The thing that’s been on everybody’s lips this week has been the decision of the French government to resume nuclear bomb testing in the South-Pacific. Reaction has been swift, with at least one group starting up firebomb testing at the French embassy in Perth. But the French Government continue to refuse to reconsider on the ... [More]
If you wondered, the baby’s doing well. Little Isaac is settling pretty nicely into his new life. Six weeks old and he knows exactly how to get food and a cuddle: Make noise. I haven’t got the heart to tell him it doesn’t work like that throughout life. He’s growing well, though his hair still ... [More]
Baby’s diary. Woke up. I was hungry, so I asked for my food. The foolish parents ignored this, going to the trouble of changing my perfectly good pants. And I’d just made them nice and wet, too! They wouldn’t stop changing me, no matter how much I complained. They change me before giving me my ... [More]
It’s time to admit that I too many video tapes. Far too many. So many, in fact, that it’s too much of an effort to count them so I can tell you how many there are. It’s… it’s… somewhere around the region of… um… 300. Yes, three hundred. <DEFENSIVE MODE> Look, I don’t know how ... [More]
Why do some sinks in toilets have two separate taps that come out on different sides of the sink? So to wash your hands, you either have to freeze them, burn them, or move them rapidly between taps, resulting in what is very much a half-burnt, half-frozen hands situation. One could, of course, find the ... [More]
It’s strange the useless information that floats around in the brain, remaining there even though it (a) hasn’t been used for years, and (b) is entirely useless anyway. For instance, floating around in my brain, weaving its way in and out and around the first seventy-five digits of pi (don’t ask), is the fact that ... [More]
We face possibly the biggest challenge of the year in the coming week. Forget moving house. Forget the baby’s arrival. We have to tidy the desk. A new computer is coming. Yep, a multimedia Pentium system, which should be state of the art for at least 15 minutes. It’s been a good 10 years since ... [More]
My mother is a pauser. On the phone to her, those moments of silence which at a party would spell instant death are commonplace. But you can tell I work in computers; all I can think about is the wasted bandwidth. An open line, between her place and mine. Broadcasting static. What a waste. (My ... [More]
The winter has arrived in Australia. Well, okay, so those of you in the northern states probably haven’t even noticed. But we down here in Melbourne certainly have, I can tell you. I’m glad I’ve already had my winter haircut. If I have a haircut after it starts to get cold, for the first few ... [More]
They often say that life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. I discovered during the birth that this is not entirely true. Attached to the placenta was the following leaflet: CONGRATULATIONS on the delivery of your new BABY-1000 CRYING MACHINE. The BABY-1000 is programmed to be easy to use and care for. Use this chart ... [More]
Okay, I know you’ve all been waiting to hear about this. Well okay, so a few of you have shown a passing interest. All right, so one person asked when it happened. Here’s the birth report. I’m not completely knowledgable on all the correct terminology, so forgive me if it sounds a little muddled. It ... [More]
Okay, it’s Sunday night. I spurn the Eurovision Song Contest and pump up the Led Zeppelin. I wipe the screen with my promotional DHL static wipe thing, and sit down at the keyboard. But am I inspired? To be honest, no. Actually, it’s lucky that I made it. With the baby almost overdue(*), it’s impossible ... [More]