Comics I'm only disappointed that Dr. Hormone's super power isn't making teenagers break out.

30 Things So the pretentious lecturing snobs at the Sydney Morning Herald’s section devoted to ensuring house prices continue to rise and ensure that no one they lecture to can even hope for more than reading their columns, let alone implementing their “requirements” (otherwise known as Domain), have now published a list of the 30 things you must have in your home to accompany the 30 things they previously published that you must not have. Must-have’s are: 1. Non-stick saucepans. Really? Because cast iron is too hard or stainless steel too prone to discoloured by inept cooks? Do they not know that even the best non-stick start to lose their virtue and eventually start flaking off into your food? 2. A dinner table. Because we have room, don’t we? Always. Everyone. Especially sufficient room to have a dinner party. 3. “Furniture that didn’t once belong to your parents”, which is probably not much of a problem, if your parents are still alive, as they are likely to still be using theirs. 4. Art. Actually, I can get behind this one. It’s not hard to have a nice piece of original art you like and will enjoy for years. 5. A plant. C’mon, buy some flowers now and then, if you really need indoor foliage. 6. Grow-your-own herbs – on the balcony, if you’ve got one (and doesn’t everyone), or tomatoes in the garden (ditto). Much as I appreciate that the new economy approaching will require us to grow our own food as much as possible or starve, this isn’t very feasible for the vast majority of people desperately searching Domain for a place to rent or to buy. 7. A full set of cutlery. By which they mean a set, matched, not just a collection of knives and forks and spoons. Does anyone actually care? 8. A full set of wine glasses, reds and whites. Nice to have, but how many of each? And did you know that Riesling may use a different glass than chardonnay and so on? It’s true, if you’re pretentious enough. 9. Filing system. An organised drawer to put things in that you won’t look at for years, if ever at all, but are still required to keep for at least seven years, just in case the tax man comes looking. This is item 2 in the actually worthwhile list. 10. Books. Specifically recommended are four worth reading and some crap. 11. An electric blanket. Your power bills aren’t high enough. Use more coal. 12. A cat. Don’t do it. Really. And not a dog, a fish, a bird, a lizard, a snake, or whatever else alive you think you should have. They will rule your life. I love my cats, but if I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t. 13. Home automation. Go ahead, pretend you’re Tony Stark. I know where all the light switches are and the power points and why isn’t that enough? The refrigerator is automatic, but beyond that I really don’t see the point. 14. Good bed linen. This is item 3 on the worthwhile list. (10% Not getting even a D- at this point.) 15. Bread knife. (13% now; still not a pass.) 16. Throw pillows. Because the furniture you bought isn’t comfortable. You couldn’t afford comfortable furniture without stealing it from your parents, not with the rent you’re paying. 17. “A solution to every conceivable household problem”, which specifically mentions mosquito coils – good idea, 15% - and a “failsafe remedy for removing red wine stains” that isn’t throwing out the stained material. Good luck with that; no points. 18. “Cool fridge magnets”, because why? Because no. 19. A bowl near the door to keep your keys. Half points. Having a consistent place to put your keys is smart, but the bowl by the door means a table by the door and you may not have room. (16%!) 20. Board games. I enjoy these, but I don’t need them. Do you? You don’t have enough good books to read. Work on item 10. 21. Teapot and tea cups. Entirely unnecessary. This should garner negative points. 22. A “feature piece” of furniture or furnishings. I’ve got one of these. It takes up so much of my living room there’s hardly room to live. You have art. Leave it at that. 23. Wooden coat hangers. Don’t have to be wood, and only Joan Crawford will be upset if you use wire. 24. Blender, specifically a “whizz-bang blender”, by which I suppose they mean a thermomix or nutribullet. If you’re not making margaritas, you can do without. 25. Tupperware. This will sort itself out, but try applying portion control, too, and avoid storing leftovers you’ll only just throw out in a year. 26. They skip this one. Not sure if that’s a maths problem or editing. As it’s the online edition, I suspect editing, which generally sucks in online publications. 