Captain's Log.

Living in the suburbs equals wild birds. Mandurah has some exotic birds species visit it frequently. The most prevalent species has got to be the cheeky Pink and Grey Galah.  There are also Ringneck Lorikeets, Kurrawongs, Doves, Pigeons and the odd King Parrot, but it's the Pink and Grey species who occupy my feeder most of the day. I've a few regulars - one couple sit in a branch above the feeder throughout most of the day - while others come and go. The great difficulty in keeping caged animals is that it complicates matters when it comes to leaving the property for any length of time, like for vacations.  Feeding and watering birds during any lengthy absence worries me - but having a feeding station instead ends all that worry. I am free to come and go. The birds are free to do their thing too.  I never overfeed them - they get a cup of seed in the morning and another (sometimes not) in the evening. Those that don't take advantage of it move on and ...

Sex Before Marriage. It's The Devil's Work! A.D. 1202: Europe is coming out of its darkness. The Middle Ages witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of The Church. It was a disorganized, brutal period in history but The Church held up a shining light with its promises of a royal life after death. The Holy See, protected by its loyal soldiers and ideals, offered hope to the poor, lost and lonely. The Vatican became the authority of everything. A.D. to NOW-ish: History  shows that thirty-nine Popes were married! Oh? Nobody mentioned that, did they? For over a millennia, Popes, Bishops, Cardinals, Priests and any clergy who had a desire to wed, could do so, no questions asked. Sex was allowed too. Sex before marriage was fine. Sex wasn't an unholy act. It was allowed on any day, on every day if that's what you liked. Sex was never an issue. That became a topic of debate much later - when it suited the Church to do so. Control Se...

What's a writer do when he's not thinking up kooky ways to end the lives of his characters? Karaoke is one thing he might do... Karaoke is a hobby of mine and in Mandurah, there are plenty of venues offering karaoke and I still get out 2 - 3 times a week to belt out a tune or two. That's not me singing at Murphy's Bar. This is: I usually go for Meatloaf, Robbie Williams, Elton John or something from Billy Idol. They are in my range and I enjoy singing this material. This is one of the many things I do between writing and waiting for the next round of edits to come through for SEETHINGS. Another project I'm working on is my home. I recently bought a beach house and am renovating it. Shortly after we moved in, I built Margo a potting shed out of old glass doors. She set about  planting a vegetable garden and now we've got herbs, vegetables and citrus on the grow. I then ripped out the original sliding door...

In a former life, I raised racing pigeons . My early teenage years were spent breeding pigeons to fly in competitions. Their unique ability to find their way home from long distances totally amazed me. Fast-forward to March 2008: Mark and I were on a sailing a trip from Woody Point to Sandgate in his unusual-looking trailer-sailer for a meat pie at Doug's Cafe . On the way I noticed something floating in the water ahead. I wasn't sure what it was, but I asked Mark to navigate towards it anyway. It was a baby pigeon! Only a tip of beak and a bit of a tail was left above the surface. The chick was in distress and completely exhausted. My best guess was that it fell from the nearby Hornibrook Highway bridge (They nest underneath the support structures) and fell while trying out it's new wings. Yes, it was a toddler learning to walk.  Baby pigeons aren't perfect on their first flight. They mess up and fall down, staggering about just like a toddler test...

Do 'smells' affect you as much as me? 'Smells' go straight to memory, My father was a sailor with the Australian NAVY. He'd often go away for months at a time. I could tell when he was set to leave because he'd switch after shaving and then press his uniform with starch the night before. I rarely saw him leave but the starch and aftershave left good reminders of his presence. On returning to Australia, he often brought back gifts from the ports he'd visited. Singapore was a regular trading post. There was always another quirky-shaped bottle of after shave brought back as well as gifts for mum and the kids. Our family often enjoyed the best of what the Orient offered and what the crew of a naval ship were allowed to bring back. Sydney Harbour was his home port back then. The city wasn't unusually smelly to me. That's not strange because I was a kid from the area. Nothing stood out... not to my nose, not until the ship had arrived. That...

Brisbane: Research and Reunion Helen turned 50 and a surprise birthday was planned for her in Brisbane. Thanks to her husband's deviousness, he thought to invite all my sister's close friends and family to unite for a secret night of celebration and frivolity. They were to come from everywhere around the state of Queensland. In my case, from the other side of the country. How could I not make the trip? I hadn't seen her in five years! A plan was made. Whistle stop touring from the opposite end of an Aussie continent isn't easy. What does one do when arriving from a distance? There's a long haul flight that changes everything - considering whether to stay just for the party or hang around longer and try to make a holiday out of it. Could I afford the time for one? If so, prioritize what, who, where and when to visit when there? I decided my trip would be broken down to five main elements and pursued with vigor once I got there: Birthday party Vi...

Have you got problems with your G2? Me too...  I swear, this pool cleaner will be the end of me. I spend hours studying it's movements and still can't figure out why it keeps stalling!  Don't get me wrong, I'm totally amazed at it's design just the same. I pay respects to those engineers who've looked at its buoyancy, surface friction, suction, hose flexibility/curves, etc, and measured it so everything is just right. Let's face it. Any pool cleaner is a marvelous work of physics. There's a delicate balance of forces to overcome, to create, to propel the thing forward and to keep it bouncing around all the surfaces for up to eight hours a day. Picking up debris so a pool can look sparkling all the time is a real challenge.  Okay, so that's the sucky part over. Whilst I respect the science behind the G2 (and all other cleaners), I know I shouldn't need to know why it works, just that it works. But I have to figure out th...