The Silver Fern

I've lost a bit of time reading these...

I should have mentioned I meant Aus TAB. H2H they are $3.75.

I guess that means you could get handicap of +11.5 or +12.5 from NZ TAB for the Argies. I'm wondering if the Wallaby faithfuls will have a late plunge and push the odds out a bit more. I'm doubting they are that confident (or bet in numbers big enough to affect the odds).

A mate who is pretty good with the Rugbil Oigue just msgd me to say he has just plopped $100 on the Broncos @ $2.86 because Winterstein and Lowe are out for the Cowboys. Caveat emptor...

+10.5 @ $1.90 for Argentina (vs Australia) is tickling my fancy a little.

<p>Must have had family movie night with this wiseguy:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.allblacks.com/Player/Schools/2519'>http://www.allblacks.com/Player/Schools/2519</a></p>

<p>I love betting on the footy. In all honesty, I probably had a problem with it when I was a bit younger. I bet much less now. That probably ties in with watching less footy too. Funnily enough, my bank account is much healthier now...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A poster once made a thread titled "I should have posted this yesterday..." with details of his winning bet. If that is not the best name for a gambling thread then I'm not here.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I agree there is way too much advertising on television and it really romanticises and normalises it. Kids nowadays are going to grow up thinking it's a regular part of life whereas when I was growing up the TAB was a dingy, smoky hole in the wall that was filled with depressed looking old men watching a flickering screen and then frustratingly tearing up tickets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you're looking to dip your toe in then I would recommend against having an app on your phone. It's just too easy to put a bet on. Too many times I have had a gutful of booze and thought it would be a good idea to bet on Filipino basketball or women's Polish handball. It gets a lot more real when you are handing your cash over.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My other advice is to not put too many legs in your multi. You can fill a multi with 10, 15, 20 "sure things" but something is about to come undone.  A mate at the pub is always showing me a multi as long as his arm and wailing about the "sure thing" that should have won but the million to one shot at the end snatched away his pot of gold. Without fail, when I press him a bit more there is always something else that would have lost anyway.</p>
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<p>I reckon you should pick 2-4 legs of $1.40 - $1.80 and put a medium sized bet on it. Then again, I am an idiot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Winning is as simple as holding your dick and running through the minefield. If you make it through let me know how you did it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Don't chase your losses.</p>
<p>Don't chase your losses.</p>
<p>I won't tell you a third time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Please gamble responsibly" is a nice way of saying gambling addiction destroys families.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Final point, the punters sometimes have a good idea of what is going on. If you see a handicap drop below, say, $1.80 something is up and it could be worth following the crowd. However, let me repeat myself, <strong>I am an idiot. <u>Do not listen to me.</u></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Does anyone know what time the games will be on our time?</p>

<p>Unsure about how they're playing now but Sona Taumalolo and, to a lesser extent, Ben Tameifuna would have been good to have at the Chiefs due to the propping injuries. Sona's getting on but he could have a swansong with the Chiefs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Could have got another season out of Craig Clarke and Aled De Malmanche at the time. Lelia Masaga was fun to watch at Super level but happy with the current options.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Only players overseas that I would want back are Charles Piutau and Tim Nanai-Williams.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Slightly off topic but other players I wish stuck around longer: Sitiveni Sivivatu, Sione Lauaki, Sam Tuitupou, Rua Tipoki....I know they were on the decline when they left but I loved watching them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Won't begrudge a player for heading to a greener paddock and I'm amazed how we seem to replace these guys.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:small;">I may have relayed this story on The Fern before (possibly via a former username before The Purge)…</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">I was working in Martin Place of Sydney and was sitting in the Pitt St food court enjoying some lunch with the then missus.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">A big, brown bloke walked passed and I knew him from somewhere but couldn’t quite put my finger on it (it was George Pisi).</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">I finished my lunch and was walking back to the office when I froze in my tracks as I walked passed a table. Sitting there were Keven Mealamu, Joe Rokocoko, Isaiah Toeava and George Pisi. I was a bit of a fanboy at the time and the missus knew it (the hyperventilating may have given it away) so she suggested I go to the nearby newsagency and buy some stuff to get their autographs. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">I purchased the stationery, sheepishly approached the table and asked for a photo. They kindly obliged but I should mention that Pitt St mall food court gets very busy, especially around lunch time. As we stood for the photo quite a few heads turned. As we were posing I could hear some mumbling:</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span style="font-size:small;">“…everyone is staring at us, everyone is staring at us, everyone is staring at us…”</span></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">I turn to my right to see Joe Rokocoko wiggin the fark out! And I thought I was nervous…</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">We return to the table and I asked for their autographs. The younger Polynesian guys were still a bit rattled from the whole thing so Keven took charge of the situation. He asked me where I work, did I enjoy it, which team I supported, was I coming to the game etc…I’ve always had a lot of respect for him since then and it does not surprise me at all that he was a bit of a figurehead for the younger guys in the team.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">I dug through an old email account and found the photo but wouldn’t have a clue how to load it up.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">Another time a mate told me how he and a few mates bumped into Sione Lauaki and another player late one night in France.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">“Hey Sione, how ‘bout an arm wrestle?”</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">“Not with those water pistols, bro”</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:small;">And he kept walking.</span></p>

