Winds Of Change Are Blowing

Mrs. Kangaeroo and I are pretty close to finding a new place to live; a move driven by the unreliability of company support in the wake of a disastrous fall in the status of the company. Mrs. Kangaeroo has been looking for a new place for a while now and we have narrowed it down to a few places.

We’re looking for a place close to a shopping center, and with a garden area so I’ll have somewhere to work on bike repairs. I’m also starting to test the market to see if there’s any demand for what I have to offer.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • ‘Umble…That’s What You’ve Gotta Be

    Humility is a trait I desperately seek, but, like Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens‘ masterpiece, David Copperfield, who constantly espoused the need to be humble, I implore myself to be modest, but the only area in which I have consistently done so is my track record in life. For those who don’t know the story (which included me until this morning), Heep was exposed as being far from the humble servant he pretended to be, and was instead an unctuous, slimy, sycophantic hypocrite who ripped off his benefactors…. (Ouch…this feels like it’s getting a bit too close to home….better change the topic….) Reality is giving me some lovely lessons in…

  • Cycle of Life

    Life looks like it’s gonna be pretty busy for the next few weeks, so it might be something of a last chance to post for a while, and fortunately I got to kick off this period with a ride along the Tama River this morning. It’s been a funny rainy season so far; it’s onset delayed by weeks and the consistent rain I expect has been replaced by heavy rains punctuated by long periods of sunshine and heat. The garden loves it!

  • |

    Why Do Aussies Ride On A “Deadly Treadly?”

    What Does “Deadly Treadly” Mean? Aussieはなぜ自転車を「Deadly Treadly」と呼ぶの？ Imagine you’ve just bought a brand-new bicycle. You wheel it out of the shop, admiring the shiny frame. An Aussie mate walks over, grins and says, “Nice deadly treadly!” Nobody thinks the bike is dangerous. In fact, it’s a compliment. Deadly treadly is one of those classic Aussie rhyming expressions that simply means “bicycle.” It’s playful, memorable and unmistakably Strine. 日本で自転車といえば、「自転車」「チャリ」「ママチャリ」など、いろいろな呼び方があります。Aussieにも、ユーモアたっぷりの呼び名があります。それが、”deadly treadly”です。意味、とてもシンプル。「自転車」。それだけです。でも、語感がよく、一度聞いたら忘れられないのがAussie英語らしいところ。\友達同士で使う、親しみのある表現です。 Expression Deadly treadly Pronunciation /ˈdedli ˈtredli/ Meaning 自転車。 特に日常生活で使う普通の自転車を親しみを込めて呼ぶ表現です。「deadly（命にかかわる）」という本来の意味はほとんど意識されておらず、リズムを楽しむ言葉になっています。 Example I rode my deadly treadly to work today. 「今日は自転車で会社へ行ったよ。」 また、 My old deadly treadly finally gave up. なら、 「長年乗った愛車の自転車が、とうとう寿命を迎えた。」 という意味になります。 日本語で言うと？ 日本語なら、「チャリ」「愛車」などが近いでしょう。ただし、”deadly treadly” は少しユーモラスな響きがあり、「チャリ」よりも遊び心のある言い方です。 Australia–Japan Connection オーストラリアは広い国ですが、シドニーやメルボルンなどの都市では、自転車を通勤や通学に利用する人も増えています。休日にはサイクリングロードを家族で楽しむ姿もよく見られます。日本も自転車文化が盛んな国。だから “deadly treadly” という言葉は、日本人にも親しみやすいStrineのひとつかもしれません。 Aussieは、何でも短くしたり、語呂を楽しんだりするのが大好きです。”deadly…

  • Winter Welcomes Bountiful Birds to Tokyo’s Tama

    Winter hit Tokyo for real. Just less than a week away from Christmas, the mild weather has ended. At least for today. It’s cold and bleak. And dark. December in Japan is dark. In Tokyo, it doesn’t get light until about 6:30 in the morning. And by 4 p.m., it’s dark. Only a few days to the winter solstice. The days will slowly start to get longer. But the new year also ushers in the cold. Still, there is some brightness on the horizon. Kangaeroo’s garden has attracted some lovely visitors. Among them, Japanese tits and brown-eared bulbuls. The birdbath was a great idea. And the shoddy Chinese fountain is…