Hiking up Mt. Warning

This past weekend I did a hike up this rather large hill called Mt. Warning. I was informed it's called Mt. Warning because it was the tallest mountain-hill in the area and was used as a sign to sailors off the coast that there was dangerous coral reefs in the area. So if you saw this mountain-hill, be aware. Pretty interesting stuff.

We departed at night to climb the mountain-hill (Im just going to call it a mountain because that sounds more bad ass) at around 2:00 am local time but left Queensland at 12 am. You see, Queensland is the only state in Australia that does not have day light savings time so as soon as you cross the southern border into New South Whales, you lose an hour. I don't know, I don't make the rules, thats how it goes.

In the all the hike was about 4.4 k's to the top which is roughly 2.730332 miles..... yea. At first, I figured this will be some kind of nature hike. Cute. Get some cool photos of the area and just kinda enjoy myself. I was.... mistaken. This turned out to be borderline climbing. The path up to the top was pretty laid out and not so difficult... after the first 2 k's. This is where the fun began.

The path started to become very jagged and difficult to walk along especially when the

individual in front of you is holding the flash light, which you do not have. After this, you cannot see the one rock thats sticking in an awkward way that you would have never thought could form in such a way.

After about another 1.5 k's, we got to this sign:

I guess you're not suppose to go pass this point if there is a thunderstorm. Well that wasn't the only interesting fact or observation... there was chain that went completely vertical up the mountain with rocks to help give foot holds and what not. This was fun, but in the dark with a half-assed flash light, it was a challenge.

My buddy Aaron and I climbed what seemed to be a 75˚ incline at times with this rusted chain bolted into the side of the mountain. All together, it was a good time and you felt like you accomplished something when you got to the top.

I got to the top thinking, "wow... yea.... Hell YEa!" But to my surprise there was a guy with a portable barbie cooking up kangroo sausages and all this other food. I walked over and said, "How the hell did you hike up that with all this??" "Ahh I know mate! It was such a bitch, but I

guess I do it every semester. So yea, I get to come for free. Pretty sick right huh?"....... yea. I suppose.

The whole point of climbing at night was to sit and watch the sun hit the first part of the Australian continent. Byron Bay, in which the Mountain is located in, is the most eastern point in Australia. Pretty cool right? Yea, I know. The sun rise was pretty amazing and I had plenty of good buddies to watch it with. I was glad to have gone on the hike. It made me feel accomplished and I had finally seen some nature-istic sites in Australia that I was actively engaging in, as opposed to just seeing them from a distance.

Here is approximately what I saw:

-I had this song (right click 'song' and select new tab or new window to play while scrolling) playing in my headphones the whole time while I watched:

The sight was something I will never forget.

The decent went much quicker than going up but the sight down was even better. I have never seen anything like it in my life. The landscape was absolutely stunning with rolling hills and fog still covering the lower portions of surround hills and mountains. Truly a work of beauty.

(And no dad, these last three shots were not taken from my camera but my buddy Aaron's super nice xxjjkxkj4779 Cannon (I am being a smart ass with the label, I just know it's a cannon.))

Yay Exploration Society!

This place is starting to grow on me.

Tomorrow I go to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Hmmmmmm this should be interesting. O and for all of you whom I talk with back in the states over skype or internet chat, Yes, I know what time it is back home. Thats kinda why I would be speaking with you at the moment : )

Miss and love all you guys. See you in 3 weeks.

-Kolin

PS, I am going to New Zealand. OOOOOOoooooo

Melbourne into Healthcare.

Well, I must say. I am liking this place more and more as i venture out of this bubble called the Gold Coast. I feel like I have been given a tanted view of Australia. The country is beautiful and the people are kind but still, it's inefficient as hell. I do enjoy it when it carries through with the good though.

This weekend I went to Melbourne, quite the place. My friend Ed and I embarked on a mission to explore and explore we did. Staying with a kind friend from back home, it was more than nice of her to let us stay at her place. Thats what

I love about this place, everyone is nice. It's quite refreshing but the lax attitude comes with advantages and disadvantages, i.e. public transit and American politics. <------------------------- yep.

(And yes that is a slurpee)---------------------->

The city of Melbourne has a real vintage feel to it. A lot of history and to be honest, reminds me of Chicago. I know I know, I talk about Chicago a lot but I love that city. But Melbourne would be my place of stay if I had to live in Australia.

