172 years

 

I have not stepped into Molony's – and only got to know of this store from this piece in the Age about its closing.

Not many shops in Melbourne can claim that kind of heritage, unlike in Europe, US or Asia. Down here in the antipodes, anything more than 100 years, apart from things related to First Nations or Maori, is pretty rare.

It probably also reflects the change of times, where family business is no longer a norm. You don't see many "Smith & Sons" around. Here, in the Molony's - "Our children have their own careers".

Well done to them; best wishes for their retirement, and may they really get to enjoy it.

 

Resurrection Is Everywhere

 

Today, Easter Sunday of 2026 is a special day and this article from the New York Times captures the moment. May others see Christ in my words, my deeds and my ways.

Family Outing in West Bank Ends in Hail of Israeli Gunfire..

These kids are a similar age to my kids. I am all too familiar with shinaligans and all. That is what makes reading this article by the NY Times so unsettling. It's too close to home. Saturday night, parents take the kids for an outing, to get donuts... and then the parents get shot? Is this why the war in the Middle East will never end? How do you heal?

Publish or Perish

 

This article in AusDoc resonates with me and clearly quite a few of my peers. I think it is important for a doctor, regardless whether they are a generalist or a specialist, to at least have done some sort of research once. Indeed, the research output for the majority of these would likely be an audit of some kind, with the intention of reviewing practice rather than adding to the "noise" in the sea of published research. This, indeed, shouldn't be a prerequisite to advanced training, which is becoming a written/unwritten rule for most specialities these days. This is a shame. 

Yet, this problem is not new. Do we really need a ATAR of 99.5 or above for medical school entrance? In Australia, we have somewhat sorted this out by making most medical school entrances postgraduate. But does this really solve the problem of trying to identify those who would otherwise be excellent physicians but just don't have the academic aptitude? 

And so it begins

 

Peter Hartcher from The Age has this uncanny ability to say it as it is.. "No one doubted America's ability to unleash hell. The question is how it handles what comes next". I am too young to remember Vietnam, let alone all the later wars in the Middle East. While one can take a simple view of who's right and who's wrong, it is in reality, like most things in life, rather complicated, isn't it? This is exemplified when my 10-year-old daughter asked me a simple, poignant question – why and what's happening?

It is often said that history is wrriten by the victors. No doubt that is true - who is to bat for the ones who's defeated? The summary on Kiddle is probably what I will use as a resource to talk to her about it.

Not playing by the rules

 

This, from today's The Age, says it all. Just want happens when people "aren't going to play by the rules" - rules are there for a purpose, a reason. Who decides on the rules? This piece from almost 8 years ago on Steven Miller shed light on a little-known fact about his background. One must ask, what happened to him? 

A kidnapped president

 

Right. Who would have expected this? I just hope this is the biggest news for 2026 and nothing as outrageous as this happens in the rest of 2026. 

The US Army ventures into another sovereign country, not just to drop a bomb, but to capture a sitting president and just pluck him out. 

I don't quite understand how this is legit. But apparently the US has done it before, some 35 years ago. The main differences? I was too young at the time to know about it, and the guy was not a sitting head of state.

So, what happens next?

 

John Simpson's assessment of 2025 and what is to come in 2026 is pretty bleak. The troubling thing is it might just turn out the way he says. As usual, time will tell.

On a more positive note, I came across The Biologos a few weeks ago and just started to explore its content. Great resources with excellent short videos explaining elegantly that science and faith are not in conflict.

One more day to the end of 2025!

Wonderful end of 2025 for our PM

 

After a long hiatus, this may be the month to continue a monthly contribution to this blog again. For exactly what purpose I don't know, but as I'm more or less a creature of habit, I may as well.

LOTS of notable things have happened since early 2025, the thing that springs to mind of course is the very recent fire in Hong Kong, the deadliest since history began. Fire alarm system being turned off and flammable materials being used during the renovation seem to be the two main culprits. Of course there are human actors responsible for these.

On a happier note, last weekend we had the first sitting Prime Minister getting married at The Lodge. A wonderful occasion, and I could not have summarised it any better than Annabel Crabb so here is the link to her reporting. 

The challenges facing Australians are real, and while I think the PM is doing great, and I voted for Labor in the last election, a strong opposition is indeed a must for us to have an effective government.

2025

 

After a long pause - my excuse being I ran out of any creative energy to write even a blog a month when I was working on my PhD thesis, I hope I can continue my musing here from now on. 

