• Oppenheimer, 2023 - ★★★★

    Initial thoughts after watching this for the first time: Clearly a great film in the cannon of Christopher Nolan’s catalogue. However, it didn’t need to be 3 hrs long. The film peaked at the Trinity Test, and then went into a courtroom drama for the last hour. This was interesting but in no way met … read more

  • Four Weeks in Isolation

    I’ve just completed four weeks in isolation. My last update was the day before transplant day after undergoing a week of conditioning chemo. Transplant Day I was surprisingly calm the morning of transplant day. I put on my Unwind playlist and listened to some calming music. Rach, Lauren and my … read more

  • Why I have moved to Micro.blog

    I started this blog in 2006. I used to blog quite a lot, but then Facebook, Twitter, etc took over the world and I got swept up in social media like most people. I then got disillusioned. First with Facebook after all the drip, drip, drip of revelations about privacy breaches, election interference, … read more

  • What’s the connection between In Bruges and About Time? Yeah, that’s an easy one.

    The Gleeson family have a hand in two of my favourite movies. Long may their work continue.

  • Transplant Day and the Road Ahead

    Here we go. Tomorrow is the big day. This week has been about undergoing conditioning chemo to prepare my body for the transplant. Most people hear the word transplant and think it involves surgery. In the case of blood cancers it’s simply a blood transfusion. I say ‘simply’, … read more

  • This is a great take on AI.

    Things are changing quickly and there’s plenty of talk of a job apocalypse. Maybe it’s further out than we think.

  • On Meeting the Future King

    I once spent some time with Prince Charles (as he was then) and we had a good chat over a beer or two. Not on my own of course. He came onboard one of the ships I was on and a bunch of us got invited to meet him. I struggle to recall the year or even which ship it was. Much of it is a blur. I do … read more

  • Leukaemia: An Update

    I’m back in the UK and the bone marrow transplant is happening. My last post was about 2 months into chemo. Since then, it has continued to be a roller coaster. I ended up having 6 cycles of chemo and spent 5 months in hospital (so far). We made the flights that we originally booked and … read more

  • Luekemia

    I thought it was kidney stones again. I've been plagued with them over the years and thought they were back. For 2 weeks I'd been suffering back and shoulder pains. At first I thought it was just posture pain from spending too much time at my computer. I was between contracts and using the time to … read more

  • Scooter Wankers

    After moving in the to city from the suburbs I’ve seriously embraced city living, to the point where I’ve even been using the Lime Scooters. Brisbane is conducting a trial of electric scooters and there are 500 of them randomly scattered in and around the CBD. A 43 year old man on an electric … read more

  • Thoughts on Apple’s ‘Show Time‘ Event

    My thoughts on today’s Apple Special Event covering the new services... Apple TV and Apple TV+ All the press before the event speculated on Apple launching a Netflix-killing TV service. Well, let’s wait and see. Judging by the fact that they didn’t even play a single trailer for a show, they’re … read more

  • What’s On My Podcast Playlist - 2019

    In no particular order, here are some of the podcasts that I’m listening to in 2019. Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review (BBC) Of all the podcasts I subscribe to, this I believe is the one I’ve been listening to the longest. I’m an LTL in Wittertainment speak. I really can’t remember when I started … read more

  • The Ides of March

    Today is the 15th March - The Ides of March. It became significant as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. For World War II buffs, it’s also significant as a fateful day for Europe. On this day in 1939 Hitler’s troops began the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia, ending the … read more

  • A Year with the Apple HomePod

    When Apple finally released the HomePod on the 9th Feb 2018 it didn’t take me long to buy one. I had looked at the Google Home and Amazon Echo with curiosity, but was never really tempted. I’m an Apple Music subscriber for one, and I was also reluctant to put an Amazon or Google listening device in … read more

  • Make Us Dream

    Who has been the best midfielder in the history of the Premier League? Man Utd fans will pick Scholes. Chelsea fans will pick Lampard and Liverpool fans will say Steven Gerrard. Neutrals will vary between the three and the argument will go on and on in the pub and between the pundits on TV for … read more

  • My TFI Friday Playlist

    Every gentleman has the right music for the right occasion. When Friday afternoon arrives, crack open a bottle of wine, start the playlist, set it to shuffle,  turn the volume up, and get up and jig! The Weekend - Michael Gray I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas Last Friday Night - Katy … read more

  • WTF Happened to the Royal Navy?

    The continuing decline of the Royal Navy is a travesty. Today, it'a a shadow of its former self. When I joined the RN in 1991, the numbers, both in ships and manpower, were on the decline. This was expected. The cold war had just ended, Saddam Hussein was under containment after his adventure into … read more

  • Above the Gold Coast

    Here's a couple of shots taken from the Skydeck observation deck at the top of Q1 on the Gold Coast. You need a lot of patience when taking shots from the Q1. The place was packed with selfie-stick wielding tourists, and of course, most of them had their flash turned on, which reflects off the glass … read more

  • Twelve Apostles at Dawn

    This month we took a short trip to Melbourne and drove down the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles. A few people remarked that only the English would holiday to Victoria in the middle of winter. While half of Melbourne flocked to Queensland to chase the sun, we headed the in the opposite … read more

  • First Basin Cataract Gorge

    Following on from yesterday's photo of Cataract Gorge, this is a shot from the First Basin of Cataract Gorge looking towards the suspension bridge. Now this was tranquil! What you can't see is that above where I was standing is a chair lift that you can take across the gorge. Unfortunately it stops … read more