The Lead Pencil Club

The Minutes of the Lead Pencil Club edited by Bill Henderson ( 1996, ISBN 0-916366-84-7 ) is a great read from the beginning of the internet. Some of the contributions are prophetic - I thought M. Kadi (page 175) was particularly accurate. 

Sweet Heinrich

The sugar shaker is 1950s German technology - it dispenses sugar without using possibly contaminated teaspoons. It is making a comeback in a covid world. As a bonus it has no moving parts to wear out and can be constructed without plastic.

Custom Clamp

The improved jockey wheel at the front of the camper trailer came with a clamp that allowed for a load up to 400kg and had 4 different clamping heights.

Great! Except that the clamp only suited a 75mm bar. I asked a local engineering firm to attach a backing plate for a 100mm bar and it all works very well.

King of Australia

Dr Edward de Bono died on 9 June aged 88.

He authored two of my favourite books -

Simplicity

Teach yourself to think.

He is also famous for- 

Lateral Thinking and

Six Thinking Hats.

He once said he wanted to be King of Australia because he sold so msny books here.

Using the tools he taught, I have surprised my colleagues many times with a creative idea.

Still as Stone

The stone curlew freezes if it thinks you are watching. It is like a Weeping Angel.

It seems to think itself invisible if it is not moving. It blends in well with dead leaves and stones.

On the Beach

The ocean shore at Minjerribah.

The sea like glass fractures at the edge of white sand. Nature at rest.

This is not the despair of Neville Shute.

Sorry Tassie.

I have placed a map of Australia on the side of my camper trailer.

Unfortunately Tasmania would not fit and it has been moved - better than being left off.