Dear T8 Family Haters

I’ve followed the V8 Supercars my whole life, some families have footy, mine had racing. And for that time, I’ve been a dedicated Craig Lowndes fan, even when he decided to cross to the dark side and drive a Ford for a while.

Tonight Lowndsey sent out a tweet thanking his crew and fans, and while the majority of responses were positive, or at least polite, I came across a few that were horrible and truly straight up uncalled for. When I went digging further, I found that Gizzy and J Dub were receiving the same kind of treatment from so called fans of the sport.

The Triple Eight crew race hard, but they also race fair, when they step out of line they generally redress and they always strive to have a clean race.

What happened between Lowndes and McLaughlin today was unfortunate and yea it sucks that he lost the championship so close to holding the title for the first time in his career, but the way he put Craig out of the race would earn anyone a penalty, we can’t expect that he be let off just because of where he sat on the leader board.

I’d be saying this no matter what team the hate was aimed at but it happens that I’ve seen it directed at T8 fam more than anyone. Even the fans who run the accounts for the boys cars have copped flak which isn’t ok either.

If you feel the need to be disgusting, please keep it to yourself, none of the racers or teams deserve to receive it and no-one wants to see it.

K, thanks, bye.

The end of the V8 Supercars Championship

2017 has been a year of losses for Australian car enthusiasts. The country’s manufacturing industry officially shut it’s doors, leaving many unemployed and setting off a domino affect within our car related industries. That’s not what we’re here to talk about though, this weekend marks the end of another era. As of tomorrow, the V8 Supercars will be no more.

Q&A with Helen D.

Helen Dent is a special needs educator at a rural facility. I recently spoke with her for an article on special needs education, however, upon receiving her answers I felt that the interview should also be published in its entirety.

Read on to find out her favourite thing about her job, why she feels IEPs are so important and other interesting information.

Nanny dogs not nuisances

Bundy is a four year old mixed bully breed with a lot of love for his human friends. He attends obedience classes twice a week and easily wins over even the most cautious guests in his owner, Tyler’s, home.

Bundy is dog reactive and as such, one of the classes he attends is specifically tailored to help with this. It is his general obedience class, however, in which Bundy has run into issues.

Due to his reactivity, Bundy is kept muzzled both for his protection and for that of the other dogs present. Being a responsible owner, Tyler has no problem with this.

What she does take offence to, however, is that while there are two other reactive dogs present, Bundy is the only one who is actually required to wear a muzzle.

Tyler feels that Bundy has been singled out due to his appearance, as one of the trainers went out of their way to point out that dog reactivity is “very common” among Pit Bulls which is what they feel Bundy “obviously is”.

To add context, the other two dog reactive animals in the class are a Jack Russell type and a Cavalier type.

Local Music Sensations: Fourth Place

I wrote this article for a university assignment last year.

https://jessicajones.atavist.com/local-music-sensations-fourth-place

Disclaimer: I know Bailey personally, that being said the boys are honestly doing a great job and you should definitely check out one of their gigs if you find yourself in Melbourne.

The Australian Black Spot Epidemic

I originally wrote this piece as an assignment for my journalism research class. Basically the brief was to turn a data set into a short article which was both engaging and informative.

The Australian Black Spot Epidemic:

Australia is infamous for its appalling cell phone coverage. Data collected in February 2016 shows ten thousand, eight hundred and three recognised black spots countrywide.
New South Wales wins the title of worst statewide coverage with approximately three thousand, four hundred black spots, while Tasmania seems to have the most reliable network at just over four hundred and twenty non-coverage areas.

A day in the life of an Aged-Care Worker

This post is a Profile/Feature article which I wrote about Adele Monaco* last semester. Ms. Monaco works with patients who suffer from dementia.

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

A day in the life of an Aged-Care Worker

As aged-care worker Adele Monaco sits at the beginning of the interview, her excitable Staffy, Pooch flops down next to her, making that little snuffling noise the breed is known for. Looking adoringly down at her boy Ms. Monaco explains that it was her grandfather’s Alzheimer’s that made her want to work in the industry.

“I didn’t think that his care was appropriate at the time, and there were no programs back then” Monaco says as she scratches behind Pooch’s ear, “all these programs that they have these days they make a big difference”.

We Need To Talk About: Autism

I read a post today (the link is at the bottom of this post) by a girl named Emma.
Emma is autistic, but that doesn’t stop her from making her voice heard.
Her words were simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking.

Autism Spectrum Australia defines Autism Spectrum Disorder (herein referred to as ASD) as “a lifelong developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people.”

What they don’t discuss, however, is the bias exhibited by some individuals towards those who fall on the spectrum.