I'm an Australian, based in the Washington, DC, area of the United States. I spend a lot of time there with Jasmine, Australia's best-known speedsolver of the Rubik's Cube. Prior to the US, Jasmine and I were based in London, UK. We have also lived previously in the United States and Australia.

I have worked for an Australian business rules and compliance company since 1999 in Australia, the US and the UK. I have also lectured in IT and Law related topics at King's College, London, and at The Australian National University.

I have some more information and a list of publications available (pop-up window).

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- February 2007
- January 2007
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These are a few of my favourite links:
- Jasmine's site
- Jasmine's blog
- Mikal
- Daveydweeb
- Beth
- Lyn
- Doug
- Marissa
- Lisaloha
- David (Greenomics)
- Paul's Ramblings (music)

Hits since 1 Sep 2004
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Off to London

I have been doing a very poor job of maintaining this blog because I have been very busy and quite preoccupied.

Much of the reason for that preoccupation is that Jasmine and I look like we will be moving to London with SoftLaw!

Stay tuned for more details.

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American researchers: taking important steps to nail the big issues!

Go Clemson University researchers! I applaud your research into a nanoparticle treatment for textiles that will make them repel dirt. My life will be better if I don't need to remember to clean my clothes! There's a short article and a link about this on Boing Boing.

I am personally hoping that self-washing dishes are also on the agenda.

Here in America, we can already buy robots to do the vacuuming (really), although I have to admit that I have not yet committed to this idea. Jasmine probably wishes I would do more about vacuuming.

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eBooks and iPAQs

As I enter what look like they will be my final few weeks in the US for a while, I have been considering a few last-minute purchases from the great technology stores over here.

Last week, I watched while Jasmine quickly succumbed to temptation and bought a new iPAQ. She got a good deal... but is her old iPAQ going to get a good deal? Currently, Jasmine is having to use two Pocket PCs while she is held back by a couple of issues: a combination of early adopter glitches (not all of her old software runs on the newer iPAQ with its more recent operating system) and the time it is taking to migrate all her files and software. She keeps telling me that I might be allowed to use her old iPAQ, but only if I show enough interest in it to convince her I would use it properly.

I watched with interest while Jasmine downloaded her first eBook, The Da Vinci Code, last week. I think part of her initial motivation was that this would be a cheaper option than buying a real paper book, but I was initially sceptical of eBooks. There is something I still like about having paper in front of me and being able to turn pages without having to spend yet more time staring at another computer screen.

It was interesting to watch Jasmine in action with The Da Vinci Code. She tore through the book pretty quickly considering how busy she was last week. This was probably partly due to the book being an easy read. However, I think it was also partly a result of the way she was able to read electronically stored material. Real books are bulky, but Jasmine always has her iPAQ with her. As soon as she had the book, I found that she would pull out her iPAQ and read a few screens whenever she had a spare second, in a way that she would never have done with a normal book. We could be waiting for a lift in our office building or standing in a lunch queue and Jasmine would be reading. And as someone who is probably about to be spending a lot of time on UK public transport, this convenient way of having a library at my fingertips suddenly became quite appealing to me.

Then Jasmine pointed out to me that there is a vast volume of classic literature that I have always meant to read available online. There is a good thread discussing this at Pocket PC Thoughts. Now I am even more tempted (finally) to start using an iPAQ.

I also made another belated geek move today. After years of relying on other means for portable music (which is an important topic as I spend so much time away from my record collection in Canberra), I finally ordered an iPod. And I am thinking of getting another digital camera. I still like my Olympus C-50 a lot, but I want another camera with a monster zoom as well. The Panasonic FZ20 looks like it could be the one, subject to some final research.

The bank manager will have had some good business from my credit card by the end of the month.