D-Day again yesterday. The twice-annual visit to the dentist. Amazingly he gave my teeth a clean bill of health. Said they looked fine, and obviously I was doing okay with my brushing and flossing. I didn’t feel inclined to tell him I’m only flossing when I remember to do so — which is pretty much ... [More]
Went into the gent’s at work. Standing at the urinal just about to get on with it when there’s a knock. “Hello?” Female voice. Must be a cleaner — one of several middle-aged women in dusty blue uniforms, generally seen spending an inordinate amount of time polishing the brass fittings in the building’s foyer. She’s ... [More]
Zoomed down the freeway to Kathy & Gary’s housewarming on Saturday afternoon. A very nice house, impressively huge, reminiscent of a Viking hall perhaps. That is, a big central living/dining/cooking/study area, high ceiling and a lot of wood involved. Maybe they’ll invite all their friends back there for a spirited sing around the fire after ... [More]
Footy tipping… 7 out of 8. Not too shabby for the first round. Would have been a perfect 8 out of 8, but I was foolish enough to be loyal to my own team and tip Geelong. The other week I went and saw the doctor about the headaches I’d been getting. Turned out to ... [More]
I dreamt that I woke in the night (not unusual recently), hearing noises in the house. Not just the usual possums ballroom dancing in the ceiling, but something louder, like people moving about the kitchen and the hallway, creaking on the floorboards. Initially I felt groggy and unable to move, but eventually woke up enough ... [More]
The Brits seem to have the monopoly on making good political thrillers for television. Think of the classics: Edge of Darkness, A Very British Coup, or House of Cards — the TV adaption of the latter was so successful it spawned more books and their subsequent TV adaptions, though alas the climactic final scenes of ... [More]
I have an oversupply of cream cheese. I don’t mind cream cheese on occasions. A week or two ago I was wandering idly through the supermarket and picked up a tub. I’ve dabbed it onto a piece of toast or two. I might just get through it before it expires. Yesterday at Parliament Station as ... [More]
Found this on the pavement at Southbank yesterday. With thanks to the geniuses who drew it, and the person who tipped me off (I’ve lost the e-mail, but you know who you are). I couldn’t get the whole thing into one picture. They got the captions of the doctors a bit wrong, and no sign ... [More]
Update on the cable: Optus initially said “Well, we don’t prune bushes”, but after hearing the whole story (especially the bit where it’s at risk of damaging lots of their equipment if it comes tumbling down) have been convinced to come and get their cable. They say they’ll be out on Thursday morning to take ... [More]
In my front garden next to the verandah is a humungous bush, featuring bright purple leaves flowers and green branches with soft thorns. It’s growing, Triffid-like, out of control, and I regularly have to take the hedge clippers to it to prevent its spread blocking (or at least making awkward) access to the front door. ... [More]
Navigating to a party on Saturday night (with a woman who can read maps! A good reason — not that another one was needed — to hold onto her!) it became apparent from looking at the Melway that the street in question has three names over its 6 kilometre length over the stretch we traversed, ... [More]
Years ago, I occasionally shopped at Rod Irving Electronics in A’Beckett Street. There was a shop assistant in there who looked like Darrin from Bewitched. The first, original Darrin, with the ears that stuck out. Apart from the ears, he had slicked back jet black hair, a dark suit and very shiny shoes. I don’t ... [More]