<p>Thanks!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found the Tahs one was updating a lot more often (I feel dirty).</p>
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<p>Looks like the good guys won it on the buzzer!</p>
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<p>Any updates on Chiefs v Waratahs will be appreciated.</p>

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="539950" data-time="1446880810">
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<p>Don't say Jar Jar Binks is in SW7?</p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Haven't you heard?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://imgur.com/gallery/Putq2'>http://imgur.com/gallery/Putq2</a></p>

<p>Also saw this when looking that up...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In Chapter 10 of his 2012 book <em>Atheism and the Case Against Christ, </em>Matthew S. McCormick provides <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://books.google.com/books?id=WuOf7mUQDjoC&pg=PT146&lpg=PT146&dq=Jar'Edo+Wens&source=bl&ots=Kuqr5hIleT&sig=awxpOdllJBFLi4wjMnzfTTxycPE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y5QFVfulMIOhNobDgPAI&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=Jar'>a list of "gods and religions in history that have fallen out of favor."</a> Between the Chinese deities <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor'>Jade Emperor</a> and <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Gong'>Ji Gong</a> on this list sits Jar'Edo Wens, an exotic-looking nonsense phrase some Australian guy added to Wikipedia seven years prior.</p>
<p>The blog <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://wikipediocracy.com/2015/03/15/jared-owens-god-of-wikipedia/'>Wikipediocracy recounts the genesis </a>of a wholly fictional Aboriginal deity, created by an anonymous Australian prankster—presumably named Jared Owens, <em>get it</em>?—who published a Wikipedia article for Jar'Edo Wens and added an entry about the god to the site's page on <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://wikipediocracy.com/2015/03/15/jared-owens-god-of-wikipedia/'>Australian Aboriginal mythology </a>in 2005. Thanks to Wikipedia's immense and often indiscriminate ability to disseminate facts and factoids alike, Jar'Edo has spread its gospel of humility and learning to the furthest reaches of the internet in the years since then.</p>
<p><span>The brief Jar'Edo article </span><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_hoaxes_on_Wikipedia/Jar'Edo_Wens'>read:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Jar'Edo Wens is a god of earthly knowledge and physical might, created by Altjira to oversee that the people did not get too big-headed, associated with victory and intelligence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>(A person working from the same anonymous IP address also attempted to add a god called "Yohrmum" to the list, in case there's any doubt that Jar'Edo was a work of fiction.)</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://internet.gawker.com/how-one-man-made-himself-into-an-aboriginal-god-with-wi-1692426415'>http://internet.gawker.com/how-one-man-made-himself-into-an-aboriginal-god-with-wi-1692426415</a></strong></p>

<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;">A couple of days ago, someone on the internet advised people to look up “Bhutanese Passport” on Wikipedia and click on the “listen to this article” link.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;">The fun police have since tried to deny our god given rights:</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bhutanese_Passport-1.ogg'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bhutanese_Passport-1.ogg</a> (in case this link has expired it states "this media has been nominated for deletion since 19 March 2015......Reason for the nomination: Very poor quality and possibly a piss-take")</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;">Lucky for you, some absolute legend has put it on YT:</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255);"></span></span></span></a></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;"><span style="color:rgb(31,73,125);"><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:calibri;">Even better the second time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>A Point Break remake is bound to disappoint. I just hope the sequel to Dumb and Dumber doesn't disgrace itself.</p>
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<p>Being a Sacha Baron Cohen fan, I am looking forward to Grimsby.</p>

