The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true.

There is a hole in my plan. Lindisfarne Village, Lindisfarne. March 2012.

Tuesday Q and A and we visit the mysterious Scottish Meme!

1. Where are you from and where do you live now?
I am from the city of Burnie - on the Tasmanian Riviera (the north west coast)- but I now live in Hobart, which is 600 kilometres away to the south east.

2. Favourite childhood story/ book/ film?
No single one in particular. Off the top of my head I know that I enjoyed Peter and the Wolf, George's Marvellous Medicine and Watership Down.

3. If you could change gender for a day what would you do?
Once I shifted from in front of the mirror I might nip down to the pool.

4. Do you feel you family is complete or would you like more/some children?
I think that we're right. Four seems a good amount. Any more kids and we are outnumbered!

5. What do you do/Where do you work and do you enjoy it?
I'm currently aiding community-based mental health services in the development of their workforce(s). It has its moments.

6. Which three words do you think sum you up?
I do try.

7. If you were a fairy what magical powers would you possess?
Colour co-ordination?

8. If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do? Why?
I'd try and turn it into a quid, somehow.

9. What song can’t you listen to without crying?
Bonnie Tyler's .

10. Which book changed your life – or at least made you think a lot?
I know that the first time I read Catch-22 was an experience. I re-read entire chapters because I was getting that much from them first time around.

11. Why do you blog?
Cripes... I think I've forgotten.

12. What is your top ‘me-time’ tip?
Walking to the bus stop a little more slowly.

13. What can’t you live without?
Oxygen.

14. Which of all your blog posts are you most proud of and why?
Probably those on and around Ezra's birth. It's a nice record to have of the time.

15. Have you ever met a famous person? Who and where?
I bumped into Simon Madden after getting sent to the principal's office back in Grade 9. That was a nice surprise.

16. When did you last have a full night's sleep?
Last night.

17. What would you think is harder: Going to work or staying at home with children?
They're different kinds of hard. It's hard work with little kids all day, but by the same token it isn't a barrel of monkeys going out to work all day to come home to little kids in your time off!

18. What are you doing for Easter?
Very little.

19. What is your favourite drink?
At the moment it is grapefruit juice. I like a tart raspberry fizz though too.

20. Do you play any sports?
Not at the moment.

21. What is your most embarrassing moment?
Far too many to choose. Nothing so bad that I can't just bury it with mounds of cynicism though...

22. How clever are you?
Clever enough to know the limitations of my cleverness.

23. Name a new favourite TV show?
Impractical Jokers.

24. Any guilty pleasures?
Life is to short to feel guilty about things that you enjoy!

25. If you could have chosen your own name, what would it be?
"Napoleon".

26. Who do you most admire in life, and why?
Anyone who just gets on with it is worthy of my admiration.

27. What is your most treasured possession?
My dignity.

28. Tell your favourite funny joke…

"How much does Jesus love you?"

[[[Now spread your arms and look mopey]]]

This much.

29. What is your biggest fear in life?
Sharks with halitosis.

30. What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? What does it remind you of?
Coffee. It reminds me of coffee.

Mad as hell

So there I was, arm hooked up to the machine, watching my plasma swirl away into a bag while the morning news dribbled across the screen like a bad fever dream. And what were they showing? A "riot" in Melbourne, allegedly. The sort of riot where the real thugs wear body armour, carry pepper spray and look like they just walked off the set of RoboCop. The people they were beating? A ragtag crew of teenagers and old hippies—probably fresh out of a drum circle, still smelling of patchouli. But sure, let's call it a riot. Now, here's where it really gets good. I mentioned this spectacle to a few people later, thinking maybe they'd share my outrage or, at the very least, give a damn. But no. What did I get instead? A smirk, a chuckle, and—oh, the pièce de résistance—"You should really just let it go." Let it go? Yeah, let me uncork a nice, overpriced cup of coffee, sit back with my legs crossed, and soak in the latest reality TV trash. Why bother caring when ...

Hold me now, oh hold me now, until this hour has gone around. And I'm gone on the rising tide, to face Van Dieman's Land

Theme Thursday again, and this one is rather easy. I am Tasmanian, you see, and aside from being all around general geniuses - as I have amply described previously - we are also very familiar with the concept of WATER. Tasmania is the ONLY island state of an ISLAND continent. That means, we're surrounded by WATER. That should help explain why I take so many photographs of water . Tasmania was for a long time the place where the British (an island race terrified of water) sent their poor people most vile and horrid criminals. The sort of folk who would face the stark choice of a death sentence , or transportation to the other end of the world. Their catalogue of crimes is horrifying : stealing bread assault stealing gentlemen's handkerchiefs drunken assault being poor affray ladies being overly friendly with gentlemen for money hitting people having a drink and a laugh public drunkenness being Irish Fenian terrorist activities being Catholic religious subversion. ...

Something unpleasant is coming when men are anxious to tell the truth.

This is the moon. Have I mentioned how much I adore the zoom on my camera? It's Theme Thursday you see, and after last week's limp effort, I have been thinking about how I might redeem myself. Then I clicked on the topic and discover that it was BUTTON. We've been hearing a lot about the moon in the past couple of weeks. Apparently some fellas went up there and played golf and what-not forty-odd years ago. The desire to get to the moon, however, was not simply about enhancing opportunities for Meg and Mog titles and skirting local planning by-laws in the construction of new and innovative golf courses. No, all of your Sputniks , "One small steps" and freeze dried ice cream was about one thing , and one thing only : MAD Now, I don't mean mad in terms of "bloke breaks record for number of scorpions he can get up his bum", no I mean MAD as in Mutual assured destruction . When I was a young man you see, there was a lot of talk about the type of m...

This will hurt me...

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