It's suddenly getting very real. My family of five and I are battening down the hatches. After watching the virus spread around the world over the last few weeks, it's now spreading rapidly in Australia. At the time of writing there are about 200 cases confirmed, but we know that testing is running 2-3 days… Continue reading The COVID Diaries #1
Author: James
Reading log for 2019
The end of a year usually brings with it a rash of people reflecting on the past year and planning for the next. Rather than comment on the various aspects of my life which are woven too completely to entirely separate, I thought I'd post the list of books I read in the year, and… Continue reading Reading log for 2019
Algorithms
Software algorithms get a lot of bad press at the moment. They're accused of forcing us into siloes and echo chambers, of shaping our views and attitudes, and of generally being the earthly manifestation of Lucifer. But that's not the real problem. The problem with software recommendation algorithms is that they don't work very well.… Continue reading Algorithms
Short cuts and the long way
It's tempting to take the short cut, to imagine that you've found a quicker and easier (painless!) way of achieving something. Everyone else is a stickler for unnecessary rules, or unimaginative, or caught in habit. What this view doesn't take into account is that everything has a price. Whether in energy, time, money or emotional… Continue reading Short cuts and the long way
Strength training for the chronically busy and tired
Sometimes I have to keep learning the same lesson. Over and over again. This month's lesson in humility has come from the barbell. I have had some time off work and decided to push up my deadlift a bit. Two weeks later, beaten and sore, with no meaningful progress in sight, I stopped. I don't… Continue reading Strength training for the chronically busy and tired
Gambling
I've never really warmed to gambling. I understand that it's one of those things that you're meant to at least slightly enjoy, especially in Australia where the value of "having a flutter" is a foundational cultural myth. It doesn't even leave me cold - I find it stressful and mildy boring.
13 May 2019, Blackburn
I went to vote yesterday. Being an early elector, I forwent the democracy sausage (don’t ask how the sausage is made) in favour of a surprisingly long queue slightly outside of my electorate. We have a very good-natured democracy, but one still has to run the gauntlet of people handing out flyers. Apart from the… Continue reading 13 May 2019, Blackburn
Sunday May 5, 2019, Glen Iris
I spent the afternoon at a trampoline gym with one of my kids. We both had a glorious time, bouncing, flipping, landing awkwardly, trying not to crash into other people. The place was filled to the brim with kids, being a Sunday. A handful of adults were bouncing too, but the vast majority were patronising… Continue reading Sunday May 5, 2019, Glen Iris
The e-Reader – I may have been wrong
It turns out that the fuddy-duddies were right. Even though they're not always the most practical, paper books are magical.
Canberra
Canberra gets a lot of bad press. Some of it is deserved, but less that you might think. Being the capital of Australia, it suffers the same curse which afflicts Washington DC and Brasilia; namely that it is an invented settlement which has been located for reasons of politcs rather than practicality. In the case… Continue reading Canberra
