Some nights ago, I was walking my dog through the local streets.  As I usually do on such outings, I was musing on life, the universe and everything.  I looked up at the part of that universe I could see and immediately saw a very bright star where a bright star ought not to be.

As I stared at it to identify its position amongst the stars I know, it moved.  In fact, it was moving steadily.  Must be a plane, I thought, with its landing lights on.  But no, it wasn’t because, as it moved overhead, the brightness didn’t change and there were no flashing navigation lights to go with it.  It was obviously a satellite, but a brighter one than I had ever seen.  It was Iridium 66. (more…)

The Australian language is changing before our ears.  Nouns and verbs are being increasingly substitution for each other and the subjunctive seems to have gone out the door.  If only it weren’t so.

We now frequently hear people on ‘proper’ radio (the ABC) say that there is “a divide” between A and B.  Recently, on the same radio station, a politician said: “We will division the proceeds fairly.” (more…)

t’s good for you.  It’s bad for you.  It will kill you.  It’s been proven safe.  Don’t combine X with Y or Z.  Let’s not jump to conclusions until all the data is in.  It’s best to be cautious.

It’s a wonder any of us survives. (more…)

Sitting here at my kitchen table, dog at my feet, mug of tea and shortbreads in front of me, I’ve drifted into thinking about connections – connections with people, places, pooches …

I have relatives in Europe and the USA, and possibly in South America.  There are people I know through travelling and writing and there are people I know through connections on the internet.  Some of these connections intersect, split and join in unpredictable ways. (more…)