This week's observations

Ok, we all know it now. Lance Armstrong was a drugs cheat, and I'm glad he has finally come out and admitted it. I'm pretty certain Oprah loved it too. Lord only knows how much she creamed out of the deal...
But unlike America, and almost 90% of the world, I still have a great deal of respect and admiration for Armstrong. For a man who was 6 months away from death, to then come back and compete at Cycling's top echelon is an achievement in itself, regardless of the fact he was a drugs cheat. And besides, considering everyone else inside the top 20 at the time tested positive after his first victory, he has proven that he was no worse than the rest. I sincerely hope that he drags some other people down with him too. 
The fact that you can't ignore about Armstrong is what he has done for Cancer awareness. Through the LiveSTRONG charity, Armstrong managed to raise over $470,000,000 over 10 years for cancer awareness. You can argue that it was all riding on the coat tails of seven phoney victories, but it's very easy to see past that. Oakley Eyewear and sportswear giant Nike have milked all they can from it, making (and donating) millions from LiveSTRONG branded merchandise. Sure, they have now dropped Armstrong like a hot potato, but neither will see regret in the several years that they were involved.
The most ironic thing; the Television network that sponsored Armstrong's team to four of his seven victories was the same channel that aired the confession...
On a personal level, I myself wore a LiveSTRONG bracelet for six years, and haven't been able to replace it since it broke. Today, I would still wear it with pride.
Oh, a quick word about the talkback host that claimed that Armstrong contracted testicular cancer after injecting EPO into his testicles - What a crock of........! He has admitted that the performance enhancing substance abuse started post Cancer...
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way condoning the use of performance enhancing drugs...

John Key in Antarctica - There is nothing political about this, all that can be gathered is that this is an extended personal holiday. There are no meetings to be had with foreign officials or diplomats. This does not deserve the media attention that it is currently receiving. I'm sure there are more newsworthy stories without the whole of a nation needing to know the Prime Minister's every single bodily function and geographical coordinate...

A Danish Marijuana study came out this week reporting that low IQ results from regular Smokers could be more attributed to Social and Economic factors rather than THC itself, or smoking Marijuana as a teenager. Now I don't smoke pot anymore, but I can't help but agree with this. Some of the most Intellectual people I know are regular smokers, including more than one of my University Lecturers. As usual not everyone agrees, including the NZ Drug Agency.   

NZ Cricket - It's f**cked, and I don't want to know about it anymore...

The SCIRT World Buskers Festival - Had a great night on Friday night, as part of the audience at the iSite Late Night With The Buskers show at North Hagley Park. Justine Smith was great as always, and was the perfect MC for the evening. I had seen the famous "MulletMan" around town, but I was unaware of his prowess, and after watching his juggling/comedy act, I was impressed - definitely world class. I'm pleased that this event has been able to continue, given that a lot of the traditional locations for the event were destroyed, or left unavailable for the event after the February 2011 quake. I will frequent this event for as long as it may continue.

2013 Warped Tour announcements - At least one person in every band looks like Justin Bieber (Looking at you Blessthefall), and several guys are doing really bad visual impersonations of Milo Aukerman (sorry Motion City Soundtrack, I like your music but you need an original look). I'm still waiting for NOFX, Lagwagon and Pulley to confirm their places on the tour - I could be waiting a long time. Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in Vegas however; That'll be a great show...

And that was my week. Criticize all you want, but do play nice kiddies...