Inspired by this story: ABC News this mud, you say, came from yonder creek all frothing brown tea and gentle chatter among cicada's fierce racket and spearing acacia this mud, you say, wandered in 18,000 years ago on the feet of wasps, as busily they tessellated their bulbous home, 3D printing on this shaggy wall … Continue reading Mud from a Chattering Creek
Late night stabbing: man run through by dubious kebab!
I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and among the ones I really like is “How to Fail with Elizabeth Day”. Elizabeth Day (author and journalist) interviews successful people (often mini celebs, on the internet if nowhere else). Not being a twitter user and not being British and just generally living largely under … Continue reading The Moneyarchy
Each Christmas I write a newsy letter and email it off for worse or better to friends and family, colleagues and such who may or may not care that much. Then, this year a neighbour chanced to say that she throws her Christmas cards away and how newsletters bore her half to hell and she … Continue reading The Newsletter
(The Rabbit Hole is a podcast produced by the New York Times. Definitely worth a listen.) So there's this French guy, right. He has a university degree in Artificial Intelligence. He's smart and he does well. He gets offered a job at a big well known tech firm in Silicon Valley. He's proud as punch … Continue reading Story from The Rabbit Hole
I am not a sailor. I get seasick pretty easily and am quite terrified of big weather on land, let alone at sea. But I have heard that one threat to the sea-faring sailor, is the existence of submerged shipping containers, floating invisibly beneath the waves. Imagine the shock of running into one! The thing … Continue reading Submerged Containers
If you look at what's published as "News", it's easy to get confused about who or what you should be listening to. A few weeks ago, I remember reading an interview with Tom Hanks' wife after she was released from the QLD hospital where she and Tom Hanks were treated for COVID19. I can't remember … Continue reading The Hierarchy of Knowledge
Today I got an email from Chat10, Looks3 - my favourite podcast with Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales. They can't hold their "Live In Brisbane" show because of COVID19 so they're doing a "live on Facebook" broadcast. I have no idea what that looks like but I guess I won't find out because I am … Continue reading The Division Machine
On the ABC I read today that when Dr Brendan Murphy was asked if Australia was likely to employ lockdown measures such as those being used in Europe, his response was: "It is potential that could be the case, but that may be focal." Poor Dr Murphy! To say a sentence like that and then … Continue reading “It is potential that could be the case, but that may be focal”
This week the Australian Government announced that they were imposing travel bans from Iran and South Korea. Italy, on the other hand, was only having “enhanced screening” inflicted. Even at that time, Italy’s cases exceeded Iran’s and their death rate exceeded South Korea’s. In the late ‘70s, my family up and moved to Indonesia. Friends … Continue reading What colour is this virus, anyway?
