I came across this concept in two completely different areas recently – Flow, as described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Basically, a mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in theContinue Reading
C has just started reading chapter books. Before I started frequenting parenting blogs (and my children were well before pre-reading), I didn’t think of that as a milestone – I certainly don’t remember that milestone in my own life. But now, the fact that C can disappear for half anContinue Reading
Sydney’s public transport has been promising integrated ticketing since before the Sydney Olympics. In a quick google search, I found this summary of where the project was up to three years ago – basically promising that it would be finished by the end of 2006. Here’s an article from the SMHContinue Reading
I’m not one for memes, much, but how could I resist a book one (from susoz)? Edited to add: I’ve put links to all the others I’ve found in my sidebar, as I’ve found the variety of choices fascinating (and there’s a few books I need to read, too). 1.Continue Reading
There’s a thoughtful article in the NY Times (via Playground Revolution) about Wall Street investment banks and how they are starting to take seriously the issue of work-life balance as a way of retaining women. Having come from professional services firms, it feels about five years out of date, butContinue Reading
I occasionally peek at Library Thing, a fantastic idea which links people’s libraries up with each other (via Phantom Scribbler and Raising WEG). The great thing about it is that you can have a look at similarities between your library and other people’s to help you figure out what bookContinue Reading
There was a really interesting article in the AFR today about working hours. Quoting extensively from Mark Wooden (who among other things, is in charge of the Hilda Survey) it suggests that Australians don’t actually work the longest hours in the world (as is so often quoted because of an OECDContinue Reading
Today’s Book Review is It’s a Boy, edited by Andrea Buchanan. A very interesting project, it’s a collection of essays from women writers on raising sons. I found it quite startling just how many (the overwhelming majority) were about the woman’s experience of coming to terms with the fact thatContinue Reading
It’s census time, and, frustrated statistician that I am, I was very excited to see the form on my doorstep last night. Last census, I was 8 months pregnant with C, and we were a couple with two very demanding jobs. This census, we have two children, and one full time andContinue Reading
I’ve been pondering, after my last post, just how feasible it is to have a workplace with different attitudes to working hours. It’s a horrible time of year right now, which exaggerates the problem, but I’m working in a workplace which has (at one extreme) someone who sent me emailsContinue Reading