Trump is back, as the Economist predicted. What no one saw coming was perhaps his cronies JD Vance and Elon Musk. Trump - the leader of the free world, put on the best reality TV, yet. As in we shouldn't be surprised if over the next 4 years there are more soap TV using the Oval Office or Rose Garden as the backdrop.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" - would we look back in 2028 and felt the same? - I haven't even read this classic - may be one day I will or I can?

End of an era for morning radio - bye Neil Mitchell

May be things indeed have been a bit hectic the last few months. I've tried my best to write on this blog at least once a month but haven't had the energy to lately.

Today is a remarkable day in the Melbourne radio scene, Neil Mitchell signed off after more than 30 years from Morning radio on 3AW. Like him or hate him, one thing is quite certain - I don't think another radio presenter of this era will last as long as him from this point on.

The world remains a very uncertain place, war in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere. Donald Trump in 2024.. let's, just pray for peace.

A rather sad end to May 2023

Highlights of stuff I heard over the radio today...

1. A man who murdered his wife at home got 20+ years for what he did..

2. Biden reached an agreement with the Republicans on the US debt ceiling..

3. Trump might be president for a second time... so predicted The Economist

These headlines reflects the world we live in. Its a rather dark and dangerous place. It is our job to make it better!

Mortgage stress

 

I'm not suprised by the situation described in this article, but it doesn't make it any easy to read. What a candid description of what is happening at the moment. " I don't understand why households with a mortgage are forced to do the heavy lifting in reducing inflation for everyone."

I don't understand either.

Some says the RBA has no choice, or no instructment, to reduce inflation apart from the "blunt" tool of raising interest rate. Well, may be we need to have a look at the system, or the tools that are actually available. May be the RBA should be given access to those tools that are currently beyond its reach. Just like in any crisis, for it to be war, COVID lockdowns, it is the orindary people, the citizen Joe, that suffers. 

You really can't blame him for taking out a mortgage of 750K in 2019, it was just around the median house price in Melbourne at the time. He has a decent income, well above the median income according to the ATO. So, what has gone wrong??

Avalon Airshow

Avalon Airshow with the kids. Pictured on the ground is a transporter from the Malaysian Air Force. The US Globemaster was here too. Perfect day with perfect company and perfect ride on the V Line from Southern Cross to Lara the shuttle bus. The first time I really appreciated the public transport system in Melbourne. Might come back in 2025... just.. might.

Welcome 2023

 

What a start to 2023 - in Sydney for my sister-in-law's wedding, then almost a week in Gold Coast, did 3 theme parks in 3 days. By the end of Janurary I think we were quite glad to be 'home'.

The world, or at least in Australia, has seemingly moved into the "post COVID" era. No big new headlines in January.. yet very little has changed. The war in Ukarine continues to consume the minds of civilians there. The geopolitics of an increasingly assertive and authoritarian China. What will the next 11 months be like?

Christmas 2022

 We are at the beginning of December, counting down the days of 2022. What a year!! War in Ukraine still going, Donald Trump wants to run for president again, Xi sets to get a third term. There is hope, and we must remember that, in this season of Joy, which brings the greatest hope of all.

The crown jewels in the Tower of London

 

For whatever reason, things are always a bit more complicated when you get older. I remember seeing the "crown jewels" in my first ever visit to London as a 13 year old. Really had no idea about the history of it all. Now reading this piece, it reminds me again that most things do have a back story to it, and it is often not pretty.

What a time to live.

Around The Bay 2022

 

We did it! Four of us, 20km, rain a bit in the beginning, the kids boxed on. Great effort, so much fun and we all get a medal! I have never done anything similar before.. I'm living the dream thanks to my family!

May be another year or two of 20km and we can all give 50km a go!

Flying again..

 

First overseas trip in the COVID era.. I wouldn't say "post-COVID era" as we are still very much living in it. It's nice to have life somewhat back to normal. SSA Christchuch is what we need, to reconnect with others, after two truely quite horrid years.

Values that you identify with

 

Just like you can get a sense of what the driver is like by the car they drive.. you get a glimpse of what the attitudes of the nation is by their uniform in Olympics or, in this case, the Commonwealth Games.

Paying homage to the working-class heritage of the host city, the designer said "We wanted to create clothing that would have a life after the games, and a uniform that expresses something about hte athletes as individuals.."

How confident, how fitting, especially in these economically challenging times.

You also can't help to notice there are no "COVID-free" zone setup for these games.. well, it's probably not entirely fair to compare the Beijing games earlier this year with the Commmonwealth Games give how quickly things change these dys. But let's not forget China is probably among the handful of places left where you need to quarantine on arrival... still.