Common urban commuter tribes of the 67 NAME: Middle-aged white collar male (Daggus Middleagi) APPEARANCE: Greying or disappearing hair. Striped tie, Hush Puppies. Pullover under jacket on cold days. Plastic raincoat on wet days. ACCESSORIES: Old beaten up briefcase. NEVER has a walkman. Always has an umbrella – just in case. VOCABULARY: Not known to ... [More]
We’re attempting a major clear out of the spare room. Okay, so I’m willing to admit that it’s quite possible that the natural state of the spare room is to be messy. But this messy? What would my mother say? (Yes mum, that’s why it’s always locked and bolted shut.) That ten year old Melways ... [More]
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Common urban tribes: Groovy women
Common urban commuter tribes of the 67 NAME: Groovy women (Hippus floppyhatti) APPEARANCE: Never over 40. Generally wearing boots, a beret, beanie or floppy hat. Short hair and an abundance of black clothing. ACCESSORIES: Gloves during winter. Cloth bag or one of those dicky little backpacks. Probably has a mobile phone, but then, who hasn’t? ... [More]
School buses. There is nothing quite like an American school bus. I don’t know why they have to be that colour, but it’s cool. Maybe they found people just didn’t spot them unless they were big, yellow and with lots of stop signs attached. After a few days on holiday in America, the school buses ... [More]
Common urban commuter tribes of the 67 NAME: Young male executive/consultant (Yuppis Andersenis) APPEARANCE: Double breasted suit or jacket and trousers. Fancy tie. Button-down collar. 55% chance of cuff-links. Trenchcoat in winter. ACCESSORIES: Mobile phone generally concealed about person, but nobody ever calls. Copy of The Financial Review. Briefcase or big leather diary. VOCABULARY: Mostly ... [More]
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Things from home
People apparently want to know more about our big trip to America last month. Oddly enough, the people who want to know the most are the Americans. Either they just want an outsiders view, or they’re trying to make sure we had a good time there. Which we did. If you live in Seattle, and ... [More]
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Common urban tribes: Skateboarders
Common urban commuter tribes of the 67 NAME: Skateboarders (Skatus bigpantus) APPEARANCE: Loose t-shirts, and very big pants. Often with caps on backwards, smelly sneakers. Always bad haircuts. ACCESSORIES: Skateboard, soft-drink bottle, multicoloured misshapen lump which might have once been a bag. VOCABULARY: Mostly complaining about school, or talk of the skateboard spare part trade. ... [More]
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News in the USA
Watching the news in the US was amusing. I’m at a safe distance, so it’s probably safe to name names: KNVX, Phoenix. This station has a news service that fulfils just about every cliche of bad news reporting you could think of. They don’t just have theme music. Nope. They’ve got some DJ announcer and ... [More]
So, Daniel, we heard you just splashed out on more memory for your computer. Yep, it’s got 24Mb now. More than enough for anybody. At least until next week. Ha, you’re not getting me into one of those Bill Gates quotes… Why’d you spend the money? Makes it faster. When you’re typing up Toxic Custard… ... [More]
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And home again
Well, it’s good to be home. After four weeks away, you start to miss the niceties of home – the mess in the spare room, the vomit-coloured carpet, the washers that need replacing. But our trip to America last month was well worth it. We got to see so many interesting things, and to discover ... [More]
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Seattle, Washington
The first thing you notice about Washington state is the abundance of green. Most of it is green, a contrast from Arizona, which is mostly dust. And whereas Arizona is dusty because it’s dry, Washington is green because it’s wet. Makes perfect sense. In fact, while in Arizona L’s uncle had told me “Washington’s really ... [More]
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Phoenix, Arizona
Well! Here we are in America. And in between falling into canyons and getting lost in the malls, I thought I’d rattle off a quick entry. The flight The Pacific Ocean is big. That’s probably why it takes so long to get from Australia to America. Something close to [ARGH] hours stuck in a 747 ... [More]