2010

Dear Friends,

We have had a relatively quiet 2010 with only a few trips within Australia and, for once, none overseas. Our health has been good and of course we thoroughly enjoy the delights of the Gold Coast region especially as we are now expert at avoiding the great number of tourists that come our way. At least a couple of times a week we venture to the beaches for early morning walks, and I interleave these with early morning rides with neighbours when my timetable allows. Using Google Earth you can see a sample track for a typical ride captured via the iPhone.

With the appearance of La Niña conditions we have returned to having to keep the heavy rain at bay. The big Wivenhoe Dam catchment for Brisbane which was near 20% capacity eventually overflowed a couple of months ago, something we never thought to see for many years to come. Around our place we luckily have been landscaping with sandstone and chose a dry river bed theme which has proved its worth in carrying away the water at times. Margot has planted around a main bromeliad theme and they are doing exceptionally well.

Finding it difficult to keep away we had a last-minute week's fly-drive to southern Tasmania in February. We found a converted barn called Shetland Rest at Glaziers Bay on the Huon - it even came with free satellite Internet. This base allowed us to thoroughly explore the Huon Valley on both sides and further south. Our favourite location was the new sealed coastal road north from Dover via Police Point. Although brief it was a most relaxing stay, especially the evenings overlooking the Huon Valley watching the sun set over the Hartz Mountains with nothing but a few young rabbits scuttling around to break the peace. With a glass of sparkling Jansz bubbles in hand, naturally.

Other trips included a few very hot days near Monteville on the Sunshine Coast in a house called Vue Des Lumières with sweeping views of the ocean from the ridge and the lights of Caloundra at night. Another place with a great view was Ashby Cottage situated on a hill north of Grafton in NSW. The driveway was almost 2 km long zigzagging up the slope but the views and wildlife were worth the effort.

My teaching and research continues to expand into the area of cloud (online) services and social media. With a colleague I introduced a new core subject offered to students from all faculties called Knowledge Society with emphasis on the cloud but also incorporating data analysis and problem solving. I have continued to chair the Gold Coast Social Media Club that has met regularly and speakers have concentrated on applying social media for business benefit as well as for individuals. As for the technologies I use it is fair to say I have 'gone Google' as evidenced by this letter page on a Google Sites wiki.

Margot continues to enjoy retirement and is still committed to family history research. Our family tree now includes over 67,000 names, and via very tenuous links by marriage many times removed includes both Princess Diana and Kate Middleton! She just realised it was 10 years ago when she was waiting with bated breath for the UK 1901 census data site to come online only to have it fail immediately under the severe load.

We seem to be specialising in last-minute trips these days as we have just booked a few days in Sydney from Christmas Day so we can watch the start of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race that begins on Boxing Day. We have seen the finish of the race on many occasions and decided it was time to see the start in person. From our hotel in Darling Harbour we will take the ferry to South Head and watch the fleet come down the harbour and then head south.

We hope that you have an enjoyable festive season, and send you our very best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year.

Margot and Michael

December 2010

On our patio

View to the Huon from Shetland Rest, Glaziers Bay

Huon Estuary with Bruny Island in distance

Clarence River Estuary north of Grafton, NSW, from Ashby Cottage