Toni just rang to say there has been an earthquake in Hawaii. Apparently, there have been no fatalities reported, but Oahu is without power. I just hope Tex and the boys are alright. Adrain must be beside himself with worry, on top of everything else he's having to do.

Yeehaw, my home line is finally connected. It took a whole lot longer than I had anticipated, given I was told over 3 weeks ago it would only take 3 to 5 days. Oh, well, at least it has finally happened. Now I have no excuse to keep up with all my JU friends. I'm looking forward to getting a couple of pieces of fiction I've been working on for a while up for all to read. Of course, being able to sit on my balcony, with its ocean views and talk to you all more regularly is something I loo...

I just realised it has been nearly a month since I posted anything here. Time really does fly when you’re having fun? Okay, time flies when one has to unpack a large pile of boxes, rehearse for a big gig and cope with an ever-increasing workload. To make matters more frustrating, my promised broadband connection is taking as long as a dial-up modem to be connected. Why is it that every communication company I’ve ever dealt have mastered the art of stuffing-up a simple order? Okay, every ...

We’ve moved, finally. I am sore in places I’d totally forgotten about. Carrying boxes up a number of steps and back down again is probably the best exercise I’ve had in ages. But it feels great to finally be in our new home. The views from the balcony off our living room are worth every bead of sweat. Mere descriptions of this panorama fail to fulfil the actual view. Simply, it is breathtaking. I will have to get some photos of it and put them up for all to see when I can find the came...

Inspiration… It is a lovely word. It means a lot of different things to a lot of people too. The dictionary meaning is fine to understand the word, but it just doesn’t impart the full impact of inspiration, of being inspired and of inspiring others. I was reading something recently, where one JUser mentioned he’d been inspired by a couple of other JUsers. One of those mentioned responded that she was surprised to inspire anyone. This got me thinking and inspired me to write this. But...

I've been deliberating over this article, only because it is my 100th. I thought I might try writing a Maso's top 100 list, but it proved to be a lot of work (however, I have made a start and will be posting this article in the near future). The more I thought about what I might write, the more I found I couldn't decide. Instead, I thought I might put up a few photos, as I haven't really posted any before. I will apologise in advance for the poor quality of most of these. Please sit back...

I’m back… Well, I’m back at work now. I’ve spent the last couple of days catching up on all the jobs that had accumulated while I was going and ploughing through the massive amount of emails in my Inbox. The major percentage of these were spam. I am amazed at the amount of impotent men there must be out there because it seemed like every second ad was for ‘power erection’ pills. And the names of some of these people think are legitimate. My personal favourites were ‘Amore C. Furrow’ a...

46… I’ve been thinking a lot about this number lately. It is the age I will be in June this year. I’ve had nearly 46 years on Earth and I’m still like a wide-eyed child about its workings, in some respects. I like this. I like that there is so much in the world that still amazes me. It encourages me to seek, to learn, to experience and grow. What I don’t like is the myriad ways we turn can against each other. We seem so far removed from the days when we lived...

I've mentioned a number of times in my ramblings about my wife and my garden and how much we love it and enjoy growing our own food.  I've been keeping a bit of a photographic diary this year of our progress.  I won't bore you all with endless pictures of the same garden as it was growing.  Instead, the following are the latest progress shots of the garden beds (we have three) in our rented back yard.  I've also included a few shots of some local fauna enjoying spring flowers...

My wife is away for a few days at her parent’s place. As she is the only child, and her folks are quite elderly, she likes to go there a couple of times a year and do all the big jobs they can’t manage. This is typical of her. I married an awesome lady. I’ve run into a few mates around and about and they’ve asked after her, naturally. When I’ve told them where she is, their reactions have me a little puzzled. Their comments have been along the lines of &lsquo...

After the thrill of visiting Kuranda (see here - http://masomusing.joeuser.com/article/327190/The_Far_North), we decided to have a day lounging by the pool, reading holiday books (my choice was an awesome story by Stephanie Meyer called 'Host' - I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes scifi thrillers) and exploring the township. Here is a shot of the pool area. It will give you a good idea of just how hard we had it while staying there.  Here is a shot of the outside of the reso...

Here are some photos of our recent holiday. We went to Far North Queensland (FNQ - yes, they really do write it like that).  This area is a tropical paradise.  It is also where I was born and spent the first part of my life.  I haven't been back to the area for about 30 years, so this was a sort of homecoming for me. We were staying at Port Douglas, which is basically a resort town about a half hour north of Cairns and the closest point to the Great Barrier Reef.  It is...

My wife and I went and saw the Incredible Hulk yesterday for my birthday.  But before I get to the movie... We spent a good part of our time in the city at our favourite bookshop (supposedly the largest in the Southern Hemisphere - I'm not sure if the claim is correct but it is a huge shop nonetheless).  It is a fantastic place to get lost in for a few hours, particularly if you are bibliophiles like we are.  The shop, called Kinokuniya, is in the centre of the city (for those ...

I thought I'd update anyone who is interested in the bits and pieces happening in my life at the moment.  This is not too exciting but as I've only really posted comments and fiction of late, I thought I'd write a bit about my life for a change. I've been wondering whether I'm going through some sort of midlife crisis.  I turn 45 at the end of June and I suppose if I due to have a midlife crisis, now is about the time.  Ha, to think I'm potentially about half way through this w...