“Him? Really?  There’s still time to get out of this, Honey” (OK, I wasn’t there, but I can only assume that’s what my now-Father-In-Law was pleading saying to his beloved youngest daughter when this picture was taken), 17 years ago today.   (Did you realise that that’s 6,209 days, and almost 150,000 hours?  Or the equivalent of more than 80 Kardashian marriages?)  I’ve said this before, Melly, but more concisely, Thank you so, so much. View high resolution

“Him? Really?  There’s still time to get out of this, Honey”

(OK, I wasn’t there, but I can only assume that’s what my now-Father-In-Law was pleading saying to his beloved youngest daughter when this picture was taken),

17 years ago today.  

(Did you realise that that’s 6,209 days, and almost 150,000 hours?  Or the equivalent of more than 80 Kardashian marriages?) 

I’ve said this before, Melly, but more concisely, Thank you so, so much.

My clever little sister graduated this week from RMIT with her Masters in International Development (her focus has been on fighting human trafficking).

My ‘proud’ and ‘supportive’ faces could probably use some work.

Nice work, Bec!

“

Then, as conversation turned to the future and Gillard’s pledge in her speech that “Labor says yes to the future”, Rudd said something else.

“F—k the future”, he laughed, literally flipping the bird in front of the assembled journalists to punctuate his remark. As he thrust his finger in the air, the crowd could barely believe their eyes.

Rudd then posed for photographs with bar staff and disappeared into the night.

 The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Australia’s current Foreign Affairs Minister and - until June 2010 - our Prime Minister, flying the flag.
“
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.

I sure hope that pithy aphorism is true, Sir Francis Bacon.   

“Begin With Certainties” may as well have been on our family crest.  

Yesterday, my work put on it’s annual Family Fun Day.    (Well, technically it’s the employee association that puts this on and we finance it ourselves through our membership dues - the company itself would never put this on.) While the general consensus was that it wasn’t quite in the same league as last year’s fantastic event - this year there was no Dora, no fire engines, no roller-coaster, and the excitement of lining up for a gift on the day was replaced instead by the beige practicality of gift cards sent out in the mail - it was still plenty of fun and finished with hot chips and jam donuts under a terrific fireworks display. I really like this shot of M, J & B enjoying the show.   There are a lot more, but I’ll show some restraint and self-censorship. (Instead, Here’s a clip from last year’s event, complete with track recommended here by @luckyshirt) View high resolution

Yesterday, my work put on it’s annual Family Fun Day.   

(Well, technically it’s the employee association that puts this on and we finance it ourselves through our membership dues - the company itself would never put this on.)

While the general consensus was that it wasn’t quite in the same league as last year’s fantastic event - this year there was no Dora, no fire engines, no roller-coaster, and the excitement of lining up for a gift on the day was replaced instead by the beige practicality of gift cards sent out in the mail - it was still plenty of fun and finished with hot chips and jam donuts under a terrific fireworks display.

I really like this shot of M, J & B enjoying the show.  

There are a lot more, but I’ll show some restraint and self-censorship. (Instead, Here’s a clip from last year’s event, complete with track recommended here by @luckyshirt)

PSA: If you have three minutes, love pretty fantastic things that are ridiculously creative, and haven’t yet seen the wonderful stop-motion animated film “Address Is Approximate”, please do yourself a favour… View high resolution

PSA: If you have three minutes, love pretty fantastic things that are ridiculously creative, and haven’t yet seen the wonderful stop-motion animated film “Address Is Approximate”, please do yourself a favour…

Absolutely wonderful.

(Source: vimeo.com)

Every day this week, J & B’s biggest request has been to watch (then rewatch) a cartoon made 57 years before they were born.  

Here’s them watching their very favourite minute…

(Source: vimeo.com)

claytoncubitt:

Steve Jobs had the single best piece of advice you could share with a young person of any age:

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you’re life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

(Reblogged from frakintosh)

The Alan-Alda-fication

  • John Roderick: When we were kids, the school curriculum was still based on the premise that we were trying to beat the Russians to the Moon. Even though we had already beat the Russians to the Moon, we were still reading those same math books.
  • Merlin Mann: We, we wanted to get the Moon, and we wanted them NOT to get to the Moon.
  • JR: Yeah, right, we wanted to get to the Moon and go, “IN YOUR FACE!”
  • MM: Um-hmm
  • JR: But then somewhere there in the Seventies, the ‘Alan Alda-fication of America’ happened, and suddenly everybody was an Artist. Nobody had a slide rule anymore, nobody was trying to get us to the Moon. Now everybody...now everybody was free to be... and we were all, our little hearts needed to be...set free.. and we needed to talk about our feelings... and everybody needed to share...and now we live in a nation of 350 million of the Most Important People Who Have Ever Lived. Nobody can wait in line. Nobody can admit for a second that maybe - in the Grand Scheme of Things - they...are...a PEON...
  • MM: Um-hmm
  • JR: ...and they need to STFU and get in line and do their jobs and get out of the way of better drivers who are on their way to some place, and only have nine minutes to get there.
  • MM: I think I finally understand it: OK, it’s really, it’s a problem with at least two levels. The second level is that the people are in your way, they’re making it take way more than nine minutes, you’re not gonna get the chance to have a walk or a nap, they’re in John’s way. If I understand correctly, the first, much more broad problem - we’re never gonna get to problem two until we get through problem one - is that people are literally not being forced to literally listen to you.
  • JR: Um-hmm.
  • MM: Because that’s part of the problem...your...what you have to share with them is getting lost amidst all the voices and talking about feelings. Is that fair to say?
  • JR: That is fair to say, except that - with the caveat - that I don’t really care if they’re listening, I just want them to be quiet while I’m talking. If they are just sitting there, just, just dumbly...
  • MM: So it’s not really about the movie. The movie, really, the movie is You. The problem is they’re talking during You.
  • JR: They’re talking during Me.
The view from my workstation (“hello!”). Sure, we don’t have any of your fancy “windows” or “natural light”, but we do have an abundance of polystyrene cups, instant coffee, XP and hi-vis, polyester uniforms. Hence, this. View high resolution

The view from my workstation (“hello!”).

Sure, we don’t have any of your fancy “windows” or “natural light”, but we do have an abundance of polystyrene cups, instant coffee, XP and hi-vis, polyester uniforms.

Hence, this.

My new “Go Home” Home Screen. (I now find myself locking/unlocking my phone three or four times per minute) View high resolution

My new “Go Home” Home Screen.

(I now find myself locking/unlocking my phone three or four times per minute)

beefranck merlin inthefade luckyshirt ronbailey irreverend daveshumka milkglassmao frageelay

“
Needless to say, neither side converted the other, and we refused to abandon our diabolical schemes of interplanetary conquest. But a fine time was had by all, and when, some hours later, we emerged a little unsteadily from the Eastgate, Dr. Lewis’s parting words were “I’m sure you are very wicked people – but how dull it would be if everyone was good.

- Arthur C. Clarke, via.

Can you imagine sitting among C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Arthur C. Clarke as they argued over beers at the pub?  

Also, if you happen to be visiting Melbourne and are looking for the world’s least-inviting, most-sinister-looking Parent’s Room (either that or the most brazen black-market swap station), this place is just down the street from the Athenaeum.