This will hurt me...

Underwater hello. Douglas-Apsley Waterhole, Douglas-Apsley National Park. February 2016. Stealing a Q and A again, this time the Garage Sale Meme . Is your phone right next to you, or at least close by? It’s switched off and in a drawer. What windows or tabs are open on your computer right now? Only Opera browser. Three tabs. Is your phone a touch screen? Yes, a Nokia Lumia. Who is the last person to call you? My wife. What was the last movie you watched? Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . With the kids. What are you doing tomorrow? I’m thinking of climbing a mountain. Are you in a good mood? Pretty much. It’s early, though. Do you think exes can remain friends? It’s highly unlikely. Are you starting to realize anything? That things matter less than you usually think. Do you follow rules or break them? Follow. I am prepared to push against them if there’s an ethical blur. Are you currently looking forward to anything? Japan! We’re head...

Lineup. East Derwent Highway, the Lindisfarne/Geilston Bay border. September 2013. Theme Thursday ? FASCINATION? Words. Birds. Long dead musicians. Colours. Directions. Computer games. Memories memories memories memories memories memories. Noise. Silence. Space. Space. Space. Peace and aggression.

Me (or, something approaching Me). The corner of Campbell and Bathurst Streets, Hobart. September 2013. For this Tuesday Q and A (as I'm in real life steaming up the road and back to Campbell Town), I tackle another series from Sunday Stealing, the Massive Alphabet Meme, part one ! The Letter A Are you agnostic? I’m more atheist than agnostic, to be frank. What is your age? Chronological, ontological, pedagogical or psychological? That’s a difficult question to answer. What annoys you? Lots of things! Hypocrisy really annoys the hell out of me, though. The Letter B Do you like bacon? In moderation, I do. When is your birthday? It’s in May. Who is your best friend? I have three of them. They know who they are. The Letter C What is your favourite candy? Lollies? As in sweets? I like sour worms. Who is your crush? Crush? As in squash? I’d like to squash bad people. When was the last time you cried? A few years ago on the bus to New Town, as I reac...

Self portrait. East Derwent Highway, Lindisfarne. July 2013. The Weird Question Meme, Part Two What is your ring size? Your guess is as good as mine! How often do you wear jewellery? I wear a wedding ring. None other than that. When was the last time you consumed alcohol? I had a small glass of beer with the pork roast the other night. Any big plans for the summer? Lots of diving. Lots of photos. Lots more National Parks. What is your favourite comfort food? It's hard to go past chips. Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus? Probably broccoli. Asparagus is fine though. What colour are your bedroom walls? White chocolate (according to the tin). With whom do you live? One lady and two gentlemen. Which Star Wars movie is your favourite? The Empire Strikes Back . They're supremely overrated as a series though. How about Harry Potter? Never read or seen one. What was the last movie you saw in theatres? Wreck It Ralph . Not bad. ...

Self-portrait. At home, Geilston Bay. July 2013. Wordless Wednesday.

I'm an union man. Opossum Bay, South Arm Peninsula. March 2013. Wordless Wednesday. You don't get me, I'm part of the union. Opossum Bay, South Arm Peninsula. March 2013.

Pretty beetle. Douglas-Apsley National Park, Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. Q and A time! Sunday Stealing: The 5000 Question Meme, Part Two 26. Who has done something today to show they care about you? Ezra and Henry have been very good boys (thus far). 27. Do you have a lot to learn? We all have much to learn... 28. If you could learn how to do three things just by wishing and not by working what would they be? 1) To learn a bunch of new languages (German, Russian, French, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin). 2) To be able to understand and explain the entire range of geological history. 3) To learn the full scope of the world's flora and fauna. 29. Which do you remember the longest: what other people say, what other people do or how other people make you feel? I'd like to think that I remember the action itself, but I suspect that what really solidifies itself in my mind is how the action made me feel. 30. What are the key ingredients to having a good...

I need to shave. Home, Geilston Bay. January 2013. Theme Thursday and CHOCOLATE does not do it for me. Foot rubs, good reads, back rubs, long walks, short runs, nice swims, sightseeing tours, games of snap, making love, taking photos, cooking dinner, decent music, stupid jokes, Wii Fit, kicking footies; you know, that kind of thing.

The gang's all here! Shag Bay, Geilston Bay. December 2012. Another Tuesday, another Q and A stolen from the resurrected Sunday Stealing! This week, the The Deleted Meme Who is your favourite artist (Any field)? That’s far too big a questions to do any justice to! No, I just can’t do it. Let me limit to painters, and the list includes Caillebotte, J.M.W. Turner, Korovin, Marc, Aivazovsky, Boudin, Monet, Rousseau, Klee, Pollock, Schwitters and Larionov. Off the top of my head. Describe yourself: A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. How do you feel today? Pretty good. Describe the area where you currently live. Smokey. Very very smokey.  If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Somewhere nice and quiet where everything wasn’t on fire. Your favourite form of transportation: I do like a nice boat ride. Or a train. Failing that, my feet serve me well! Your best friend is: Already married. You and your best friends are: I said, married! Wh...