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="461171" data-time="1415942322">
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<p>Virginia Masden was pretty fine back in the day!</p>
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<p>42: The biopic about Jackie Robinson. Harrison Ford plays an old curmudgeon bloody well - but then again he is an old curmudgeon. Pretty stock standard biopic TBH, watchable without being great, but gave me a good starting point to do some reading about Robinson and Ford's character. </p>
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<p>I was stuck in a hotel room recently and watched 42. It was pretty good. What's neat about watching something based on a true story is you can look things up as you go. This picture, for instance:</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://toolbox.studiobanks.com/content/arhenetwork.com/highlights/316.jpg'><img height="240" src="http://toolbox.studiobanks.com/content/arhenetwork.com/highlights/316.jpg" width="320" alt="316.jpg"></a></p>
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<p>You can just feel the tension.</p>
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<p>Apologies, I haven't read the whole thread but someone mentioned how good 2015 is going to be for movies. A selection:</p>
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<p><span style="font-size:10pt;"><span style="color:#1f497d;"><span style="font-family:calibri;">Star Wars VII, Avengers 2, Bond 24, Jurassic World, Furious 7, Terminator 5, Mockingjay Part 2, Mission: Impossible 5, Mad Max 4, Ted 2, Escobar: Paradise Lost, Ant Man, Point Break, Grimsby, Fantastic Four, Straight Outta Compton, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2, Kung Fu Panda 3 -- all coming 2015.</span></span></span></p>

<p>I read something along these lines on the internets one day:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Purple is regarded as a regal colour because it would take 10,000 oysters to create a single senator’s robe.</p>
<p>Conversely, carrots, which were originally purple, were bred to be orange as a delicacy for the Dutch royalty as they were known as the House of Orange.</p>
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<p>So why didn’t the Romans just use carrots in the first place?</p>
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<p>Don't hold me to it.</p>

<p>Troll level: Sith Master</p>
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<p>"Get down on your knees! Bow down to your masters!" hahaha.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shoulda referred to passing by civilians as 'rebel scum'.</p>

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Virgil" data-cid="448877" data-time="1409629808">
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<p>Yup the pussies, I remember 'back in the day' when you liked a girl you had no choice but to ring her. I'm talking about as shit scared 16 year old you only had 1 phone in the house, normally in the kitchen or lounge so the rest if your annoying family could listen in to you making a fucking fool out of yourself<br>
Now punks can lie in bed gripping themselves while chatting away via some shit app.<br><br>
fluffybunnys</p>
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<p>And then her Dad, who just finished a 14 hour shift at the salt mines, answers and threatens to remove some of your beloved body parts if you even think about sullying his daughter's innocence.</p>
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<p>Best case scenario, he just asks if you are the dead man walking who keeps calling and then hanging up when he answers the phone.</p>
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<p>"Well I got news for you Mr Jacobs: your daughter is a whore of biblical proprotions - that's why I am calling. Now put her on." - what every teenage boy wishes he had the stones to say.</p>

<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000279/?ref_=tt_trv_qu'><span>Doug</span></a>: [<span>wearing a T-shirt that says "Genius at Work"</span>] Hi. A question for Miss Bellamy. In episode 2F09 when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.</p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534134/?ref_=tt_trv_qu'><span>June Bellamy</span></a>: Uh, well...</p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0144657/?ref_=tt_trv_qu'><span>Homer</span></a>: I'll field this one.</p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0144657/?ref_=tt_trv_qu'><span>Homer</span></a>: [<span>to Doug</span>] Let me ask you a question. Why would a man whose shirt says "Genius at Work" spend all of his time watching a children's cartoon show?</p>
<p>[<span>pause</span>]</p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000279/?ref_=tt_trv_qu'><span>Doug</span></a>: I withdraw my question.</p>
<p>[<span>takes a bite from a bar of chocolate</span>]</p>

<p>- Physics defying intergallactic hyperdrive: check</p>
<p> </p>
<p>- state of the art force field and laser system: check</p>
<p> </p>
<p>- clunky 1970s headset that you have to hold to speak into (with cords): check</p>
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<p><img src="http://www.jedibusiness.com/images/actionFigures/The-Power-Of-The-Force-2/The-Power-Of-The-Force-2-Han-Solo-Walmart_Big_6.jpg" alt="The-Power-Of-The-Force-2-Han-Solo-Walmar"></p>