In which the pond deals with little Johnny and Kohler on the NBN and emerges in a new state of mind ...

Was it reptile guilt that led to this splash? And the subsequent story?

The Murdochians even ended with a snipe at war criminal little Johnny: 

Labor equality spokeswoman Terri Butler said it was “unfortunate” Mr Howard had chosen to use his standing as a former PM to advocate for the No campaign. “It was the ­Howard government which changed the ­Marriage Act a long time ago to explicitly say the marriage is ­between a man and a woman,” Ms Butler said. “It is a bit rich coming from someone who did change the marriage law without any need for a national opinion poll or a ­plebiscite or anything like that.”

And there was another hint of anxiety:

Today the Australian Bureau of ­Statistics will release the turnout rate so far for the marriage survey.

Just as they're climate denialist central, the Murdochians have acted as homophobe bigot central these past few weeks ... what if they're the dog that actually catches the car, what if they score a 'no' vote?

As might be expected of a dedicated bigot in his dotage, little Johnny has stayed firm ...

The pond has no idea who thought the sight of a baleful war criminal staring into a camera while dressed in funeral quality old white man gear was going to be helpful in getting out the youth vote, but the reptiles at least had the good sense and decency to make sure the open letter was reduced to a size where the writing was mere visual gibberish and only the signature, as if written by a fly emerging from an ink bottle, was legible ...

Hopefully in years to come it will be treasured as a reminder of the days when bigotry and homophobia stalked the pages of the lizard Oz ...

But now to a matter which has been tormenting the pond of late ... the NBN ...

The pond is one of many citizens who have experienced a dud service immediately after the handover from working HFC to dud NBN HFC.

Why this should be so is an ineluctable mystery, to the NBN, to Telstra and to anyone else completely uninterested in the pond's complaints ...

That's why the pond broke its golden rule of only listening to whining and moaning reptiles of the Caterist kind, and instead turned to the choleric Kohler for advice ...

Ah, that seems to hint at it. Everything's fucked and it's all a waste of time and all the pond is likely to hear from anyone, be it a politician, Telstra or the NBN, is unreliable twaddle ...

Uh huh.

So the pond reporting that for no particular reason, at any given time on any particular day, its broadband service will just drop out, just for a little while, just for enough time to ruin any particular online activity - say uploading documents or data, as the pond is wont to to do - will be taken by Malware's team that everything is now hunky dory in the garden ...

Why it might even be phenomenonal, not in the sense of a completely weird phenomenon, but in sense that this is what it's like to be completely fucked ...

And as for the pond never actually getting its landline reconnected in the transfer, and now without phone for months, that's all for the best, because who needs a landline in this modern age...

Gee, put it like that, and the pond feels like its in clover. Shithouse speeds, no phone, and yet the damned thing only drops out every five minutes or so ... sheer luxury ...

And now if the pond might be so bold as to make a suggestion for the Spanish government ... much as the pond loves the police and orderly government, sending the cops in to stop people voting wasn't a terribly good look.

It might even be said to have been a tad unwise ... and it was bound to produce the odd cartoon of the Rowe kind, with more unkindly Rowe here ...

It seems odd to the pond whenever it comes across people wanting even more borders, more boundaries, more bureaucrats, and more politicians, and the obvious thing would be to pay tribute to Goya, as seen and much loved by the pond in Madrid, and move on ...

 

But the fuss reminded the pond of long lost memories of long ago, when mighty Tamworth, magpie warrior of the north west, dreamed of the day it might become the capital city at the heart of a grand empire, a huge state ...

Oh there were arguments, with some fiends disputing Tamworth's right to rule the roost, and some suggesting that a useless irrelevant clod of earth like Armidale might be a useful Canberra, as a way out of the Tamworth v Newcastle feud ... but there were grand evocative floats, and even now stout hearts still beat strong in the cause of a new state, as can be found here ...

There was even a song, and how the pond's heart skipped a beat at those immortal lines... 

From the western borders to the sea

Tamworth links her fortunes with Taree ...

New England will be free!!!

Please stand for the singing of the pond anthem ... and with that, the broadband may flicker and fade and all will be well in Malware's Australia ...

Yes the whole state can end up with the rigorous planning that has marked the development of Sydney ...