Category Archives: Personal

On starting small

Posted on 31 May 2015 by rpg

We’re still here. No need to send a search party… yet.

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On remembrance

Posted on 14 November 2014 by rpg

Thirty years ago—plus or minus a week—I visited Berlin for the first time. It was a school trip, organized by our physics teacher. We rode a train from Braunschweig to Helmstedt, where we picked up an East German engine and … Continue reading →

Posted in Friday afternoon, Personal | Tagged | 5 Comments

My iron lung (redux)

Posted on 7 May 2014 by rpg

The is a modified version of a couple of posts that originally appeared in December 2006 on ‘Life of a lab rat’, my blog at the University of Sydney. Which is now sadly defunct. It’s not what you know, it … Continue reading →

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Caption competition

Posted on 21 January 2014 by rpg

Go on. You know you want to.

Posted in Nonsense, Personal | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Guns + ammunition

Posted on 13 January 2014 by rpg

Just after I started shooting I was listening to a couple of the old(er) timers bitching about their recent poor performance. One of them blamed the ammunition they were using. The other pointed out that while shooters often blame the … Continue reading →

Posted in Don't try this at home, Personal, Shooting | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho

Posted on 2 October 2013 by rpg

I am typing this slowly, with one hand. I do of course already have two lovely daughters, but welcoming Joshua—their half-brother—into the world wasn’t any less special. And the original Pawn, Rachel, seems equally thrilled.

Posted in Don't try this at home, Personal | Tagged | 8 Comments

Parklife

Posted on 28 March 2013 by rpg

If you’ve ever seen my Flickr stream you might realize I’m quite fond of birds. Even here in Zone 2 there are a lot of birds around—especially in our garden. Blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, robins, dunnocks, goldfinches, wrens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, London, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More to a sinner

Posted on 11 December 2012 by rpg

When people ask who were my influences, I find it difficult to give a straight answer. I cannot name a childhood hero in whose footsteps I wanted to follow, neither was there someone whose guidance or mentoring I’d particularly like … Continue reading →

Posted in Ill-considered rants, People, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

On target

Posted on 9 August 2012 by rpg

I settle, relaxing all my muscles: feet to legs to bum to back to arms. I’m essentially slumped. A bit of pain in my left hand: that’s not quite right. Perhaps I just have to get used to it. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

On writing

Posted on 14 January 2012 by rpg

I’ve heard it said there’s no such thing as ‘bricklayer’s block’. The argument goes that bricklayers lay bricks, that pilots (say) fly, and that writers write. For those of us lucky enough to be paid to put one word after … Continue reading →

Posted in Me, Personal, Work | Tagged , | 13 Comments