An international expert on planning healthy cities has warned Sydney against following the Asian model of concentrating high rise around train stations to house a booming population.

Yesterday, 5 November 2015, Andrew Bolt told us a few fantasies but then what's new?... Without flinching, he reports on a CSIRO poll about global warming: "It's a miracle." he blurts without exclamation marks because Bolt is quite reserved in his appreciation of "facts". "most Australians are now global warming sceptics, despite years of being misled by the media." No exclamation marks here either. Humbly reserved.

Bolt continues: "a CSIRO survey of more than 5000 people has confirmed it, even though warmist reporters tried to spin it.

On Tuesday, in a press conference with Malcolm Turnbull to announce his appointment, the new chief scientist of Australia, Alan Finkel, said something very interesting.

Attorney-General George Brandis has hit out at criticism of Tony Abbott's religious beliefs, describing the "ridicule" to which the former prime minister was subjected as "bigotry at its most shameless".

The incessant sneering and ridiculing...[Tony] Abbott on account of his religious faith was bigotry at its most shameless. 

Senator Brandis, who last year defended people's "right to be bigots" amid debate over proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, has told a roundtable meeting of religious and non-religious representatives that "religious freedom is every bit as important as political freedom".

Not since 1977 – almost 40 years ago – has a governor-general performed so poorly at the Melbourne Cup.

In 1977 Sir John Kerr got a bit plastered and was out of control.

Not so in 2015. Sir Peter Cosgrove was in total control. So much in control that he was utterly controlled by what seemed to be a pre-prepared speech.

Just fill in the blanks with the name of the jockey, trainer and owner.

He completely missed the point of history.

Why didn't he just chuck away his prop – his prepared speech – and seize the moment of history. For the first time in the 155 years of its running, a female jockey won the Melbourne Cup.

Yay.

On Sunday 1st November, the Bolt Report had a guest who was conferring with Andrew Bolt about the farmer who took his life because of his battle with mining companies. The case was used by Bolt to bash the ABC yet again. Bolt was asserting that we "did not know" why the farmer took his own life and we should not blame the CSG mining companies for this fellow's despair. But according to Mr Bolt we should bash the ABC for assuming it was the fault of the miners. 

The rumours were sealed with a kiss.

Which one would bend the banana first?... Way before FUTURAMA — that cartoon about a courier company in 3000 AD written by the fathers of "The Simpsons" — I had written the pilot script for a funny sitcom about a courier company and had started to draw a comic strip I called FUTURON. But FUTURAMA is sometimes about president heads in brine, or whatever, still leading the world to perdition. The one-eyed Leila is the most sane of a mad crew in which the uncle is younger than the grand-grand nephew due to a cryogenic accident. So I relate well to insanity. 

E-vo-lu-tion is not an option. It's the way life works. In medical sphere, the adaptation of bacteria, microbes and viruses tells us irrevocably about adaptation, including that in which our army of antibiotics are becoming lamer. Things evolve, change, devolve, become extinct, not because of the grace of a god's fart but because the total environment, including the biotic environment, in which we live also changes. 

From personal experience and by all other accounts, Tony Abbott is a good guy.  Many suggest he's surprisingly funny, caring and dedicated to public service.  People who know him best say he's the sort of guy you can have a beer with.  After all, what's not to like about a politician of 21 years standing who can ride a bike and hold his own on a big day at North Steyne?