Stilgherrian – Stilgherrian

03 August 2026

Weekly Wrap 844: Secret productivity, so have another pub

A red brick Australian suburban pub in the bright winter sunlight. On the left, the pub’s front, it’s a semi-circular arrangement with a balcony topped by a series of sculpted pegasuses, and right at the top a lighthouse-like structure — which once was an actual lighthouse! It’s on the other side of the highway from us. On its left is a tall mast for traffic lights. On the right, a pair of wooden utility poles for electricity, telephone, and internet.

Monday 27 July to Sunday 2 August 2026 was a busy week, and I’m very happy with that — although there isn’t much that I can show you right now. So much administrivia! And yet so handy for reducing stress.

26 July 202626 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 843: Happy productivity, unhappy graffiti

On a cream-coloured wall is scrawled in black the graffiti "Instagram the ghost AI empire", and the same again in red. On the left, a young man with a red backpack is disappearing out of frame.

Monday 20 to Sunday 26 July 2026 was another productive week, which pleases me. I don’t have that much else to day, apart from that I’m happy. So here’s a photo of some graffiti over in Burwood.

26 July 202626 July 2026

The 9pm Sweet Times with Carol Duncan OAM

Two white people mug for the camera, the image full of orange tones as the afternoon sunlight streams into a pub’s front bar. On the left is a bloke with short greying hair and glasses. That’s Stilgherrian. On the right, looking taller because she’s standing, is a smiling woman with kind, intelligent eyes. That’s Carol Duncan. Behind them, a poster says there’s Joker Poker on Fridays. — Stilgherrian and Carol Duncan enjoy a Saturday afternoon at The Grand Hotel, Newcastle, on 4 July 2026. (Photo: Carol Duncan).

A few weeks ago I went to Newcastle, the Australian one, and spent some time chatting with the voice of Newcastle herself, Carol Duncan OAM. She was ABC Radio’s morning presenter for quite some years, then she was a city councillor, and she does a lot of other things too.

20 July 202620 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 842: I rode some trains but here’s a pub

A Sydney suburban pub lit by the late afternoon sun. The ground floor is tiled in yellow. The upper floor is red brick with matching yellow trim around the windows and elsewhere. The roof is red tiles. The sign reads: General Gordon Hotel.

My week of Monday 13 to Sunday 19 July 2026 was moderately productive. I posted a podcast, did some client work, continued working on my compensation claim — it’s so close to being ready to file! — and even spent a lovely afternoon riding Sydney’s train network with David Feng.

19 July 202620 July 2026

The 9pm Half-time Bingo Card Update 2026 with Snarky Platypus

Photograph of an old-fashioned bingo card from Milton Bradley Company against a background of wooden bingo stamps stained with red ink, and in the top right corner an inset showing a platypus. — *Main image by* Rudonni *via Pixabay. Foreground bingo card originally by Milton Bradley Company,* photo by Abby Hendrickson under under a CC-BY 2.0 Generic *license. Platypus inset photo by Taronga Conservation Society Australia / Chris Wheeler. Digital composition by Stilgherrian.*

Back at the start of the year, my good friend Snarky Platypus and I created a bingo card for 2026. A set of 25 things that might happen. Well, we’re half-way through the year, so let’s see how we went.

13 July 202616 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 841: Enjoying Wollongong, but heaps late

Looking out over the Pacific Ocean. On the right-hand side of the photo, riding the mackerel blue waters, are two big black bulk carrier ships, their red hulls high out of the water, their bows pointing to the right. On the far left, closer to us, is a small fishing boat. In the immediate foreground, waves break on the shore. Above are lumpy clouds, and in the in distance there is rain.

I had another couple of days off this week, Monday 6 to Sunday 12 July 2026, visiting Wollongong after a gap of 21 years. Very enjoyable. But when combined with my lovely time in Newcastle last week, it means I’m now well behind where I wanted to be this month.