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MORE... According to Wikipedia the word's origin is unknown. It appeared during World War II, where it was applied with some affection to the people who invented radar, early digital computers, the atomic bomb, and other technologies that gave the Allies an advantage over the Axis during the war. And yes, the Boffins were also one of the families of hobbits in the Lord of the rings, mentioned in book 1, p50, at Bilbo's birthday party. MORE...
MORE... Harold (Steve) Bates, 23rd July 1919 - 26th June 2008
MORE... I'm a baby-boomer, born shortly after WW2. Dad was in the British Army till the end of the war, and Mum was a bus conductress with London Transport, right through the Blitz. The family (I'm the youngest) emigrated to Australia when I was 5 years old. We kids took it in our stride, as a great adventure, but it was an enormous upheaval for my parents. MORE...
"Tune in, turn on, drop out ......." said Dr. Timothy Leary back in the psychedelic days of the 1960s,
MORE... Kids' Adventure Time 2006 I really enjoyed spending a a week at a country church in the Hunter Valley as the Bible story-teller/teacher at a holiday "Adventure Time" MORE...
MORE... Georgina Bates - 9th March 1918 to 7th June 2007 This is the eulogy that I prepared for Mum's funeral on the 13th June, 2007. MORE...
MORE... My mother decided to write down some of her earliest memories, from her childhood in England. There is some duplication here, but I think they are remarkably good for someone who starting jotting things down at age 84. They are a little bit of real history from life in the early 20th century, and in the time of the Great Depression. Bozeat Fete MORE...
MORE... I eventually finished a degree in Mechanical Engineering, doing it part-time, with some day lectures and a lot of evening work. During that time I worked for an elevator company designing relay control systems. That was an interesting job, and I learned a lot about control of electro-mechanical machinery and about relay logic circuits. It was an old company, and in some ways a bit of a dinosaur, as they made just about everything themselves in their factory at Beaconsfield, Sydney. Even the relays were made in-house. After that I worked for a mining equipment company, in charge of local design changes for the Australian market. That was a great job, especially for a young engineer, but as the mining boom grew it became overwhelming (really 3 jobs at once) and I had a wife and baby to care for. That led me to a quieter job with a large oil refining company. MORE...
MORE... My friend C. died this week, suddenly, of a heart attack. He was 52 and super-fit (gym, running and surfing as often as he could). I still have a sense of shock and disbelief, and can only guess how his family are feeling and suffering (only God can know it all). The day I heard of it, these lines came into my mind MORE...
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