This will hurt me...

The view from the top. The summit of Mount Wellington. September 2013. 100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know , John D. Barrow: This book explores one hundred conundrums, questions and queries through the lens of mathematics. The book runs through infinite monkeys banging out Shakespearean plays on typewriters, your odds of winning the lottery, horse races, divorce, Google, game theory, infinity and chaos; there is much to enjoy here even if Maths is something other than your strong point. While the book is (happily) not dumbed down at all, it remains jammed to the brim with equations sure to make you squirm. C+ . Life at the top. The summit of Mount Wellington. September 2013.

Nice location. Clifton Beach, South Arm Peninsula. June 2011. Sunday Top Five already? Christ almighty the days seem to be going by more quickly! My Top Five Sore Bits As I Type! Stomach Left thumb Left knee Right shoulder Pride Across the cliff face. Clifton Beach, South Arm Peninsula. June 2011.

Hobart in the Summer! Mount Wellington, as seen from New Town, February 2011. Quick , I need a Sunday Top Five! Ummmm…. How about Top Five Statistical Details About Tasmania That You Might Not Be Aware Of ? Most Tasmanians live in urban centres, with nearly 90% of the total population living in Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport. Over the next twenty years the proportion of Tasmanians under the age of fifteen is projected to decline by approximately 7% while the proportion of people aged 65 years and over could grow by almost 60%. In the ten years to 2006 there was a 10% decline in the number of households with children in Tasmania, while the number of childless couples increased by 17% and the number of people living alone increased by 15%. Although the proportion of welfare-dependent households has declined in recent years, Tasmania still has the highest proportion of welfare-dependent households of all states and territories at 34%. Of these households, the majority (52 %) wer...

The morning sun of the office desk. No more shall be said. Curruthers Building, St Johns Park, New Town. March 2011. Another day, another too books! This week, the theme is depressing , albeit for quite different reasons. Book one is Caryl Phillips’ A Distant Shore . I’ve read a few of his books, and although he’s not the most refined of writers, one thing that Caryl Phillips can do is tell a story. This story is one of two people, both lonely and exist largely outside the mainstream of society. One is a retired teacher and the other an African refugee. Stylistically, the book's sections jump between the perspectives of the two main characters, and the story is relayed in a non-linear, broken fashion, so the reader is often caught on the back foot in terms of the narrative. This isn’t too frustrating, although the emerging fact that one of the central characters – who increasingly narrates in the first person – is unreliable, throws in a bit of a twist. Most novels of this kind w...

Why is there a lion on the Tasmanian flag? Mount Nelson Signal Station, Mount Nelson. March 2011. Mount Nelson is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Its name would suggest that it is located upon a mountain, but you’ve not reckoned with the cunning logic of Tasmanians. Now, there is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a mountain as a natural elevation of the earth surface rising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent elevation, is impressive or notable. Strictly speaking , Mount Nelson is not much of a mountain. Given that Mount Wellington towers over it right next door, I’m not sure it’s visage is either impressive or notable. Indeed, its highest peak is a measly 350 metres above sea level. The view of South Arm Peninsula and beyond. Mount Nelson Signal Station, Mount Nelson. March 2011. Mount Nelson was originally named Nelson's Hill – a far...

Looking south-east from atop Mount Wellington. June, 2010. I am not sure that I would like to live on top of a mountain. Sure, the views are fine and you can be assured of some peace and quiet. Yet supermarkets are thin on the ground and it gets pretty cold up on tops of mountains. Do you live on top of a mountain? Tasman Bridge on the left, Battery Point and Sandy Bay central, heading down to Taroona on the centre-left. That's Opossum Bay on the hook inlet of South Arm. June, 2010.

Last Friday, Henry, Jen, Ezra and I all climbed up Mount Wellington to check out the snow. There wasn't a lot, but it was cold enough to have preserved a small amount from the previous day's fall. What was more interesting was the view from high up in the clouds. From down below, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Except for a small amount lingering at the summit of Mount Wellington. This was our mission. An ascent into the clouds! I've more photos (of course), so stay tuned...

Richmond is a town about 25 kilometres north-east of Hobart, and is the Richmond Bridge, built in 1823, around the time of the town's first settlement. It is Australia's oldest bridge still in use. Above you can see the view to the West, and below are two shots of the bridge itself. I'll be honest with you people, it falls some way short of the Karlův most (Charles Bridge) in Praha, which is something like 466 years older. That said, chirpy chippy convicts built it (allegedly), and that makes all the difference to Australians!

Another day, another photograph of Hobart and the Derwent estuary from atop Mount Wellington . The large estuary forms the City of Hobart, and it is often claimed to be the deepest sheltered harbour in the Southern Hemisphere. The veracity of that statement, however, remains unconfirmed! I wrote a poem yesterday, the first in a while. People of Short Stature If I were a little person , I think that I would resent being cast as a little person . Midget. Dwarf. Shorty. Shrimp. Half-pint. Vertically-challenged. I think that I would Rather be, than to be a little person .

Here is one of the many interesting features that can be found atop Mount Wellington . Yes, more rocks. I am reasonably certain that these rocks are Dolerite, which is an intrusive igneous rock. If my hazy memory of Year Eight science is anything to go by, igneous rock is formed by magma (or molten rock) being cooled and becoming solid. Thus, at some point things must have been a little hot 'n hairy up here on Mount Wellington! On that, there was a guy in my Year Eight science class who wasn't allowed to sit in on lessons that talked Geology (or Biology for that matter). He belonged to that extreme set of weirdos cult religious sect, the Exclusive Brethren. Obviously their faith is such that the mere exposure to false idols such as rocks , microscopes and girls in short skirts sitting on stools can have a disastrous effect!

Henry, Ezra, Jennifer and I all spent yesterday climbing Mount Wellington. It was a hard slog in the 26 degree Celsius heat, but paid dividends! On the right there you can see Tasman Bridge, and two bays to the left of that, you can see Geilston Bay. If you squint (while standing on your head), you can just about see our house just past that green patch of parkland.