I was a COBOL programmer. Not a very good one, but that didn’t matter in the early 1980s. Back then, every Tuesday’s Australian newspaper featured a twenty-four-page IT section, of which many pages advertised programming and analyst positions available, with most from...
I love my vinyl record collection. It started when I discovered Electric Warrior in early ’76. The collection continues to grow despite Anna’s opinion that I’m a hoarder. Regular vinyl still beats the best digital sound – vinyl is so much bigger, brighter and better....
I reckon Shaftesbury Avenue was one of Australia’s greatest weight-for-age horses. Although dominated in handicapped races of the early 1990s by another great horse, Super Impose, I have always believed Shaftesbury was a better horse. I’m biased. My...
I love trekking. I used to regard anyone walking with poles as a tad too keen. Now I’m one of those pole people. It is not just the poles. I’m discovering all sorts of great, weird stuff. For instance, I don’t know what it is, but I find the combination of conversing...
Heard about Grameen Bank – the bank for the poor? It presents a powerful working model of trickle-up development. Founded in the mid-1970s by Muhammad Yunus in a country lacking first and second-world finance infrastructures, it has sprouted up in over 80,000...
Dear Minister Jones, Congratulations on your appointment as Minister for financial services. I read your early plans with both hope and trepidation about your priority to address the hot mess that is the Australian advice marketplace. I understand the weight behind...