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Groundhog
day?
The stayers among you may recall that about six years ago, during my transition
from company employee to consultant, I filled in some spare time with
odd jobs around the house. Today, following closure of the company I have
been consulting to, I again find myself filling in time with odd jobs
around the house – but on this occasion it is my 'holiday house'.
Having finally discharged the mortgage on my family home, I immediately
hocked myself to the eyeballs to buy a little place down south to retire
to. Only problem is, I can't now afford to retire for the next 20 years
or so!
It
reminds me of a story doing the rounds about a poor peasant fisherman
who got out of his hammock under the palm trees on the beach when it suited
him, caught the odd fish for dinner, and watched the sun set with a home
brewed beer in his hand. One day a snappily dressed business executive
moored his very expensive yacht in the idyllic little bay and struck up
a conversation with the peasant along the following lines:
"What
a beautiful and relaxing spot you have here – and the fishing is
fantastic! With a bit of extra effort, you could easily catch enough fish
here to feed your family and to sell at the local markets. And with the
money you make you could buy a little boat and go further offshore where
the fishing is even better. Before long, you could have a whole fleet
of boats and all the other local peasants would be working for you. The
potential is enormous…"
"And
why would I want to do that?", replied the peasant.
"Well,
as your business grows, you could start to put money aside and then, in
about 20 years time you will have enough saved to retire. The business
would be running itself, and you would have the time and the money to
sit back, take it easy, and enjoy a comfortable retirement. You could
sleep in till late in the mornings. You could stroll along the beach and
do a spot of fishing to while away the hours, and the sunsets here are
just fantastic; you would have time to relax and really enjoy them".
...Are
we missing something here?
Well,
whatever you do, don't miss the great articles in this edition of Pesa
News:
Stupid
is as stupid does
If you don't read anything else in this issue, make sure you read Peter
Purcell's 'Words' column. If you don't, you will look really stupid –
or should that be dumb?
What's
a Barrygram?
If you really don't know, then you should check out the articles on our
new Federal President, Barry Goldstein. If nothing else, you can follow
the evolution of his dress sense over the years!
The
promised land
This issue contains a number of articles on those elusive developments
in the Timor Sea, with a special Northern Territory feature.
It's
an ill wind
If you thought forecasting the weather was as simple as holding a wet
finger up in the air, then think again. As this issue's 'person at work',
Ron Hille, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology's Special Services
Unit shows, it is a complex, high tech business involving mathematical
models, complex physics, supercomputers …and maybe just a little
bit of gut feeling. And getting it wrong could cost a client millions
of dollars.
Go
forth and…
APPEA features prominently in this issue with comments on investor confidence
from National Chairman, Malcolm Garratt, WA and NT Director, Don Sanders,
on the need for Juniors to market themselves, and Barry Jones, Executive
Director, on future energy policy. And if that all sounds too boring,
check out the photos from the 37th annual golf tournament.
In
deep water
In this issue we present the second part of 'Finding yourself in deep
water' by Lawrence Bourke and Roddy McGarva of Task Geoscience, which
considers the types of directional data and thin bed information which
can be resolved from LWD image logs in deep water sediments.
Up
tight
The next six months is shaping up to be a crucial period for Lakes Oil,
the subject of this month's Company Focus, as the Melbourne based explorer
prepares to test for tight gas in the onshore Gippsland Basin. According
to Lakes Oil Chairman, Rob Annells, "if you aren't willing to have
a go in this business, you shouldn't be in it".
Adrian
Williams
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