News and current affairs
One night in 1983, we sat on our upstairs porch at 23 Pine Avenue in Elwood, watching the red of the Ash Wednesday bushfires on the horizon. Overseas relatives were concerned it was close to us… which I suppose it was, but of course suburban Melbourne wasn’t directly affected. All the same, it was an ... [More]
I know the cynics will continue to argue there’s no conclusive proof of climate change. But given much of Europe is freezing while we in Melbourne recorded the hottest day ever on record — 46.4 C according to the Bureau of Meteorology (that’s 115.5 F) — which follows on from the longest hot spell in ... [More]
I know Barack Obama ultimately may not quite live up to expectations, but I have high hopes, and I’m certainly not sorry to see the back of George W Bush… I had to laugh when I saw a photo of the Ikea Oval Office they set up at Union Station in Washington DC, complete with ... [More]
Apparently, officially, Easter Saturday is now called “The Saturday before Easter Sunday”. That’s really not a very catchy name.
Now don’t get me wrong — street violence is a terrible thing. And legendary footy coach Ron Barassi has to be commended for putting himself at risk on New Year’s Eve to come to the aid of someone being attacked. The whole thing is symptomatic of some of the worst ills of society. But really, ... [More]
I’ve wanted a hammock for ages — ever since I moved in and found hammock hooks fitted to the back veranda. And finally this Christmas I got one, thanks to Marita. Alas it didn’t quite fit the hooks, so I trotted off to Hammock HQ today at the Victoria Market to get the requisite extension ... [More]
ABC Childcare is in big financial trouble, has been for weeks. The crazy thing is childcare is in heavy demand, and there are government subsidies which should make it all very profitable. I guess not if your childcare company gets too ambitious and borrows heavily to expand and then comes up against a worldwide financial ... [More]
There’s a bit of fuss about the new water target of 155 litres per person per day. (It seems particularly fussing were people on talkback radio with big families who couldn’t quite grasp that it’s per person not per household.) I have an efficient shower head, and generally have sub-4-minute showers, and have a garden ... [More]
I was planning on doing Movember this year, but other events in October left me all disorganised (well, more than usual) and I didn’t sign up. For those who are overseas or have otherwise not heard of Movember, it’s a fundraiser. Blokes are clean shaven at the start, but don’t shave their moustaches for the ... [More]
So I’m working from home today, and (while getting some work done) keeping an eye on the vote. I hope any Americans reading made the effort to vote. How is it that ABC1 can screw-up their CNN feed? First they were blocking half the vital latest figures (the electoral college count) with a stock banner. ... [More]
There must have been cutbacks at the ABC. Apparently they can’t afford a dictionary anymore. Or maybe host Virginia Haussegger can’t spell. (Not that I’d be having a go at her, oh no.) It flashed up a few times during the ACT election coverage on Saturday night. (For some reason it seems a version of ... [More]
A while ago I did a little digging for the purposes of quantifying the audience for different media, for a discussion within the PTUA about how many people see which outlet. I’ve recently skimmed through and grabbed some new figures. (Obviously it’s not just about the raw numbers — the demographic of the audience is ... [More]