What’s Mike Doing?

Latest Updates

- Building a Better Wicking Bed
  October 14, 2020Last year, I hastily assembled a basic wicking bed in my garden, mostly using scraps of stuff I already had lying about. This time I took what I’d learned and tried to do a good job....
- Building a Wicking Bed
  August 27, 2019One thing I know about myself at this point is that I only ever really learn anything by trying it and fucking up a few times. For me then, it’s best to keep the stakes really damn low the first few times so that starting over later isn’t a big deal. With that in mind, … [Read more …]...
- Coca-Cola Salad
  July 1, 2019I saw a couple of people posting a recipe from an old cookbook recently. It was short, and the title contained an unusual combination of things that don’t usually go together, so I made it....
- How Many Computers is Enough?
  October 21, 2018When I broke my Commodore 64, it was the only computer I had. This meant that for years afterwards, I simply didn’t have a computer any more. These days, the situation is really different....
- How I Broke My Commodore 64
  September 7, 2018It’s important I tell you how I broke my computer when I was 17 years old, since that act of carelessness on my part has left me kicking myself for decades and that machine shaped my life quite significantly....
- Nostalgic Computing
  September 4, 2018The Commodore 64 changed my life in a million subtle ways and frankly if I started going into detail about some of the things that might be different in the world now if I’d owned a Spectrum or a TRS-80 or something you’d be amazed....
- Tintinara Revisited
  March 4, 2018What happens when you check back on the site of a great artistic triumph after 21 years have passed? Maybe you’ll find out you changed the world....
- The Return of Cyberpope Moses
  November 11, 2017In 2002, I received “The Worst Present Ever”, and turned it into an epic saga....
- Extremely South
  November 8, 2017I attempted to walk to the southernmost point of the Australian mainland. Spoiler warning: I made it there and back again....
- Extreme Points of Australia and Me
  September 6, 2017About ten years ago, I decided to visit as many of the extreme points of Australia for the hell of it. September 4th 2017 is the date that I finally made it to one....

Chinwag Posts

Mike, First of His Name

Snowpiercer series spoilers

Nice to see they're mixing things up for a change and unexpectedly bringing Sean Bean back to life at the end of season one.

Mike, First of His Name

After a couple of days of going to work and pretending I'm a normal person, I'm going back out into the world to see more comedy shows tonight. Pray for me.

Mike, First of His Name

I've redone the bed platform in the back of the RAV4 from a low-level thing to about 25cm off the ground in an attempt to solve The Big Tent Problem.

After discovering my Big Tent won't fit on the roof, I had to think about whether to take a smaller tent or other option and I landed on "I really like this tent and it's important to have it".

I've made sleeping in the back a little more cramped, but I think the tradeoff is worth it.

A beanbag on a raised platform in the back of a car with a bag labelled as a 4-person tent stowed under it.

The end of a bag sticking out from under a wooden platform in the back of a car.

Mike, First of His Name

Last year, my pear tree produced one pear. This year I got two!

If this trend continues I will be able to supply 100% of Australia's pear requirements within 25 years.

A pear that I grew

Mike, First of His Name

I am totally not readjusting to doing normal work right now. Can't focus on a damn thing, there's so much that I put in the "I can't deal with this until after festival" basket that's now all waiting for me.

I think the best analogy for how I feel right now is in electronics. In the leadup to comedy festival my brain has been pulled high the whole time, but now it's been disconnected and my mind is a floating input.

I'm glad there are at least three people out there who'll get this.