“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.”
Sydney J. Harris, US journalist

Why is it that, in an industry in which compassion rules, we are often spectacularly bad at looking after ourselves and each other?

"God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die."

Every now and again my worlds collide. Not in an obliteration-of-celestial-bodies kinda way, more like a big bang theory which creates something new and exciting.

Why I sit down to write and end up watching cat videos

Okay, Google. We know how much data you have on us. And we’re going to make a stand. Oi, sit down in front.

Managing messages of condolence

In praise of the dumbphone

Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see

Yes, I know you’ve had enough of COVID-19. But wishing it gone just isn’t working, is it?

“Sorry, I’m not available then, I’ve got a Zoom meet scheduled”. Or, if you’re in my neck of the woods, a Zui (Zoom + Hui).

Dilbert is writing a to-do list. 8 hours later, he has 347 urgent tasks. He crosses off “Make a To-Do list” and calls it a day.

Expertise is underrated, undervalued, and under attack.

Sharing, oversharing and embarrassing our children

You know the sayings. Doctors make the worst patients. Bankers never balance their checkbooks. And technology boffins are lazy about backing up their data.

Coping with the unexpected

A chapter in the Project Freerange publication "Death and Dying in New Zealand".

I’m surprised at how many dead friends I have.

One minute Kilimanjaro, the next back on the couch.

Remember play time, before we grew out of it and had to call it interval?

I wish I was more like my Mum. There are three messages in her email inbox. Not because she has no friends – quite the opposite - but because she believes in tidying up as she goes.

Seven simple rules to slideshow perfection

Once upon a time, you could advertise for staff with “IT skills desirable”. Here and now? IT Skills Essential.

My mother was fond of saying, unkindly I thought, that my feet entered the room half an hour before I did. Seems my digital footprint is like-sized.

Things have been a little stressful around here. I’m trying to be mindful, but living in the moment sucks.

“Our power company must have changed its name ...” he mused. “Why do you think that?” I auto-replied. “Our latest power account has been emailed but the company name is different …”

I’m a geek. Technology fascinates me. It defines me. It entertains me. And it gives me a voice.

Maori Funerals in a Changing World

A non-embalmer attends an embalming seminar

US poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch describes a good funeral as one that
“…gets the dead where they need to go and the living where they need to be.”

Gisborne's main public cemetery closes due to high rainfall