trichome said:

we have some rain on the way, maybe 10mm, better than a poke in the eye with a stick :)

I wonder where these sayings come from?

It could be a sharp blunt or a burnt stick. The meaning behind it is as old as language itself. However it is obviously an English phrase or even more likely and Australian adaptation of English phrases like better than sleeping with a dead policeman or half a loaf of bread is better than none.