I was chatting with a long-time political antagonist the other night, one who in years past has often given me a good argument from the other side of the political spectrum. Now, however, he's abandoned his socialist roots and now joins me in being completely despondent about the political state of this nation. If you ask me, it is a sad state of affairs when even the activists are giving up. A recent article by John Töns summed it up in one good paragraph:In democracies such as ours it is becoming clear that there is really not a ...

Hello again!Jeez, this is tragic. A month (or more) between posts. I can see how people think the blogging medium is dying. It seems the only time I get to write these things is whilst trapped in an airline seat on my way somewhere. Today I'm off to Darwin - I think currently we're somewhere between Mt. Isa and Katherine. There's a lot of NOTHING down there, that's for sure! Good ol' Australia :-)So last weekend I didn't go to the Mardi Gras party at Fox Studios, which is something I really look forward to going to every year. It's ...

ALLOW ME to take the time to get my stories up to date. So much has been happening over the past few months, I feel rather guilty that all I've mentioned on this blog since November last year has been my engagement and its subsequent party! In reality, the past two months have been a complete roller-coaster. Allow me to explain.Well, first up has been the career "re-alignment". I must be careful at this point not to break one my my golden rules of blogging i.e. don't blog about work. At least nothing that could be found by a current ...

"SO HOW are you, apart from blissfully happy?"This was the question Adam got asked many times last week at our engagement party.You can imagine why - he's got a house, fur children and bf, and now he's at a big party that's all about him, he's showing off his shiny ring and the booze is free-flowing. What more for a boy to love?**sigh**I am never getting engaged again. Once is plenty enough for me! For some reason, I decided that a spit roast would be a great addition to a party - after all I do love my BBQ's and ...

(this isn't the ring I used, but it does look interesting)The plan was as sweet as it was simple. I was to surprise Adam when he got home from work with the house decked out in candles, and then get on one knee to propose. But things never go so easily, do they? So, here is the story as it unfolded.I woke up in Narromine at sparrow's fart, and drove to Dubbo for the early flight to Sydney. Upon arrival in Sydney, I hired a little Hyundai Getz and went to Broadway where the rings were to have been ready. ...

...the cat will play?Well maybe not play per se, but get up to very G-rated mischief anyway. I've found when I'm travelling, I indulge in all sorts of vices that I can never do when I'm at home. It's one of the blessings, I guess. Watch television in bed. Drink a beer, watching television, in bed. Drink a beer, chat on the computer whilst watching television, in bed. Ahhhhh. However my biggest indulge when I'm on the road is the long shower. It's something we Aussies instinctively feel guilty about - however when I'm in New Zealand, the Kiwis ...

I don't know whether it's age, quitting smoking or just too many noms, but I've gone and packed on the pounds in the last few months. This is something I spent years and years trying to do, to no avail, then suddenly it all comes at once! To Adam's delight, I now weigh more than he does.It's a blessing and a curse I guess - I really was too skinny beforehand, and many people have commented on how much better I look now that I have ...filled out a little :-) What I have to be careful of is that ...

On my way home last night I ran across this little beauty and thought it deserved to be shared. Bold marketing campaign, don't you think? ...

A big WIN for Mardi Gras' latest marketing campaign - flash mobs at Bondi Beach!I watched this video, I have to admit it made me smile in a big way. Eat your heart out, Melbourne!If my attempts at embedding do not work, the link is here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4DkbGbxl0 ...

Click to EnlargeYou know, I've never thought much of Joe Hockey but his recent speech to the Sydney Institute labelled "In Defence of God" (of which an extract is printed in the Sydney Morning Herald made me consider that he may actually be deserving of some respect. I encourage you to read his entire speech here rather than the extracts.In essence Joe comments on the state of religion in Australia (and the Western world in general), and how the essential messages of the various religions and being twisted and warped by literal interpretations and a "pick-and-choose" ...

It's not often that I get quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald. Apparently Sydney University collegiate society is a breeding ground for rapists, drunks and misogynists. Or so the papers would have you believe.The first article appeared a few weeks ago by a disgruntled ex-student Alexis Carey titled Lifting the Lid on College Life. In what many commented was a "completely trashy piece of journalism", one ex-student tried to paint the entire collegiate scene as sexist whilst publishing stories about "allegations of rape". Many people tore into her, the stories from people attending college at the time told an ...

One of my biggest misgivings about being out in the suburbs is being away from all the action, the liveliness of the city. Recently Adam and I have been a bit morose that our social life has been a bit lacklustre - mostly our fault I know but in a small way influenced by the fact we are no longer living in the city.So when we decided to go out for a drink last night in the Cross, I was quite happy to get out amongst it once more. We had enjoyed a (mostly) enjoyable meal at the Victoria Rooms, ...

There's nothing quite so scary as when your kids go missing. Again.I was working up in Newcastle the other week when I got a late night call from a distraught husband telling me that Jasper was missing - he had broken through the back fence and couldn't be found. This was more than a worry - the little tyke has got next to no road sense and we live moderately close to a few major roads. I tried to do my best to console the boy, but I wasn't there and there wasn't anything I could do apart from encourage ...

The recent story about Balloon Boy has highlighted just how stupid it is to coerce a 6-year-old to keep a secret. It reminded me of an amusing story that happened to me not long ago.I'm not sure whether I have mentioned before on this blog, but recently my mother bought a property near Bathurst (3 hours west of Sydney), where I've been going quite a lot over the last few months. About 6 weeks ago, I went up to the farm to stay the weekend with my mother, my brother & sister-in-law, and their 3 little anklebiters (aged 5 ...

It's rare that Microsoft can take a piece of the "cool" pie away from Apple. But that is what they have done with Windows 7's Media Centre. I've been trialling it for the past 4 months, and I don't know what I'd do without it. For what it can do, the level it can do it, and the price you pay, it is phenomenal. So to give you a rundown on my setup, I took my old webserver "Xandir" (original host of this site and others) gave it a new case and a good cleanout, then ordered a few ...

You know what? I honestly think that Twitter and Facebook are killing old-school traditional blogs. HA! 5 years ago blogs were the forefront of "armchair journalism", with amateurs shooting their mouth off to whoever would listen. Now it's come down to "how can I fit what I want into 140 characters and make it sound interesting". Well here's something I've found... it's not that interesting! Now I probably sound like a grouchy old man, but I just don't get this Twitter thing. It seems nothing more than a cheap way to illegibly proffer half-baked thoughts and ideas to nobody in ...