Image via Wikipedia Last week my desk was under a motley arrangememt of piles of assorted papers, books and projects. This week it is as barren and featureless as any Antarctic waste. In a few days, I can guarantee it will once again be as it was last week. And so it goes. But IContinue reading “The art of tidy/untidy…”
Category Archives: Personal
Appealing to the ‘better angels of our nature’
As we head towards refugee Sunday, Eureka Street offers some worthy material for reflection, e.g. Improving the refugee debate – Eureka Street. It well makes the point that multiculturalism, the so called bête noir of our times is really of little account. This reflects a lunch-time conversation from which I have just emerged, where a bunchContinue reading “Appealing to the ‘better angels of our nature’”
What on earth are they thinking?
Why can’t our government get it right with asylum seekers who arrive by boat? The lawfulness of the disgraceful Malaysia deal is being tested before the full bench of the High Court today. This morning’s headlines in the West Australian were like a breeze of fresh air through the stench of indifference and acrimony thatContinue reading “What on earth are they thinking?”
Heady Sunday
It was a heady day today. My service this morning featured a combination of technology and human error that threatened to undo us – namely the wrong set of hymn lyrics on PowerPoint . A quick swapping of USB drives fixed that – then I inadvertently destroyed the world – knocking the globe from itsContinue reading “Heady Sunday”
Coffee Pot on-line
Permit me to indulge a little more in my railway alternate universe where I live out my childhood daydreams. I see myself at the throttle of the Coffee Pot chugging through Pichi Richi Pass in South Australia’s lower Flinders Ranges. Quirky, eh wot? Why waste a daydream on something so wheezy and small in theContinue reading “Coffee Pot on-line”
Same sex marriage – a mugwump’s perspective
This one is hotting up for parliamentary attention next week, with both the Australian Christian Lobby and Getup! campaigning from opposite sides. It looks like it’s going to be high noon at the OK Corral as these two shape up to each other in their lobbying for support. Funny thing is that, in the past,Continue reading “Same sex marriage – a mugwump’s perspective”
Nothing personal!
The High Court of Australia has several interesting cases before it right now. I’ve already pinpointed the challenge to the federally funded School Chaplaincy Program. Rocking the boat is a very succinct article on the current injunction to halt the Malaysia refugee swap scheme on the basis that the Australian government does notContinue reading “Nothing personal!”
A weak question…
It is occasionally suggested for interviews…”What is your greatest weakness?” I occasionally sit in on job interview or performance review panels as well as having been subject to my own annual performance reviews. I am glad, for the right reasons, that this question never arises. It seems to appear frequently in interview guides, however. MyContinue reading “A weak question…”
Correcting the Teacher
We’ve all done it in our student days – or held our breath as others have been foolhardy enough to attempt it – correcting the teacher. We learned a lot from how the teacher responded, particularly when the student was actually right. Adolescent joy abounded if the teacher blustered and blundered and obfuscated around hisContinue reading “Correcting the Teacher”
The joys of being a railway tragic…
I went through a boyhood phase of wanting to be a train driver (when I wasn’t wanting to runaway and join a circus). I don’t think the desire ever left me. Then I came across this full length silent Buster Keaton movie: Heaven on a stick!
Wondering Pilgrim 