Floating Life

Seven

Neil — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:38:29 +0000

As mentioned yesterday I am now on Windows Seven, so now have the answer to The 2001st post — to seven or not to seven. The answer obviously is “yes”. Plus The ACER crapware has gone. The computer works faster than it ever has, especially at boot-up. I’ve worked out how to back up and have created [...]

Sunday news…

Neil — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:06:48 +0000

Sunday lunch, thanks to Sirdan, was rather swish. It was at Longrain in Commonwealth Street Surry Hills. Second, Live Writer works again. Thanks to Sirdan. Posted in computers, personal, Sirdan, Sunday lunch

Sunday is music day 25: Pachelbel’s Canon…

Neil — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:59:32 +0000

… played on the Chinese hammered dulcimer, an amazing instrument. Posted in Chinese and China, music, Sunday music

Something to watch

Neil — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Richard Allen twenty-five years ago — he was only in his early twenties then — worked with me on a literary magazine called Neos. He has since, with his wife Karen Pearlman, gone onto other ventures. See www.physicaltv.com.au. Tomorrow ABC1 is screening their work Thursday’s Fictions at 23.15. There is a trailer for you to see. A [...]

Adrian Phoon in The Age

Neil — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:12:54 +0000

See Obama can take hope from a favourite author. During his presidential campaign almost a year ago, Barack Obama cited his two favourite authors. One was Shakespeare. The other was E.L. Doctorow. The President may be pleased to know that a musical adaptation of Doctorow’s novel, Ragtime, is being revived on Broadway this week. It derives from [...]

Flock also does this

Neil — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:34:23 +0000

It has its own rather simpler version of Live Writer — not nearly as good I have to say. But in the meantime it may prove useful. I notice that Irfan Yusuf favours it for his blogs. Blogged with the Flock Browser Posted in computers

I’m back!

Neil — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:16:29 +0000

Did you miss me? Yes, computer trouble again. You see there was this system bug notice over the past week or so every time I booted up. I figured it wasn’t very important, but after a while I thought I would do something about it. So I conscientiously backed up yesterday morning using the Windows backup [...]

Two non-fiction books that have impressed me lately

Neil — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:10:26 +0000

1. Tariq Ali, The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power (2008) Yes, I know: Tariq Ali, famous 1968 alumnus and “wild man” of the Left. But even London’s Spectator, hardly famous for Marxist leanings, concedes, while also drawing attention to the book’s very pleasing style: … Tariq Ali’s universal cynicism might have been [...]

Aunty Beryl story – South Sydney Herald

Neil — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:08:02 +0000

Yes, the South Sydney Herald is out, so I can share the Aunty Beryl story now. Aunty Beryl’s three word dictionary “My dictionary has just three words,” Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo says. “Communication, Education, Respect. That’s what I tell those students in there all the time.” Not a bad dictionary that, and there’s a story and a half [...]

Louis Nowra “Ice” (2008)

Neil — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:53:26 +0000

That’s my rating; not everyone agrees. I have to admit I had my doubts for a while, but once I had travelled a bit further with the novel I found myself increasingly bowled over by it. It is definitely up there with my best reads of 2009 – close to the top. One dissenter [...]

Sunday Floating Life photo 33 AND Friday poem 18

Neil — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:53:25 +0000

Is that confusing enough for you? Peter Skrzynecki’s “Immigrants at Central Station, 1951” was the subject of my tuition session yesterday. The coachee is doing the ESL course in English. On my way I took some pictures of Central from the perspective of the speaker in the poem – as I read it anyway. (We read [...]

More computer stuff

Neil — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:08:18 +0000

No, I haven’t forgotten all the other things I mean to post about. I’ll get back to book reviews very soon. Meanwhile, I have just discovered this neat feature of my Acer: As you may see in the top left window this feature can be downloaded for other computers: see Split your Monitor into Sections with Acer [...]

The 2001st post — to seven or not to seven

Neil — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:27:19 +0000

I spent yesterday morning at Sirdan’s helping out with some minor issues following his upgrading his Windows for Mac from Vista to Windows 7. Sirdan, without whom my Acer wouldn’t exist, offered to buy me Windows 7. I, of course, managed to royally screw Vista, as you may recall, and am now running on XP’s [...]

… and on

Neil — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:21:06 +0000

Following on yesterday I commend Jim Belshaw’s post Refugees and a contempt for the ordinary person. … I do not think that either Mr Rudd or Mr Howard before him know how deeply upset we are. There are, as Neil noted, some 16 million refugees globally excluding internally displaced persons. There is no way Australia could manage [...]

