I'd grab one or two at the station and have them gobbled before my connecting U-bahn arrived... quick, convenient, cheap, no washing up and no food wastage which inevitably comes with cooking for one.

Ich liebe es.

Australia, 2009. You gotta give them props, Maccers do cater to local environments. Ice cream cone for 30c, anyone? And that's Australian money too, remember. The only thing bad about this particular promo is the resulting queue on a hot day! Next, like in the US, they offer free and open Wi-Fi to customers - obviously there are limits, e.g. 50MB bandwidth per session, but that's ample for a quick surf and email check and should you exceed that you just re-connect and go again. Finally though, and this is the clincher. Walking "home" in Sydney after dinner (in a restaurant!) with a visiting friend - we'd skipped dessert as she wanted cheesecake but none was on offer - and McCafé to the rescue! Not one, not two, but three varieties on offer ready to take away. Brownie (or rather cheesecake) points for yours truly and yes we did try all of them!

I'm lovin' it.
 

Adventures in Aussie Touch Footie Part 3 - NSW Junior State Cup

Monday 9th February

"Welcome to the Junior State Cup 2009. This tournament is undoubtedly the biggest Touch event in the history of the sport and it keeps on increasing in numbers each year. This year there are 303 teams, which is the most we have had nominate. To support this we have 301 referees. This now entrenches the event as the largest in the world."

This is how the intro' letter of the referee's information pack begins. I was told by quite of the local Touchies at the State Cup back in December that if I thought that was big/impressive/etc., to "wait until I saw Junior State" which would be "50% bigger again" and not just with participants - thousands of kids between 10 and 18 years old - but this time with lots of *parents* around the place too. Apparently a lot of them are voraciously supportive of their kids (read: competitive!) with referees in particular copping a lot of verbal from the sidelines, seemingly irrespective of the decisions they make. Over half the 300+ referees' team are juniors themselves so should spectators turn out as rumoured, I hope they remember that without referees there would be no games and these kids are trying to learn as they go and deserve a lot of credit for stepping to this environment to gain experience.

In an unexpected twist, I just realised I've been appointed as a team leader... interesting.

Weekend 14th/15th February

What is it about this sport and early starts?! Up at 6:15am Saturday to be at the fields by 7:00am (after hopefully catching a lift) in time for a 7:15 team leader's meeting. Other referees didn't get much longer in bed though, as they needed to be present for an all-referee's meeting at 7:30am. The first timeslot started at 8:00am.

Referee appointments are done, in my opinion, in a very smart way here. First referees are allocated to a team and then those teams are allocated to a group. Group A is appointed to the first timeslot, group B to the second and so on until each group is allocated, then it's back to group A and the sequence is done again. This means referees generally have one game on followed by two off. Sometimes a team will not be appointed in a group's timeslot - they're effectively on standby making it easier for team leaders to find replacements should somebody in their team pull out of a game, e.g. due to injury. It all works really well - not sure if and/or how it would adapt to smaller sized tournaments that we have back in Europe... mathematically it certainly seems plausible, if a bit tight in case of injuries or other "replacement needing" problems.

The point of discussing that was that my team was the one on standby for the first timeslot (8:30am, 2nd of the day) that our group was appointed to. I thought this was pretty great as it took some of the initial time pressure off to get through some paperwork, admin, introductions and team talk.

Earlier in the week the [Sydney] weather turned largely overcast and showery bringing some welcome relief from the stifling heat. On Thursday it turned to heavy rain - which I got caught in sans umbrella - causing streams to flow down the city streets within minutes. Friday didn't improve much so that evening I spent much of the trip to Wollongong hoping the wet weather wouldn't follow, but it did.

Early on Saturday afternoon the heavens opened, turning many of the fields into puddle-ridden marshland and walkways with frequent traffic into mud tracks. Sunday also saw regular monsoon conditions for much of the day, before the sun finally managed to break through mid-afternoon. You couldn't, as I learned the hard (cold, wet and slimy) way while wearing Crocs barefoot, enter or exit the referee's tent without your feet sinking half an inch into the mud! Oh well, apparently Junior State Cup weekend just isn't the same without the rain. It's amusing to that in 5 years of attending Touch events, that the south-east coast of Australia, during summer, would be where I break my duck of not getting drenched :-)

The referee's tent generally remained pretty packed with few people, when they were off duty, going outside to stand watching games in the rain and damp. People came back from games, myself included, looking and feeling like drowned rats so the name of the game was to stay sheltered and get dry and warm. With so many around most of the time there was plenty of chit-chat and banter to keep spirits high and a nice atmosphere.

You'd really have to see these kids play to realize just how good they are, especially at such an early age. I was blown away watching 10-14 year olds repeatedly execute what coaches refer to as the "basic skills", for example performing ONE-HANDED roll balls on the run and on the mark almost every time. I dare say that a few of the 18s and even 16s sides would give quite a few sides in Europe a run for their money.

