(Post backdated to the day it happened. Posted Sun 8 Oct 2006.) I thought Jetstar liked me, when the lady at check-in suggested I not check-in my bag. It was light enough, she said, that I could carry it with me on the plane, provided it didn’t have any sharp objects in it — which ... [More]
I’m off to Hobart today, for the weekend. The first thing people have asked me when I mention it? “Are you hiring a car?” — as if Hobart is so horrible that as soon as we’ve arrived, we have to escape it. Maybe it’s just that Hobart is small. That’s the verdict from the advance ... [More]
Spotted yesterday morning in the garden: this mouse, quite possibly the same one that visited my fireplace a few weeks ago (or perhaps a relative). Initially it appeared to be asleep, eyes closed. I wondered if it might be dead. But it appeared just to be enjoying the morning sunlight. Then it awoke and scurried ... [More]
The great thing about having a long-running blog is I can type almost any word into “Search the diary” box over on the right hand margin, and find posts about it, sparking memories aplenty — sometimes even memories that are amusing or thought-provoking. Some enjoyable posts I re-discovered yesterday: 28 Dec 2004: What’s changed (Since ... [More]
I don’t suffer from road rage (not travelling by car in times of heavy traffic when I’m in a hurry helps a lot). If anything, I suffer from road smugness. I don’t shout at idiots on the road. Instead I make smart-arse remarks, to myself or to others in the car. “Yeah, well done mate.” ... [More]
From Rod and Christine’s place, near Trentham.
A survey says Australian children’s top fears are car accidents, bombs, burglars and terrorists. Some of us were talking on Saturday night about our fears when we were growing up in the early 80s. For many it was the fear of nuclear war. I remember lying awake at night thinking about it. Glad I was ... [More]
My camera’s gone on holiday. At the moment it’s flying to Europe via Singapore, for some time in England, Ireland and Italy. Just for a fortnight or so. Alas I’m not going with it. I lent it to Justine, whose camera has mysteriously disappeared. So if you’re travelling in Europe in the next couple of ... [More]
Occasionally on a Saturday night just before seven, I’ll be slumped in front of the telly, flicking from SBS over to the ABC to keep up my quota of TV news (which is somewhat lacking during the week). I’ll see the end of Gardening Australia, and ponder its tiddily-pom blandly inoffensive music, which conveys pretty ... [More]
The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson — Technology has made it cheaper to produce and store and sell many things. So niché products that never would have been viable before are now big business. That’s the premise. If that’s all you want to know, you don’t really need to read this book. At a pinch, ... [More]
My three main Inboxes are getting out of control. While I manage to reply in a reasonable manner to most of the email I get that’s directed to me personally, I tend to get very slack at filing things away or deleting them, perhaps partly because I think at some stage I’ll need to find ... [More]
In an amusing conversation the other week: 25 is the new 18. 36 is the new 25. Cycling is the new golf. Dunno if all this is really true, but I’m discovering for myself that brown is the new blue. There was a stage in my life when I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing brown. ... [More]
Mr woolly jumper, what makes you think it is acceptable to floss your teeth on the train? Gross-a-rama.
I had a dream the other night that I was in a code review with some of the guys. For non-geeks amongst you, one of the key things about programming is to write your code in such a way that anybody else who reads it can understand how it works… and indeed so that you ... [More]
Marita was reminding me on Saturday of Dragon’s song Young Years (a discussion of various music lyrics that culminated in my car gaining the nickname Black Betty). Secret meetings at the river’s bend Simple days when I called you friend Came a time, we went separate ways — Dragon, Young Years As it happens last ... [More]