Stilgherrian – Page 3

29 December 202529 December 2025

Weekly Wrap 813: Actually relaxing over Christmas

A view across a large estuary to a tree-covered island and then to the forested banks beyond on a bright sunny day. In the foreground on the right is a railway station platform, and on the other side a Sydney Trains D-Set Mariyung train stands, having just disgorged some passengers. The twin railway tracks sweep from the right into the centre and middle distance, along a causeway, to an island and into a tunnel.

My week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 December 2025 was relaxing, as befits the holiday season. That said, a podcast was recorded and various other targets were reached, most of them too small to be worthy of mention.

21 December 202528 December 2025

Weekly Wrap 812: All hail the Parrot of Persistence

A male Australian king parrot is perched on the wrist of an outstretched arm, the hand of which is holding some bird seed. He has a bright red head, neck, chest, and belly, and deep green wings. In the background are computer screens, behind which a window overlooks some shrubbery.

My week of Monday 15 to Sunday 21 December 2025 was exhausting. I think I started it with a slight throat infection. Oh well, at least pushed out a podcast and planned a bunch of things. And one of the local king parrots kept me company.

18 December 202518 December 2025

The 9pm Slop Bowl of Discourse with Snarky Platypus

On a drab metal tray sits a white plastic plate piled with stuff including lettuce and dribbles of an unidentifiable brown sauce, a brown paper bag printed with the slogan “[Our] chips are lovingly crafted for [something out of sight]”, and a paper cup labelled “Chipotle Mexican Grill”. In the bottom left corner there’s an inset photo of a platypus. — *Chicken burrito bowl with tortilla chips and drink at Chipotle, August 2022, by* *Sarah Stierch*/Wikipedia Commons, used under a CC BY 4.0 license. Platypus inset photo by Taronga Conservation Society Australia / Chris Wheeler. Digital composition by Stilgherrian..

I like food. My good friend Snarky Platypus also likes food. And we also like wine. But we also have opinions. So in this final episode of the spring series we bring you some of those opinions.

16 December 202518 December 2025

Weekly Wrap 811: Fleeing the Mountains in the rain

A Sydney Trains D-Set Mariyung train arrives at Katoomba station in the pouring rain. It's grey with black bands along the windows of its two decks and safety orange doors. Its blunt nose is black with light grey trim and a big chunk of safety orange below the driver's cab.

My week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 December 2025 ended badly, with electrical failures at Bunjaree Cottages necessitating fleeing to Sydney, technical outages in the US continued to keep Another Untitled Music Podcast offline, and other amusements. But at least the crowdfunding campaign came to a satisfactory conclusion.

07 December 202518 December 2025

Weekly Wrap 810: When the weather is hot and the podcast is broken, go to the pub

An art deco pub on a bright sunny day. Its ground floor has floor to ceiling dark cream tiles with brown outlines and a series of wooden doors. The upper storey is red brick with light cream window frames. The roof is red tiles.

My week of Monday 1 to Sunday 7 December 2025 saw some unseasonable heat, hitting 40°C in Sydney’s inner south-west, and some annoying technical difficulties. But at least the season’s crowdfunder seems to be doing OK. And I went to a pub.

03 December 202503 December 2025

The 9pm Social Media Ban and the Special Duck with Justin Warren

Close-up photo of middle-aged white man with neatly-trimmed grey stubble and black-rimmed spectacles. He wears an open-necked white collared shirt and a black jacket — *Justin Warren looks quite respectable when he tries. (Photo: Supplied)*

It’s just one week until Australia’s controversial social media age restrictions come into force, so I decided to chat with Justin Warren, noted “consultant, freedom of information tragic, hexagon enthusiast, and creator of the CyberRating™ labelling scheme”.