We've just been to Carols on Norton St., which was lovely. As the sky darkened, little kids ran around with candle-torches and glow-sticks, and nobody worried too much about where they were. It reminded me of Carols by Candlelight when I was a kid, where we lived in university housing in Canberra and all the houses backed onto a common green area, ( Read more... )

Beautiful nor-easter this afternoon. I promised myself I'd go for a sail if I finished my List of Things to Do. So I did - such a great sense of release, not racing, just sailing on the bay, going where I wanted, practising tacks and gybes. I sailed up to a shiny grey powerboat and thought - how sucked in is he? (For sure it was a he.) Thousands of ( Read more... )

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I've never done one of these memes before, but I was having a slow day and was in the mood for an oracle.

Put your iTunes/Winamp/WMP on shuffle.
* Use the song title as the answer to the question.
* NO CHEATING

1. How does the world see me? "Pollution" - Tom Lehrer - oh well.

2. Will I have a happy life? "Guitar" - Cake "If I/ Threw my guitar/ out the ( Read more... )

Hi all,

My letter was published in the Herald today!!!

http://www.smh.com.au/letters/index.html?page=3

They have witheld my name and address, which I didn't ask them to do - interesting. Still it's fame, of sorts.

Must get on with the thesis now.

Hi all ( Read more... )

Brendan: "Windows has now driven me to the edge of my sanity!"
Mum (cracking up): "Well, that wasn't very far, was it?"

Brendan: "I've finally worked out how to REALLY get my 386 laptop on the internet."
Mum: "What, you're going to take a photo and post in on your blog?"

In other news, I had a big fight with my supervsior the other day. I have 1 month ( Read more... )

Miriam said today "Do you know, our Jewish Scripture teacher didn't even know about Tom Lehrer!"

"Miriam", I said with a sinking feeling, "you DIDN'T sing 'National Brotherhood Week' to your Jewish Scripture teacher??"

"Ummmm.....why not?"

I should explain that my children do Jewish Scripture even though they are atheists because Brendan once had ( Read more... )

If anyone's wondering where Jem has been these last few days, he's been having his appendix out!!! He's currently in RPA hospital doing fine - due to come out tomorrow - just a bit sore and so on. He went in yesterday on a good diagnosis from the GP, low-grade temperature & stomach cramps on the right side - we were in Casualty for four hours ( Read more... )

Here's the poem Brendan wrote for Valentine's day, which I think is so good it deserves public notice (sorry kid, but it's all about art ( Read more... )