Well it has been a very interesting year for me that is for sure – finally moving out of home and turning 30 would be the 2 biggest things of the year for me, but what else has occurred around the place?
Other notable things include the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis, from the AU$ being almost at parity with the US$ to being back to almost 50c, fuel prices were up well beyond $1.50/litre, no now being below $1/litre first time in a long time.
Casey Stoner was unable to defend his MotoGP World Championship but Jamie Whincup and Ford were able to win the V8 Supercar Championship.
Hawthorn defeated the unbeatable favourites Geelong in the AFL Grand Final.
Melbourne Tigers won the NBL Grand Final beating Sydney in the 2007-08 Season. Sydney and Brisbane fold due to dodgy owners. West Sydney Razorbacks change their name to Sydney Spirit (despite their already being a women’s basketball team called the Bendigo Spirit). Then Sydney Spirit go into default during the season – to be saved by the NBL (& the clubs) and Andrew Bogut, then Cairns Taipans go into Administration to again be saved by the NBL. Lets hope the review can save basketball.

Now onto some other notable events during the year:

January

Drayton wines explosion in Hunter Valley, kills 2 men and injures others. An excellent Australian Story (ABC Australia) show highlighted the family orientated business and how it has affected them all

February

Clipsal 500 – was an excellent event, saddened by taking the life of Ashley Cooper

First signs on economic down turn – but everyone continued to deny it

Kevin07 apologises to the “Stolen Generation”

Northern Rock – UK bank, taken into state control – due to poor financial management and the government hoping to stabilise the economy

March

Massive Adelaide heatwave

Stephen Walker, a brother of a friend, drowned during an easter holiday at Glenelg River. A friendly guy who had married 10 weeks earlier, a sad loss for such an awesome family

An Automated Transport Vehicle sent by the European Space agency to the International Space Station as a supply vehicle – could humans ever been sent via this method?

April

India fills the sky with more junk 10 satellites launched at once – I guess they need to keep up with the demand for call centre bandwidth somehow

May

Cyclone Nargis kills 130,00 in Myanmar

NASA’s phoenix space craft lands on Mars – becoming the first space craft to land in the Northern polar region

June

Mugabe is again elected president of Zimbabwe – how do his human rights go versus Saddam Hussein

Bill Gates steps down as chairman of Microsoft

July

World Youth Day wastes government money in Sydney

August

People arrested in China on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks on the olympics

Beijing Olympics

Worst Olympics TV Coverage ever

South Ossetia conflict – Russia v Georgia

September

Seemingly an excessive amount of hurricane’s in the US – slightly quicker help provided by George W compared with Katrina

A truck bomb explosion destroys a Marriott Hotel in Pakistan

Thailand political disturbances – again

SpaceX Falcon 1 the world’s first private space vehicle successfully makes orbit

October

Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes win Bathurst again

Sadly further bad injuries to Paul Weel and Paul Radisich mar an excellent Bathurst

The Global Financial Crisis is official – governments around the world scramble to shore up their economies in any possible way

Large Hadron Collider – gets hacked, does very little then breaks down – not sure if the LHC is real or just a bad episode of The Big Bang Theory

November

Barack Obama is elected the new US President – and I think he might be black too but I am not sure what that has to do with politics

Space Shuttle Endeavour – the 124th Space Shuttle Mission – to the ISS to install more equipment

More political problems in Thailand – again and again

Terrorist attackes in Mumbai, India

I turned 30

December

Riots in Greece after shrapnel hits a civilian

Lucas Dumbrell – injured in a Formula Ford crash at Oran Park, NSW – appears he is a quadriplegic. My thoughts and prayers go to the Dumbrell family at this time over Christmas – you might be aligned to the redder side of racing, but no one deserves that to happen to them. My pray is that Lucas is able to fully recover some time in the future

Political problems continue in Thailand

KG Cunningham finishes his afternoon Drive Time shift after been sacked by FiveAA – big mistake I believe

I moved out

2008 Notable Deaths
Stephen Walker
Ashley Cooper
Clinton Grybas – an awesome TV and Radio commentator – his knowledge of his subject was superb, to bring a man such as Rex Hunt to tears whilst doing a tribute to him on radio shows the respect he had earnt at such a young age.
Sir Edmund Hillary – we claim him to be an Aussie, but he is a NZ Adventurer
Heath Ledger
Roy Scheider
Charlton Heston
Isaac Hayes
Michael Crichton
Mark Felt
Kerryn McCann
Richard Marsland
Jane McGrath
Mark Priestley
Allan Scott

I may add to my lists over the coming days if I can think of anything else.

If I don’t see you over this festive season, I hope you have a great Christmas and happy new year, stay safe but enjoy yourself.

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