And a story just next to Nicole's: The Gungahlin Drive Extension has won the Master Builders project of the year award. Conceived as a four-lane major road budgeted at $53 million, it ended up with two lanes at a final cost of $120 million.

A bit like the project, we'd best stop there.

Wednesday

Anybody who might have seen the British TV show Teachers will be starting to get a little concerned. The black comedy portrays a deeply dysfunctional high school run by, if it's possible, even more dysfunctional teachers. Education Minister Julia Gillard wants a marketing campaign to increase the number of students studying to become teachers. A British campaign along those lines was very successful, she says. The Brits used snappy catch phrases like "Use your head: teach". If the calibre of recruits bears any resemblance to the Teachers, school is about to get a lot more interesting.

Thursday

Most of us think the glory days of Aussie inventiveness are behind us, another alarming report suggests. This is absurd, of course, as evidence all around us of people's response to the new world order evidences.

Just one example: the end of horse flu is pronounced, meaning, with petrol the price it is these days, a revival of equine transport is just a sulky away from being pulled up the road. The Hansom cab is about to make a welcome return.

In the end, jumps racing doesn't need to be banned because there's more money in delivering milk of a morning than training that thoroughbred for the gallops.

Friday

"... and I predict that the return of horse-based transport will have a countervailing impact on the organic manure and composting industry,'' Professor Garnaut says at the National Press Club speech updating where he's heading on climate change predictions.

And, always one to set an example, after lunch he hitches up a chestnut gelding for the ride out to the airport.