“Design depends largely on constraints.” — Charles Eames
Monday, 19 October 2009
Dear Ms. Gillard, I am a US citizen who moved back to Melbourne almost three years ago with my Australian wife. We did so largely because we wanted our sons to grow up in Australia and go to Australian...
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Although I'm a bit concerned to see so many references to "Web 2.0", it's very exciting to see Australia talking about opening up government. They've asked for feedback, so I've submitted my AU.02, and will try to attend the...
Saturday, 30 June 2007
For the somewhat limited audience of parents looking at neighbourhoods and schools in Victoria, Australia, I present the Victorian Schools / Google Maps Mashup. Note that there are two pages; one for secondary schools, one for primaries. It’s not...
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Monday, 7 May 2007
We were… refreshingly reminded that we’re not in Kansas (or even California) any more while watching The Daily Show on TV tonight, and this commercial came on; Nando’s is a national fast-food chicken chain. They’ve spent years building their brand;...
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Monday, 12 February 2007
It’s always more expensive than you plan. The few weeks before you go are the busiest of your life. It’s on the scale of planning a wedding where royalty are involved, because there are so many loose ends to...
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Wednesday, 3 January 2007
So, no that we have a place to live, there are a few choices; Phone — Since we’re keeping jobs as well as friends and relatives in the States, we’re going to be making a lot of international calls....
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Wednesday, 3 January 2007
I say “Victoria,” not Melbourne, because we’re currently staying in Forest Hill, courtesy of Roger and Marg, who are on holiday. The good news is that today we signed a six-month lease for a flat in Kia Ora on...
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Sunday, 24 December 2006
It’s Christmas Eve, and Charlie and I have been on the ground in Melbourne for a week. So far, we’ve got a new mobile phone (sweet), checked in with his school, and looked at a lot of apartments, trying...
Wednesday, 15 November 2006
In a nutshell: After a lot of angst, back-and-forth, and false starts, we’re moving back to Melbourne next month, seven years and a few days after we arrived in San Francisco. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows us well,...
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Sunday, 26 March 2006
A few snippets from the day; 1) The Wall Street Journal reports on the divergence between productivity and wages; Since the end of 2000, gross domestic product per person in the U.S. has expanded 8.4%, adjusted for inflation, but...
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Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Like a blogger trying to pump up their buzz, the New York Times declares; Australian Unrest Spreads to Other Cities What’s happened now? Have Melbourne and Brisbane been overrun by rioting yobs? No, this is what the Times is...
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Friday, 1 July 2005
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has announced that as of today, their online publications and tables are now free to download, instead of requiring an account and a per-download charge, as before. Considering the breadth of statistics they’re involved...
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Sunday, 15 May 2005
Last week, the Australian government announced a new budget. It included a number of tax cuts that were even more ambitious than expected. To help figure out who these cuts benefit, I’ve fed the rates that will take effect...
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Tuesday, 10 May 2005
Social Security represents a pact between generations—a financial and social commitment among people of all ages. — US Social Security Administration Although George Bush has caused a brouhaha with his ill-defined plans to reform Social Security, it’s actually part...
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Sunday, 10 April 2005
Those who have been preoccupied by Two Funerals and a Wedding may have missed news of a developing diplomatic crisis in Australia. Sir Michael Somare, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, happened to transit through Brisbane airport on his...
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Wednesday, 5 January 2005
Since the W3C Web Services Addressing Working Group is visiting my (sort of) home town in a couple of weeks, I've updated the Opinionated Guide to Melbourne that I sometimes give to people by e-mail and put it on the Web. /me dons flame-retardant suit...
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Friday, 17 December 2004
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released an SVG-based "animated population pyramid" that very nicely visualises the change in that country's population over time.
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Friday, 5 November 2004
For some reason, people are considering a change, such as this one. Might I make another suggestion [pdf].
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Sunday, 19 September 2004
If you're wondering where the promised travel stories from Melbourne got to, you'll have to wait a bit longer. Right after I got there, Anitra was bit by a spider (a supreme irony, really) and had to go to the emergency room, because all sorts of unpleasant things were happening.
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Wednesday, 8 September 2004
I'm typing this from the Red Carpet Club in San Francisco International Airport, about to disembark on a snap vacation to Australia. By 'snap vacation,' I mean that I didn't have a gleam in my eye about this trip two weeks ago, but thanks to generous fares from United ($650 round trip!)... Anitra and Charlie are staying behind for this one; she couldn't get away from work, and will be going to Australia to hear some wedding bells (shhh, big secret) in January.
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Monday, 2 August 2004
Melbourne’s The Age now has RSS feeds available — hooray! I’ve been scraping them and bugging the staff for a while, so it’s nice to see that Fairfax (now “Fairfax Digital” instead of “f2”… whatever) finally get it. Oh, and...
Friday, 14 February 2003
Word is that somewhere in the neighborhood of200,000 Melbournians got out of bed yesterday and decided to give a peice of their minds to the government. Good thing, too; you can argue as much as you like about whether America...