I had variations of "it's only juniors" said to me both in the run up and during the event, but was always sceptical - maybe it's a perspective thing. Certainly most of the kids rocked up of course to compete to win but certainly to play Touch and have fun doing so. But you'd think it was a matter of life and death for some of the coaches and parents if the child wasn't doing something right (coach) or a decision went against a (parent's) child, by some of the "colourful" outbursts. A slightly more amusing confirmation came when I was returning to the referee's tent on Sunday after retrieving a cuppa from the refreshments tent, when I passed three 10 year old girls each drinking a Powerade and wearing full leg length SKINS compression tights. Now I wear a size S in these things and my legs are a good 3 feet long. These kids were barely as tall as my hips! So I found a few things running through my mind, like "Good lord they really make these things in your size?" and "C'mon, you're TEN!" as well as the more practical "How'd you manage to get your folks to shell out $140 for these things?" before reverting to "You're TEN!" So yes, junior Touch is taken pretty darn seriously.

On-field, I refereed 18s games all weekend with the exception of a couple of 16s semis and the 12s grand final. I was very pleased to get the final appointment as it put me inside the top 25 of the 300+ referees at the event. My medal (I get the impression they're handed out to commemorate appointments rather than just for showing up) is hanging on my bedroom wall now, a souvenir of a unique event in my Australian trip that I just couldn't have bought.
 

It's Six Nations time again

 
France and England at home, away to Italy, Scotland and Wales. I've always looked at every second campaign as the more realistic opportunity for Ireland to win the championship - it's a big ask to beat both England and France on their home turf in the reverse season.

I'm finding that 2009 is no different. England are a shambles while France seem to be doing the entirely sensible thing of blooding new players early into the second year of the World Cup cycle and building some depth & experience into the squad for 2011, weakening them (I use the term loosely) in the short term. Italy are, well, Italy. My concerns are Wales & Scotland.

Wales have, by the proverbial country mile, been playing the best rugby in the northern hemisphere during the past year or so with a superb blend of skill & style - of course there is also the memory of what happened in 2005 (the last time Ireland went to Cardiff in 2005 for a Grand Slam showdown) when Irish arses were well and truly spanked. Scotland have too many average days at the office but every so often, like last season against England, spring a quality win. In my mind though, again, is the 2003 season Ireland were competing for the Slam only to self destruct in Murrayfield - so make no mistake Scotland are a slapstick comedy sized banana skin and you need look no further than Leinster's results in Edinburgh for evidence of that.

And so we come to Ireland. It's hard to know what to expect - will we get more apathetic toothless displays of recent memory or a return to some of the most exciting rugby we've ever seen? Irish sporting mentality for the longest time has us content to be the plucky lads just happy to participate and anything else is a bonus (I'd wager you can remember where you where and how you completely lost your mind when David O'Leary slotted home that penalty in 1990). It's argued that such a mentality no longer applied when it came to Irish rugby's "golden generation". While I do think this was true initially and we demanded success, we remained unsurprised and accepting when defeated (2007 World Cup excepted). Prior to this Ireland won three Triple Crowns in four seasons - the first was an achievement to be rightly celebrated, but subsequent ones became acceptable consolation viewed as a successful campaign even though we couldn't get over France, at least we "won something".

This is where I start to take exception. The competition is for the SIX Nations Championship, not four. We shouldn't be content with the Triple Crown anymore but kicking on to win the whole damn thing, not accepting anything less than the Championship. As a nation we've shown we have what it takes to be European Champions with Munster winning the Heineken Cup last season and Leinster claiming the Magners League not to mention both provinces being in the mix for both competitions this season - and I have genuine hope this year we will finally get the formula right and translate that success to the national team.

So come on lads, get stuck in and HAVE A GO. Answer Ireland's call - show us all what you're capable of and bring home that elusive Slam.
 

Looking out my office window

 
So I've been doing some temping work to bring in some cash while I attempt to land a more stable role. My current assignment is with ABN AMRO bank and this lunchtime I'm taking in the north-east view from the 27th floor while I chow down on a sandwich. It's pretty spectacular (the view I mean, the food is pretty ordinary).

The lush oasis of the Royal Botanical Gardens lies immediately below, its backdrop the various bays of Sydney Harbour that meander out into the Tasman Sea and beyond as far as the eye can see. The waters are calm but busy today - I can count almost 60 yachts and small recreational sailboats all of which are seemingly unfussed about which direction they go, whichever catches the best wind I guess. My eyes glazed over just for a moment as my mind escaped from sitting behind this desk to the lazing on the back of a boat with the sun and wind in my face, joining the steady stream of runners around the waterfront route through the gardens or the Touch@Lunch game that's happening in the Domain (a park on the opposite the Botanical Gardens on the other side of the Cahill Expressway) . Yahwell, back to reality...

