This topic gets kicked around in blogs from time to time. The usual formula is to select a world spiritual leader, world leader, celebrity, babe/hunk and novelty guest. Here is my list:
1) Allan Border. Arguably Australia’s greatest cricketer of the modern era, AB was my teenage sporting idol. He maintained a world-class batting average against [...]
I would never rely on an automated online translation service to communicate with someone who speaks a foreign language. I might use it for a short sentence, or with apologies in advance, but never in a formal sense.
The Israeli journalists who questioned the Dutch Foreign Minister using a web translator must be extremely embarrassed.
The Israeli [...]
There aren’t many novels about newspapers. Stories involving print journalists are far fewer than those about lawyers, soldiers and police for example.
That’s a little surprising when you consider that journalists are writers. But when you think about it, we are craftsmen while novelists are artists. We ply a trade while they follow their creative spirits. [...]
Does anyone share my view that Christmas parties are overdone? I'm finding it a strain just keeping track of invitations let alone responding to them all and attending a reasonable number.
I'm grateful that people think to invite me, but in a town the size of Kalgoorlie it's a similar guest list at [...]
I’m typing this in ZohoWriter, a web-based word processor. It’s similar to Writely, but offers a complete suite with online equivalents of desktop programs for spreadhseets and presentations.
Funnily enough, I’m writing this on the day that Google formally integrated its online spreadsheet application with Writely to create Google Docs.
I like the look and feel of [...]
I experimented today with a new forum script called Vanilla.
My initial observations are that it’s easy to install, attractive and minimalist. The download was just 380kb. It’s not bloated or overloaded with unnecessary features. There’s an active support community and a wide range of add-ons. Word Press integration is feasible.
On the downside it’s fairly difficult [...]
I’ve been writing here since July 2003 and there are several hundred entries. The archive list was getting too long so I’ve installed this dropdown menu instead:
Select…
I was guest speaker this morning at “Breakfast for Blokes”. This is a Christian men’s group that meets monthly for prayer and fellowship.
I was honoured to be invited and used the opportunity to give some personal views on the media’s role in society and more particularly the role of newspapers in country communities.
I finished with [...]
The future of the National Party in Australia is under a cloud following the defection of Victorian Senator Julian McGauran to the Liberals.
Most analysts seem to think the party is in terminal decline. The evidence certainly supports that.
Three-cornered contests after a sitting member retires are invariably won by the Liberal Party.
The question has to be [...]
The Age online has a box displaying the 10 most popular articles in the current edition. Anyone scanning today’s stories could be forgiven for thinking the end of the world is nigh. They include:
1. Woman marries dolphin.
2. Porn star arrested for raping boy.
8. Australia feels the heat of Proteas’ slow burn.
9. Woman weds dolphin (again [...]
