Reflective

More and more is going on to inspire reflection on life.

It’s a constructive development. Life is good when life exists. Realizing it’s good is another matter. Fortunately, for various reasons, it’s becoming easier to find elements of all things to contain the pleasant.

It’s not my nature to do this, yet I am finding myself doing it more often.

What luck!

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • ‘Bitch-face’ Lovebird

    I’m the ‘proud'(?) parent of a rosy-faced lovebird, who I must admit brings an immense amount of joy into my life, but I also learned a new Japanese phrase over the weekend that perfectly sums up these tiny avian pterrors! Kozamesu, a contraction of the term kozakura inko mesu, literally a female rosy-faced lovebird, is a term used to describe the feisty nature of the birds. A loose translation of the word kozamesu could be something like bitch-face lovebird. And my experience suggests the term is spot-on! From the almost constant and often painful biting, aggressive defense of anything perceived as territory, our Dino is certainly short-tempered. From the first…

  • Always Been Certifiable, But Now I’m Certified

    Today was a bit of a landmark day as I passed the exam for the Investment Foundations Certificate. I’m pretty chuffed because I’m not great with numbers or arithmetical formulas, but I somehow managed to scrape through the course. The course has a wonderful curriculum that inspired even generally unenthusiastic students such as myself to taking an interest in learning about investment and financing. Provided by the CFA Institute, the course is superbly designed to take people with virtually no knowledge of the field to develop a basic knowledge. It was worthwhile and each stage ushered in a new area of study and interest. One thing I picked up on…

  • 元オーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーが人種差別禁止条項を「豪憲法に」

    　豪先住民であり2009年度オーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーミック・ドッドソン教授は、豪憲法に関する有識者会議の提言を支持し「人種差別禁止条項を豪憲法に取り入れるべきだ」、と12日付のシドニー・モーニング・ヘラルド紙が報道した。 　ドッドソン教授は条項が「白豪主義の法的・政策的の死体を永遠に埋められるだろう」という。 　今年１月有識者会議は豪政府に「憲法が人種・皮膚の色または種族的出身に基づく差別を禁止すべきだ」と提言した。 　豪先住民の最も重要なリーダーの一人であるオーストラリア国立大学法学部教授であるドッドソン教授は初めてその提言を公の場で指示を明らかにした。 　ちなみにオーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーというのは世界中に他の例が見ない賞である。毎年贈られる賞であり、その年オーストラリアに最も貢献した人物一人にに贈られる。独立した委員会が受賞者を決める。受賞者がオーストラリアの建国記念日となる「オーストラリアの日」1月26日に行い、大人気なイベントである。

  • Biking Beauty

    I’ve been alternating between busy and broken over the past few days, resulting in fewer posts and less cycling, but still lucky enough to catch some tremendous snapshots of the bike like the ones here. Work has been proceeding at a furious pace as we have not replaced people who have left and remain terribly understaffed. It’s hard to get motivated, too, as my employer tried to cut my wage just days after inking my current contract and doing nothing to reassure me that they will not try the same thing again this year: if, in fact, they even offer me a contract at all. A quick update. Friday night…

  • Strewth, The Whole Strewth And Nothing But The Strewth

    An amphibious reptile has taken over the Fountain of Strewth, and that’s no crock. Well, it is, but more croc that crock. A large crocodile is occupying the rim of the Fountain of Strewth. Mrs. Kangaeroo bought it and placed it there, using it to replace a tiny replica crocodile she had initially attached to the new lettering on the fountain. We’ve always had lettering on the fountain, but it got a new, metallic upgrade over the summer, in addition to a Beware of Crocodiles replica road sign. Ironically, the solar-power fountain that worked so tremendously well and gave the water attraction its name has been rendered almost obselete by…