I had the privilege to see one of the best AFL grand finals ever today, as my team Sydney got beaten by the West Coast by one point.

I went down to Clarendon St, South Melbourne, former home of the Sydney team afterwards. There were plenty of pubs decked in red and white overflowing with Bloods fans. In the dark I made my way to the Albert Park where the South Melbourne Bloods used to play. The old grandstand is still standing there and is I believe used for soccer matches as part of Bob Jane stadium. Someone had adorned a white sheet with a Sydney Swans logo and the word Premiers, and the tatters of it now flutter in the wind above the old stadium.

Then proceeded to the Cricketers' Arms where many Swans fans had gathered to watch a replay of the game, and paid $5.50 for a vodka and orange juice. The vodka was either exceedingly smooth or non existent, for even a lightweight like me failed to feel any impact from it.

Not so dissapointing was the fish and chips at Clarendon Fish and Chippers. The batter was very light and tasty.

Erik Vlietinck is a jerk.

There, I said it.

erik@it-enquirer.com is his email if you want to let him know.

I approached Erik earlier this year after he broadcast on linkedin.com that he was interested in finding out about how to improve his use of Adsense. We back and forthed for a while as he seemed quite interested, and then I put a proposal to him. I loaded it in my favor expecting a mature businessman would come back with a counter offer.

No answer.

I sent the proposal to him again. No response.

I berated him for not answering. He didn't respond to that either. However he did start putting into effect some of the ideas I alerted him to. I hope it didn't work and he is still making peanuts on Adsense.

Erik runs a site called IT Enquirer. He graduated from university as a lawyer over there in Belgium and still appends his Doctor Of Laws initials after his name he though he gave up the law and went into the publishing business with his web site. Always be careful of people who feel it necessary to add their qualifications after their name when those qualifications are totally irrelevant to their current role.

Anyway, it was about the time that I read a great book about missionaries in the Congo, "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. Apparently the Belgians used to have a bounty on the chopped off hands of rebels there. Of course this bounty was abused, with the amputated hands of children and other non combatants being handed in. All the while of course, the country was being ransacked for its riches.

Then I saw Hotel Rwanda. Not a proud colonial tradition there, Belgium.

So I am a bit of a Belgiophobe at the moment. Please assure me that there people of character there and they are not all like King Leopold or Erik Vlietinck.