27. Cookbooks. Entirely unnecessary. Read the recipes in the paper, learn a few stalwarts, and move on. These are just dust-collectors and don’t count as books. 28. Toolkit. Definitely. With a power drill, a hammer, adjustable head screwdriver, and a collections of screws etc. Go from there, but keep it limited so you can find what you’re looking for. 20%! 29. Wine decanter. If you’re a pretentious git. Just let the bottle breathe for 30 minutes or more and don’t think it’ll still be good next week. 30. “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, by someone named Marie Kondo. Just clean now and then, and you’ll be fine. The things you shouldn’t have in your home after age 30? 1. Unframed prints and posters: if they’re worth keeping, they’re worth a frame. I have two. 2. Trophies on display. You kept them? Dude, that was high school. High school sucked. 3. Pine furniture. Purely a matter of taste, although I’d have to agree with this. 4. Ikea anything. Now that’s just silly. Billy bookcases are excellent, and you should see the things you can do with a couple of Lack tables and the stuff in your toolbox. If you can afford better, and more comfortable, by all means, but some of this stuff is too utilitarian to give up. And did you know that their office chair was rated #2 for ergonomics? That was a couple of years ago, but it was the best one I’ve ever used. 5. Incomplete dishes and cutlery. See at 7, above, which doesn’t mention dishes. If you have enough plates and bowls to serve your friends, I’ll bet they don’t care if they match. 6. Shot glass collection. I wouldn’t, but people do. I’ve got more Doc Savage paperbacks from the 1960’s than you do and some other things that could be said to constitute a collection. I’m not entirely proud of them, but neither am I ashamed. Meanwhile, at 18, above, they think fridge magnets are cool. At least with shot glasses you can have a contest, if you’re so inclined. 7. Inflatable furniture. Generally yes, but it doesn’t hurt to have one of those mattresses they’ve got these days, which can be surprisingly comfortable, for as long as they retain the capacity to hold air. 8. Lava lamps. The explanation for not having them is incomplete, at best. It’s because they stop working eventually and then you have to get a new one. 9. Kitschy picture frames. Absolutely agree. 10. Mosquito net. Oh, but mosquito coils are o.k. (see at 17, above)? These things work. 11. Fake plants. Yes, o.k., but you don’t need real ones, either. 12. Unopened mail. You don’t open your mail right away or bin it with the recycling? What’s wrong with you? Most banks and so forth will let you opt for email anyway. 13. CDs or DVDs on display. Where else are you going to put them? They can actually be as decorative as books, and like books you are going to use them. Having them handy is sensible. 14. Anything under your bed. Does that count monsters? Or just storage and dust? 15. Dust. You do it. I hired someone. That’s as far as I’ll go. 16. Beanbags. People still do this? 17. Anything covering a window that isn’t a curtain. Anything fabric that you hang off a rod is a curtain. Venetian blinds, on the other hand, are an abomination (see at 15, especially). 18. Glow in the dark stars. Unless you have kids, sure, o.k. Personally, I say, good luck to you. Have the stuff or don’t have the stuff. Eventually you’ll meet someone and start seeing these things differently and may choose to alter the mix. Unless they like it, too. Then you’ll only have to worry when you have pets or children that will attempt to eat some of these things, at which point you can put them away for later.

Movies Australian movies tend to be very bleak or very silly (much as I enjoyed the last one I saw: Mad Max: Fury Road), but sometimes they're just good. Last Cab to Darwin being an excellent example. Based on a stage play, unlike many other such productions, it's very natural, perhaps because of having the whole of the Outback to be expansive in, but more likely because Michael Caton, as Rex, is just so good. Yes, all the other characters are secondary, yet still drawing on some serious Australian acting talent, so he has to carry the movie, but he does, and it's no mean feat, especially when he's often been a comic actor, perhaps best known for The Castle. Defintely deserves viewing in a cinema.

The Need for Speed A whole minute faster than two years ago's City Mile Dash? That's what it says. Makes my whole weekend.

City2Surf 2015 4 minutes slower than last year, but I'll take it.