mars – Stilgherrian

20 July 202510 August 2025

Weekly Wrap 790: I’m still thinking about that trip to my birthplace, which was Gawler

Looking across the street at two classic Victorian-era civic buildings. On the left is a two-storey stone building, three windows wide, with a portico at the front finished in white plaster. Across the top it reads INSTITUTE and on the facade there’s the text “In Memoriam 1914 - 1918”. On the right is a shorter but similar building, with a terrace on top of its portico, and a row of four flagpoles. The flags are limp because there’s no wind, and they can’t be recognised. On the top of the facade is a set of arms (featuring a hawk, wheat, and lion, but drawn incorrectly), and the words TOWN HALL. In between them is a hint of modern architecture, namely the glass entry to a new building behind these two. The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy clouds.

Ages back I suggested that my productivity runs to a fortnightly cycle, and perhaps that’s still the case. My week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 July 2025 involved quite a lot of sleep, but I still produced a podcast and a newsletter â€” and posted another photo from my recent expedition to South Australia.

11 May 202502 January 2026

Weekly Wrap 780: Big ship again, for my birthday and such

A bright sunny day on Sydney Harbour, and we’re maybe 1,000 feet in the air. We’re looking down on a warship, which we’re seeing from slightly behind its port beam. It’s a modern landing [ship] helicopter dock (LHD), HMAS Adelaide, with its flight deck laid out before us. Beyond it is a wharf, another dock, and to the right of that a dry dock containing a smaller ship. In the background, the various building of Fleet Base East. On the far upper left is the Hobart-class air warfare destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG 41).

At the start of my week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 May 2025 I decided that it would be relatively relaxed given that my birthday was in there somewhere, including a generously-gifted helicopter flight on Wednesday and a delightful lunch with friends on Saturday.

14 January 202514 January 2025

The 9pm Colonisation of Mars and the Universe with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow

Plotting the overthrow of the space colonies! Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian)

Happy New Year. It’s time for another look at space news, I reckon, so once more my special guests are space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk from Flinders University, and astrophysicist and founder of SpaceAustralia.com Rami Mandow.

23 September 202425 September 2024

Weekly Wrap 747: Sometimes I just feel like parroting previous posts

On a tree stump scattered with bird seed sits a parrot. He has a bright red head, neck, and underparts, bright green wing features, dark green tail feathers, and a deep blue back. He eyes me cautiously as he munches on some seed.

One highlight of my week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 September 2024 was visiting Sydney’s new Metro stations — which I won’t tell you about just yet. A second was coming to understand how a change of environment will do me good. And then I had another win in the crowdfunding game. Hurrah!

15 September 202423 September 2024

Weekly Wrap 746: A change is as good as a holiday, but different

Looking down some long escalators all bright and shiny and new under the artificial light, and overhead a curved white roof with long black slots for sound absorption running parallel to the escalators.

My week of Monday 9 to Sunday 15 September 2024 was spent in Sydney, and I’m the better for it. There’s increasing evidence that moving back to a city — which is my medium-term plan — will do me good. I ended up being reasonably productive, though not on things I can show you just yet.

14 July 202414 July 2024

Weekly Wrap 737: Admiring an enormous American car while my podcast guests fall ill

A big low-slung American car in silver grey.

My week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 July 2024 was far less busy than I’d planned, because both of the podcast guests I’d booked in went down with throat infections. Still, I finally posted an episode recorded a couple weeks back, and started planning a Queensland expedition for October.