For at least ten years now, in Sydney, government primary schools have had a no-hat, no-play policy. There is a hat as part of the uniform, and if you don’t have it with you, you can’t play in the playground. It’s extraordinarily cute on masse – particularly the kindergarteners. IContinue Reading
The AFR has an article today (subscription only as usual) about job sharing. It is very favourable, basically saying that most of the myths about how hard it is and complete rubbish. A few myths: – it costs too much – takes twice as long to supervise – needs aContinue Reading
Jason Soon at Catallaxy has a post about open plan offices that I violently disagree with – basically saying how useless open plan offices are, and how teleworking will get everything done anyway. I’m a big fan of open plan offices, to the point that I have just asked forContinue Reading
This week’s book review is Dancing With Strangers: Europeans and Australians at First Contact, by Inga Clendinnen. It is a detailed historical narrative of the first five or so years of the white settlement of Australia. I’ve read Inga Clendinnen’s essays before in weekend papers, and found them hard going,Continue Reading
I’ve moved to a different part of town, and I’ve been noticing that coffee is 10% cheaper there. I’m trying to figure out why that is. I used to be on the fringes of the tourist district, in an area that was full of investment bankers. Now I’m closer toContinue Reading
I’ve moved jobs lately, and my predecessor was male. I’ve noticed that many of the emails that he sent me to get me up to speed with things were originally addressed to “Gentlemen”. Very early on, one of my frequent correspondents sent me an email addressed to “Jennifer and Gentlemen”.Continue Reading
I was reading the New Yorker this evening. The article on Katrina and New Orleans and the aftermath really struck me. There are a whole lot of causes of Katrina, and reasons why there is a good chance New Orleans as a city will never be rebuilt properly again. PartContinue Reading
The ABS has released their regular survey of Australians and their health. There is a wealth of detail in there, but 62% of men, and 45% of women (up 4% each from 5 years ago) were overweight or obese. Mostly, the increase is in the obese proportion, as people moveContinue Reading
I’m in a new role which (in my small industry) means I’m running across a whole lot of people that I last saw 5-10 years ago. I’m constantly having to remind myself that just because they weren’t particularly helpful/good/on top of things (insert negative adjective here) doesn’t mean that theyContinue Reading
This week’s book review is The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. I decided, when choosing my books for the Christmas holidays, that I really should find out what was really going on with global warming. I was sick of reading the carefully set out pro- and anti- columns in theContinue Reading