They have these things called trams that are perhaps the dumbest thing ever thought to keep around just because they are reminiscent of the old school mass transit with trolleys and the like. They are slow. Cars have to wait behind them. They don't go to convenient places. They cost a lot of money. You have to go to the middle of the street to get on one. Point being, waste of time waste of money, but they look cool..... I guess?

The city is laid out quite nicely though. Rolling hills, you know... nice, unique. There is also the Eureka building which is the second tallest building in Australia. Hmm, cool.

One good thing about the city is the train layout... pretty good but it doesn't run past midnight and a ticket... 6 dollars? but you can get concession for $3.70.... sooo i guess it's not bad. But it goes quick and the seats are nice, so I enjoyed it.

One thing I am quite amused by is the mixed reviews on the new healthcare legislation passed in the eyes of Australians. Few have said:

"finally, I can't believe you didn't have it before..."

"wow, thats pretty intrusive."

"It's not that great, we still use private because well... no one would be dumb enough to get government health care."

I just don't understand it at all. It's not like an overwhelming majority of Americans feel this was a good idea or good timing for that matter. It's going to be different thats for sure. I have heard a few horror stories here about the government health care.

"Yea a few months ago this dude got hit by a car and they gave him a shot of adrenaline but forgot to write down that he already had had the shot so they gave him another one at the hospital and he died. Yea government hospitals.... are like real bad."

I also find it funny that people here say, yea we have socialized health care but none of them seem to actually use it. They pay for private or at least their parents pay for it. So I guess the poor people get the shaft and get shit quality paid for by the average tax payer who isn't even using the public option. It doesn't have to be like this because most doctors want to help people. My father once said, "Don't do something just to get rich. Do something you love and success will follow." So this is why doctors are willing to help people for free without being forced, (this isn't to say that they don't want to get paid but a good plenty of them would be willing to set aside time to put on free healthcare clinics) I propose, and yes I know this is radical, but I am radical, so bare with me....

What if we...

fixed the government's intrusion into how insurance companies operate, meaning maybe get them to stop being best buddies with one another and let the constitution dictate whats going to be said. This is how government protects it's little brothers, through lobbyism. The government hides behind the interstate commerce clause and this is why you cannot get that stellar healthcare plan that may be happening in say, Utah or whatever other state. However, with car insurance, you can get that stellar plan regardless of what state you reside in.

What if we...

Created an incentive for non-profits to exist? Meaning, cut some of the welfare out that would then cause people to come together and form their own organizations that are

private and value every penny they come into command of. Blue Cross is a "non-profit" but we all know this is possibly the greatest joke. (Just go look over at their buildings made of marble and how much their CEO makes.) Point being, if the lobbyism wasn't there, there would

be no way for the insurance company to push government and make laws in favor of the organization. This is why government exists... to negate plunder, i.e. STEALING.

another thing...

Why are some hospitals named St. Johns or St. Joseph's? O thats right, they ran their hospitals on donations and gave quality care to those that could not afford it. But for some reason this wasn't good enough so the government had to do something about it. Red Cross does a pretty bad ass job getting help to people.

One thing the world can rejoice in now is that you can just stay where they are. When the world needs the best care, they come to the US. Even Newfoundland's premier did this very thing for a heart related issue. But forget about that Mr. Williams, our quality is the same as yours so just, you know, wait in line with your fellow country men. Hell, at least we are all gonna get treated anyways. May take 4 years, but at least everyone has the same opportunity now.

Bureaucracy is a bitch.

Sorry guys, I just finished up all my assignments, so I will be on this way more. I got some killer pictures of a mountain I hiked up along with some soon to be taken Fraser Island pictures.

-Kolin

It's been sometime, New Ideas.

I must first apologize. I have done the following things:

• sailing
• Sydney
  
• skydive
• Byron Bay

• went to a Gold Coast FC soccer game

• 
  • 
  
• about to go to Melbourne... (pictures to come)

I'm enjoying life. But I have a question. I will update the blog and make it keen to Australia but I want to post articles on economics, politics from back home and here in Australia. It dawned on me that I always have some interesting articles I wish to share with everyone but do not have the correct medium in which to express them.

Comment please if you would enjoy kolin kapitalist.blogspot. And I am serious:

Comment and leave a message if this is something you would like to read and would read on a regular basis if I were to keep it going on a weekly basis. Thanks guys.

Stay swell friends.
-Kolin