The other day I counted the number of passwords I use for various things on my computer at work. There are 26. They are all on different cycles. Some I am required to change monthly. Some quarterly, some never change. Some have a requirement to have a mix of capitalContinue Reading
The Sydney Tele yesterday had a front page screamer about Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank – Is this man Australia’s most useless? There were two main parts to the critique. First, that the Reserve Bank should be stopping the banks from raising interest rates beyond the official cash rate;Continue Reading
I’ve written before about how annoying I find the rules about religious education in NSW public schools. In 1880, the NSW government established the Public Instruction Act, which introduced compulsory free education in NSW. In a compromise with the (non catholic) religious schools, the government also took over most ofContinue Reading
Today the Penguin family went (as we often do) to Darling Harbour. Over easter, there is a circus festival. Which meant that we saw three different live shows out of the ten on offer – The Pitts, Leo Bonne, and Ace P. Freckle. They were all good. The Pitts (myContinue Reading
To pass the time on my regular jogging route, I count the weddings and critique the bridesmaid’s dresses. I’m lucky that I can run through a very scenic part of Sydney, and on the weekend, I’m guaranteed at least one wedding to gawk at. This afternoon was a bit different. OnlyContinue Reading
Many column inches have been spent in the past couple of days analysing the Fed’s decision to prop up Bear Stearns while it found a buyer – in the end JP Morgan agreed to buy it for around 10% of the trading price a week before. What the Fed didContinue Reading
Around here, one of the common topics of conversation among the parent community is, “where are you going to send your kids to high school?” We genuinely have no idea. Our options are made much more complex by the fact that all of the six high schools within walking distance of ourContinue Reading
When you have a new baby, suddenly you notice them everywhere. Certainly, that’s how I felt with Chatterboy. I assumed that in my formerly childless state, they’d always been there, but I hadn’t noticed them before. But I’ve just been looking at the census statistics for my local area, andContinue Reading
The Eye family (99% Mr Eye) does a fair bit of volunteering around the place. But we also live in a quite affluent area, where there is a strong sense of entitlement, and willingess to pay for things. It’s interesting to watch the intersection of those two things. Freakonomics hasContinue Reading
How risk tolerant are we as a society these days? I went to an interesting panel discussion today. We live in a less risky society than we have in pretty much any time in history. The risk of dying prematurely, of being severely injured, of having some catastrophic event makeContinue Reading