Back in the old house in Ames Avenue, the “central bathroom” was down the back of the house, next to the kitchen. The spot where the microwave oven lived was only about 3 metres from the shower. And the microwave we had at the time included a countdown timer. So when water restrictions came in ... [More]
It’s time for a clearout. Here’s a bunch of posts I wrote but never got around to posting. In some cases I intended to research them a bit more before publishing, so beware they may be a little half-arsed. Backwards There were claims and counter-claims during the Kororoit byelection campaign (June 2008). I suppose Les ... [More]
Last year I took a gamble and locked in my home loan interest rate at 7.85%. At the time, and for the first half of this year, it looked like it had paid off. With the recent drops though, I’m not so sure it will in the long term. I’m locked in at 7.85%; the ... [More]
My brother-in-law Adrian was telling me some amusing tales of recent trips to Ikea in Richmond. On one, he dared to go on a Sunday, but went early. He described it in surfing terms — moving through the one-way system ahead of the wave, which he could see developing behind him, trying to beat it. ... [More]
I’ve had something of a fascination with Ikea’s furniture ever since my teenage years when my friend Konrad moved to his new place in St Kilda and showed me the bedroom desk he’d got. It was a huge pine modular setup, full of useful drawers and shelves for his various gadgets and papers. Somewhere I ... [More]
I’ve been wondering about this for a while: if the government won’t fund wind power, is it possible to invest in it privately? I may not be able to buy my own personal windfarm, but could I buy a share in one? Yes I can. Thanks to a story on AM this morning, I found ... [More]
Here’s how I’d work carbon trading if I were appointed Grand Emperor of the World, based on my ten minute assessment of the situation. I’d set an emissions cap on the world, starting in say 2010, based on the total emissions output of the world as of 2009. Each country gets a share of this, ... [More]
Is it just me that hangs up my laundry inside-out, so the sunshine fades it on the inside?
25 years ago last week, the battle to stop the Franklin river dam was won. I think it provides some lessons for today. At the time it was seen as a battle between the economy and the environment. Most now concede that by stopping the dam, we have both — the stunning scenery of the ... [More]
Attention: Tracey and Joanna Hoyle, and Tracey Anne Tobias. None of you live at my house. (I checked; these aren’t aliases the kids are using.) So please stop giving my address to people. The mail for you has gone back to the sender. (Unlike last time, I did check the White Pages to see if ... [More]
How does bellybutton fluff work? Where on earth does it come from? There seems to be never-ending bits of it coming from my bellybutton. Every time I check there’s another bit. Can it be harnessed somehow? I wonder if it generates emissions when burnt. If not, it could almost be a limitless source of power.
On Thursday some school books were lost by Son The Elder. On Friday he checked with his home group teacher. He checked with the year level co-ordinator and the office. Following the long weekend, he checked again on Tuesday after school. Nothing had turned up. He seemed worried about the missing books, so I moved ... [More]