Down to the left is the world famous Sydney Opera House sitting prominently and proudly on what from some angles appears to be its own island, overlooked by the colossal Sydney Harbour Bridge - two iconic symbols of a city and nation if ever there were. No surprise then that millions continue to flock to Sydney to ring in the New Year, the harbour area is a perfect setting for what is a dazzling fireworks display… *iff* (no I've not misspelt it) you can get a good spot to view it. But I'll save that insight for another time.

Warning: random tangent approaching. I wonder what was architect Jørn Utzon's inspiration was for his [Opera House] design. I admit I haven't a clue when it comes to art, or the Arts. The roof structures are commonly referred to as "shells" so perhaps he was a pasta lover. Funnily enough their tiles have the same sort of pastel matt light beige cream colour that cooked pasta takes on - despite all the images you've seen the building is in fact not white - so perhaps I'm actually onto something there. Having resigned in 1966 from the project amid much controversy and finger pointing, Utzon never returned to Australia to see the completed Opera House. He was apparently to do so in 2009 at the age of 90 but unfortunately died last November.

Completing the panorama is the cityscape of Sydney's Eastern Suburbs that stretches out to the east coast and the beaches of Bondi, Clovelly, Bronte and Coogee. Although it is completely built up and dotted with high rise buildings (even the occasional cluster of them) it's interesting to note the clumps of green that permeate the urban sprawl, making it look like they actually built around them.

I really could gaze out at this all day if there wasn't more work to be done. Must remember to bring my camera tomorrow...

What are you looking at?
 

Adventures in Aussie Touch Footie Part 2 - Fight! Fight! Fight!

 
I've been refereeing, on average a couple of nights per week, with the Eastern Suburbs Touch Association out in Sydney's Queen's Park. Easts run the largest Touch comp in Australia - the current summer comp has on average 16 fields going for 2 timeslots 4 nights a week with further games running on Saturdays.

It is in essence a "park" comp but every player young or old brings a *very* competent basic skill level, so even down in division 15 (it does exist) they know what they're doing. At the other end of the scale in the upper divisions teams have the added expectation of winning, not to the mention the step-up in intensity that goes along with it. Last night I ran a Mixed Div 1-3 game in which just a couple of minutes in I sensed I may have problems with some of the fellas. It wasn't until later I would learn both sides had known mouthy players and one side had even been "given a season off" in the past - they were also both apparently in poor positions in the standings for exactly what I can't recall but suppose relegation or qualification for finals - either way they were up for putting one over on the other.

The first half was an untidy affair with players being particularly lazy on the scoreline with onside and moving out off the line. Mid-way though both sides started committing clumsy, borderline-physical touches that stuffed up the attacking player's roll ball began to creep in more and more. Not enough to warrant anything more than penalties but I did warn both sides to clean it up before blowing to start the second half. It seemed to have the desired effect, that was until a blue player pushed a red player (guys both of them) off his roll ball. The red player though, went down like a European footballer, like he'd been shot simultaneously with having both his legs broken. Pussy! Yes it was a push, but nowhere near what he'd made it look like. I had to send the blue guy to the sin bin for the push but sent the red guy as well for cheating to milk a penalty. Both guys went without much dispute so maybe the message was hitting home now. Things went pretty smoothly again for a while, that was until the red side got a breakaway from mid-way inside their own half. With the red guy haring down the left link channel a blue guy managed to run him down coming across from the middle. But he didn't stop at a touch, he pushed the runner over. And that's where the "fun" started...

The red guy got to his feet, understandably annoyed, and threw the ball at the blue guy's head - American football style - but thankfully missed. Both players fronted up to one another, testosterone flowing, and traded obscenities and insults escalating to punches. The other guys from both sides of course got involved - some to break it up, others to do the opposite - including one blue player who crossed the field from his own sub box to throw a punch. Not a lot you can do except take a step back and watch - as a referee you're expected to provide a report on this stuff. The squabbling continued even after the teams separated as players just wouldn't shut up. After I regained a modicum of control, I binned the blue player for the initial offense. I didn't realize until later that this was actually the same blue player I'd sent earlier for the same offense - so he should actually have been sent off - but I rectified that with Tournament Control later. Good experience though and lesson learned: stop to take note of players you discipline. The red player who got pushed did get sent off, as did the second blue player - it doesn't matter what others do they can't react the way they did.

Now we're about 2 minutes gone at this stage with players still bickering when, mercifully, the full time hooter went. Strictly speaking, I should have played the penalty but since (i) I couldn't decide (yes I admit it) who should get it, and (ii) I'd had enough of the lot of them, I just ended the game. The guys involved in the scrap were still exchanging verbals by the time I'd quickly and quietly clarified my decisions to one of each team so I just left them to it.

In case you're wondering, the score was tied!