A wise innkeeper never lets a bed get cold before renting the room to a new guest. So it is here at Troppo. Scarcely has Mark Bahnisch rubbed the sleep from his eyes and ventured out into the big bad world of blogging, than Nicholas Gruen leaps in between the armadillian sheets (see his first post immediately below).
Nicholas trained in history (the only real education he ever got, so he says - hope he's not trying to grease Currency Lad and Christopher Sheil), economics and public policy, law and stats.
He was appointed to the Productivity Commission (then Industry Commission) in 1994 where he remained till 1997 when he left to take up a position with the Business Council of Australia. Since 2000 Nicholas has founded and run two businesses - www.lateraleconomics.com and www.peachhomeloans.com.au. He's also a visiting fellow at ANU and Melbourne Uni and a weekly columnist for the Courier Mail.
Are we launching another blogosphere star to rival Mark and Chris? I certainly hope so.
What's this? I don't remember you providing ME with any linen, Ken;)
Welcome, Nicholas. (Now don't go jumping on the bed.)
Fabulous choice. But you left out his title, Ken. He's The Legendary Nicholas Gruen (as any regular Phillip Adams listener would know).
Is this a further move to the Right for Troppo?
Hmmmm.....a finance broker. ***note to self: don't be judgemental just because you are***
Welcome Nicholas.
One friendly tip. Don't take any notice of the Parish comments on affable, mild mannered, quasi-retired yours truely. I put it all down to an involuntary faux-centrist reflex. Cure unknown.
"a weekly columnist for the Courier Mail"
The Murdochisation of the blogosphere continues apace, then...
"Is this a further move to the Right for Troppo?"
One would hope so. I think we've done post-modernism, hairy lesbianism, and educationalism to death by now.
Let's hope you haven't put Troppo into a palliative care ward for blogs, Scott.
Its all relative, Alexei. After all, I was one of the original RWDB's back when it was an ironic term.
Anyway, I'm being a bad 'semi-host'. Welcome aboard, Nicholas.
Excellent - I was plugging Nicholas' Courier-Mail columns just last week. It'll be great to read him at Troppo too.
an excelent Addition to TA proving again that this blog has talent to burn
On the topic of keeping the bed warm and making optimum use of resources, would the really shrewd innkeeper let the beds in shifts of 12 or even 8 hours? PS Welcome Nicholas!
Rafe, I despair ...
Chris - Rafe's perhaps talking about the practice that goes on from some Sydney landlords when renting to international students. I'm not kidding - they rent them bunk beds and they sleep in shifts.
Chris, I assume you were going to say "I despair of the Waratahs, Yeats said it all a hundred years ago and he didn't even see them play in the second half of the comp'?
(Things fall apart, the centres cannot hold).
The defining moment was Dunning going for field goal when they desperately needed a try to make the finals.
On the beds, I was actually thinking of one of our artists, possibly Dobell who spent some time in London, so short of cash that he doubled up to share a bed with a chap who did nightwork.