The 2009 Clarion West (Seattle) Write-A-Thon runs from 21st June to 31st July, shadowing this year's workshop. I've committed to writing 5000 words per week for this event, and getting as many sponsors as possible, and will do my best to raise at least $100. All sponsorships will go directly to Clarion West.

For every dollar I earn I will also ( Read more... )

Yesterday I came within an inch of having my foot run over by a 4WD turning in front of me on a pedestrian crossing at an intersection. It approached from behind me when I was already on the crossing . This was in a shopping centre where the speed limit was 15km/hr. Before I stepped out onto the crossing, I'd looked behind to see if anything was ( Read more... )

What's the first thing you find to eat after spending 5 days in the wilderness?


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There's lots of linky interest over at the Aussie Spec Fic Carnival at Ticon 4 Part 1 and Part 2.

And a windy day at the Hooker Glacier near Mt Cook, NZ. The terminal face is way over to the left out of the picture and those are icebergs floating in the lake. The wind was ice cold. Icy, ice cold:


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How We Cheated the Flames is an horrific, first-hand account of survival in Victoria's bushfires by senior writer of The Australian, Gary Hughs. I cried when I read it and cried again when I saw the destruction on TV ( Read more... )

My KSP buddy and good friend Satima interviewed me here about writing and life. Satima has a knack for asking thoughtful questions as can be seen here on her blog. Scroll down for other interviews with Lee Battersby, Sarah Parker and others ( Read more... )

The Routeburn track was the first long hike I'd done for years, and the also the first hike I'd planned with an entire family. We all carried a fair share of the food, but when it came to choosing what to take, our priorities were: lightweight, ease of preparation, healthiness, taste ( Read more... )

The brochure says to expect at least a day's worth of rain on the track. Out of five days, we were lucky enough to get only an hour...

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On the track towards Harris Saddle. We didn't take Dedmans track. It looked deadly:


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Some trees in NZ are just made to be sat in:


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