The beat goes on

Neil — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:49:30 +0000

I am still frustrated by the undue attention being given to “boat people” as such and the lack of proportion in the whole debate. A reminder about proportion can be found in the recent UNHCR Report. The number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide stood at 42 million at the end of [...]

Politicking boats and people movement

Neil — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:02:40 +0000

Here we are in deja vu land again. I ranted about these matters frequently in the past, the main rant being Massaging the Asylum Seekers (2001 – 2007). Now as then an increase in boat arrivals has prompted a range of responses, some of the foolish and atavistic, others paranoid, and some sensible. (The atavism comes [...]

Sunday Floating Life photo 32 — wisdom

Neil — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:59:07 +0000

Posted in Sunday photo

Saturday stats again

Neil — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:24:09 +0000

Thomas noted a spike in his visits just before the HSC, so I thought I’d check today. English/ESL seemed the first place to check: Yep, there sure is a spike! On Floating Life the most visited posts so far this month are: How good is your English? Test and Answers 270 views Conflicting perspectives 121 The Great Surry Hills [...]

And on and on…

Neil — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:47:40 +0000

Just about all day it has taken to finish bringing the ACER totally back. But here it is! Normal posting resumes shortly. Posted in computers, personal

Well here I am again

Neil — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:51:25 +0000

I have just finished and emailed the Aunty Beryl story to the South Sydney Herald and I have been to M’s to do something for him – he’s on a ship cruising around Australia at the moment. I have also been carrying on with rereading The Lord of the Rings – about halfway through, but [...]

Communication, Education, Respect

Neil — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:36:50 +0000

“Those are the only three words in my dictionary,” Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, an Aboriginal Elder originally from Walgett told me today when I interviewed her for next month’s South Sydney Herald. Arriving in Sydney in 1958-9 to be a nanny to an Eastern Suburbs family she pursued her dream to achieve all three and to [...]

Ross Gittins today and last Monday’s “Media Watch”

Neil — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:34:57 +0000

I am about to do what so many bloggers do – refer to a newspaper item, quote part of it, and make a brief comment. That this practice is exercising the minds of the media owners was made clear in a very interesting Media Watch (ABC) on Monday: The Philistines, in Mr Murdoch’s view, are the [...]

Afghanistan – on the dollar trail

Neil — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:31:22 +0000

Last night Four Corners showed this French documentary which had featured earlier at the Venice Film Festival 2009. While most live as above just nearby an amazing array of MacMansions – except they are far bigger – are sprouting in one section of Kabul. Guess who owns them. Meanwhile a newly built hospital wing is [...]

Computer — tragic

Neil — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:20:49 +0000

I have had a computer disaster and am using an older machine as a stopgap. More at another time. Posted in personal, site news

Sunday Floating Life photo 31

Neil — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:42:37 +0000

Here’s one for spring. This is yesterday. Today is rather different. Posted in multicultural Australia, photography, Sunday photo

Things I mean to post about

Neil — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:07:19 +0000

Just now I have a bit on my plate: another South Sydney Herald assignment deadline 21 October the final tutoring sessions for the 2009 HSC on Saturday an issue I am working on for M Not that these are enormous burdens, but they do distract from blogging. I intend to: catch up on some fiction read recently, including one of the [...]

Blog Action Day 2009

Neil — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:49:55 +0000

15 October 2009 “We have 130 countries represented by Blog Action Day bloggers, and climate change impacts us all.” It’s true that individual weather events like last month’s dust storm here in Sydney mean little by themselves. Nor is the fact that last month was 3C above average for September in itself significant. Climate is [...]

Two (on the face of it) stories of lack of imagination, even common sense

Neil — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:45:50 +0000

Well that’s how I react at first. What do you think? 1. Byzantine rules for overseas trained doctors Many years ago a member of the subject’s family told me about a Vietnamese brain surgeon who could only get a job as a cleaner in a regional hospital in a large northern city. His former life became known [...]

Trivialising an important document

Neil — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:47:55 +0000

Six days ago in Something else to brag about… I led with a story about Australia being #2 in best quality of life in the world, well ahead of the USA. That is the angle the Sydney Morning Herald took, mentioning only in passing that this was in a UN report on migration and development. Well, [...]

What a classic!

Neil — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:27:42 +0000

Floating Life attracted via the contact form this rather amazing variant on the “give me your money” scam – not Nigeria for a change. I have not corrected anything. Calavary Greeting’s Dearest In The Lord May the peace of almighty God be with you and your family,I am [...]