Shadow portrait. Napoleon Street, Battery Point. September 2012. Sunday Top Five already? An easy one this week: My Top Five Seven Picks In Fighting Games! The Barbarian (Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior) Johnny Cage (Mortal Combat) Chun-Li (Streetfighter) Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat) Eddy Gordo (Tekken) Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken) Dhalsim (Streetfighter)

Me! Castray Esplanade, Hobart Waterfront. September 2012. Sunday Stealing is back! The Who Are You Meme ! 1. What is your biggest pet peeve? People's general selfishness/ lack of concern for others consistently frustrates me. 2. Where and when were you born? I was born in Burnie, Tasmania in the week that Hotel California by The Eagles was top of the Billboard charts in the US. 3. Where did your parents meet? You would have to ask them that question. I assume that it was in Melbourne, Victoria. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/ were they like in four words? I have an older brother. He was an older brother. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? I live in Hobart with Jen, Hen and Ez. 6. What is your occupation? I like to call myself a "Policy, Research, Communications and Academic Professional". 7. Write a full description of yourself. I'm just a sore and sorry little bot who needs to be loved. 8. To which social class do you belong? ...

Theme Thursday . Okay. 'ello SUNSHINE. ‘Owya goin’? Been busy? Yeah? Awright. Doin’ well? Doin’ well meself me old mukka. Doin’ well. Doin’ well. Doin’ well. Yep, doin’ well. Can’t complain can’t complain. Hip given me grief mind you. Shockin’ headache. Work given’ me trouble. Can’t complain though, can’t complain. Strugglin’ with me back still. Missus given’ me hell. Strugglin’ with the bills. Bills bills bills. Always bills. Can’t complain though, can’t complain. You? Yeah yeah. Yeah. Musn’t grumple.

Walking home from work. The Tasman Bridge (over the Derwent River Estuary). September 2012. Theme Thursday ? While I don't mind CONVERSATIONS, I can't help but feel that the inevitable disputes, arguments and (occasionally) scuffle ruin it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a decent bloke, but when I'm ropeable, when I'm spewin', I'm as cross as a frog in a sock. One cross word and I am as mad as a cut snake. I like a yabber, but not with a galah. Fruit loops, dills and nongs normally get me to do me block. I give 'em a fair crack of the whip! If yer fair dinkum, you'll get a fair go. If you've got tickets on yourself, hooly-dooly, we'll have ourselves a blue on. I won't have ya playing sillybuggers. Rat bags can pull ya heads in. You can rack off. But usually they sit there like a stunned mullet with a shut gob. Sometimes they'll have a whinge, sometimes they'll go walkabout. That's right, they'll spit the dumm...

Self portrait. Mayfair Plaza Car Park, Sandy Bay. September 2012. Theme Thursday ? TEMPTATION? Don't TEMPT me!

ACHTUNG! East Derwent Highway, Lindisfarne. July 2012. I'm in Launceston today (should be getting my speech notes finished up about now), but that won't stop the Q and A. Yet again, it is filched from Sunday Stealing,the The Authentic Meme . This week, with a picture! 1. How long have you been blogging? Over six long years. 2. Did you go to college? I went to college and university! 3. Where have you travelled? A lot less places than I would like to! Look up last week’s response and will get an idea... 4. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for? I am rarely mistaken for anybody these days, but in my time I have had references to (one-time) Australian quick Brendan Julian ; a young Jeff Goldblum ; Scott Baio (there is a story to that one); and the bass player from Blur. 5. What are your three biggest pet peeves? Wilful ignorance, a lack of integrity and intellectual snobbery. 6. What is your favourite movie? I shall cheat a little bit and say Krzys...

Ezra cleans his mother's car. Consider the reflection of me a bonus!

Me and my shadow. Quayle Street, Sandy Bay. May 2012. Another Q and A, you say? Sunday Stealing, you ask? Why yes, this week, it's Part Two of the Get Out of Jail Free Meme! (And appears to have been written by someone with low literacy levels...) 21. Has there ever been anyone that now you regret meeting? There has been more than a few of these. Charlatans, timewasters and generally anyone with dishonest intent. There are a few of them about. 22. What's the last film you saw? Would you recommend it? It was Disney’s Peter Pan . If you have kids, I’d recommend it. It kept them transfixed throughout, so on that score it is a winner. I’m not sure why Peter needed that ‘moms, pops and apple pie’ accent though. It grated with me. 23. Would you rather have roommates or live alone? Why do people say ‘roomates’ when I assume that they mean ‘housemates’ or ‘flatmates’? Or do people in the US actually continue to share rooms into adulthood? No wonder people are always sh...

Another self portrait. An unnamed lane-way just off Murray Street, Hobart CBD. May 2012. Wordless Wednesday.

Watery Wednesday again and I revisit a pleasant swim that Henry and I had at Little Howrah Beach a few weeks back. Yes, the water was a bit nippy and a reasonably heavy cloak of smoke - from the fires raging the in Valley of Love - hung in the air, but events conspired for some halfway decent photographs...

The gang is all here! Argyle Street, Hobart. February 2012. Maybe I posted this on Theme Thursday to get a REACTION. My face is so rarely seen on this here blog that it usually causes a flurry of judgements, whispers and swoons belly-laughs. Yet that little internal conversation set me thinking (understandably) about the third of Newton's laws of motion. You know, the one about how forces occur in pairs. Actio et reactio . "Every action is accompanied by a REACTION of equal magnitude but opposite direction." So then I wanted to write it down. First, I thought that it looks like this: Action → REACTION But then I thought that it might be better expressed like this: Action ↔ REACTION That is not right though. Therefore, I thought that it must be. Action → REACTION ↔ REACTION However, even that does not seem right. Ultimately, I have settled for: Action → REACTION ↔ REACTION ↔ REACTION ↔ REACTION ↔ REACTION ↔ REACTION [repeat to infinity] But I'm still not certain. Ar...