“One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.” - G Weilacher

 The buttered cat paradox is a tongue-in-cheek combination of two adages: - cats always land on their feet; - buttered toast always lands ...

1/27:  Edmund Barton (1849-1920; Prime Minister 1901-1903)    Edmund Barton at age 17 (Click on photos to enlarge). Sir Edmund Barton, t...

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda -  Eric Bogle A memorable and most poignant of national songs, it was written by Scottish born Aussi...

“As the bomb fell over Hiroshima and exploded, we saw an entire city disappear. I wrote in my log the words: 'My God, what have we done...

This is a lengthy article but I believe it is of interest... The Dog on the Tuckerbox When my brothers and I were young, our parents too...

This is better told, rather than written, in that telling allows a Northern English accent to be used.  I have wriiten some of the words ph...

The best six doctors anywhere And no one can deny it Are sunshine, water, rest, and air Exercise and diet. These six will gladly you attend...

When I reneged on a promise to my wife a few days ago about something that was for my benefit but that I was rluctant to do, I quoted what T...

In case you missed it, the following is an article that appeared in the online Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, reprinted from the Teleg...

"About one thing the Englishman has a particularly strict code. If a bird says Cluk bik bik bik bik and caw you may kill it, eat it or...

"I recently had to defend Killen, who is a High Church Anglican. He reads the Old Testament lesson in the Cathedral in Brisbane every...

"I have never learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” - Dudley Field Malone (1882-1950)

Byter Nadia sent me the following poem: We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes....

For those who may have been wondering where the Bytes have been for the last few days, I have been away from my computer spending a few day...

"The trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant generation called the horse-and-sparrow theory:   'If...

James Bond to Auric Goldfinger, as he is about to be cut in half by a laser: “Do you expect me to talk?” Goldfinger: “No, Mr Bond, I expec...

Getting ready to go to work in the morning with Sunrise on in the background I was surprised, nay shocked, to see an image on the screen fo...

A couple of days ago I was discussing some quotations with a friend when he raised one: “Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.” I had hear...

(Click on pic to enlarge)

"The depressing thing about an Englishman's traditional love of animals is the dishonesty thereof ... Get a barbed hook into the u...

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832)

A furphy, meaning a rumour or false story or report, originates from the water cart first developed by Joseph Furphy, above,  (1843-1912)....

Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. -  Wiliam Arthur Ward (19...

A carriage marked "Ashfield-Burwood" travels down Parramatta Road in the early 1870’s, with the University of Sydney in the backgr...

In 1960 John F Kennedy, aged 42, ran for President of the US against the then Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy, a Democrat, was dogge...

Gough Whitlam The following anecdote is taken from Gough Whitlam's speech in a debate in 2000 on the topic "That politicians have ...

“Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” -  ...

Discussing weight loss with dietician Simone, she made the observation that slow and steady weight loss in small measures is preferable to...

Thanks to Byter Anthony for this one... FINE This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel they are right and you need to...