Over summer 2023-24, I completed my latest formal qualification: the Undergraduate Certificate in Palaeontology from the University of New England, Australia. This is four undergrad subjects drawn from those available within the palaeobiology major of the Bachelor of Science. Some thoughts/reflections on the whole process and the course itself: Motivation I had been looking around […]
Kangaskhan: an extant, derived sthenurine kangaroo (Marsupialia, Diprontodotia, Macropodidae) Kangaskhanus macropodiens is a large, bipedal marsupial with several confounding diagnostic characteristics. The common name kangaskhan derives from the word kangaroo, which is colloquially used in reference to large macropods such as the extant species Macropus giganteus (Eastern grey kangaroo) (Shaw, 1790), Macropus fuliginosus (Western grey […]
WordPress + ActivityPub + Friends is the web we need decades in the making A decade ago, or more, there was talk all over the higher ed blogs about how best to use WordPress (+others) for blogging with students. Federation, syndication, wikis, badges, domains, and more were the talk of the web. Remember that? Here […]
Most elections in this country feel like a matter of degrees. But at 36, I’ve just voted for the first time for something that actually feels like it could make a positive change. If you’re considering voting no, and (as statistically likely), you’ve voted referenda down in the past, ask yourself: is this about me, […]
My colleagues Michelle O’Connor, Professor David Marshall and I are editing a special edition of M/C Journal on ‘audio’. Here’s the Call for Papers: Sound is a physical phenomenon. It propagates as acoustic waves through space and time via physical media including solids, liquids, and gasses. Humans have spent much of our cultural history producing […]
The Universities Accord interim report indicates an interest in the establishment of a National Regional University (following the 2008 Bradley Review recommendation for just such an institution). The interim report states: The Review is considering the views of stakeholders who believe that establishing a NRU as a second national university, with a distinctive institutional and […]
I’ve been personally and professionally invested in Twitter for a long time but so many of the recent changes to the platform and other decisions by the owner(s) have sapped not only value but morality out of that space. in light of the move to actually make it unusable this week, I’m finally out. No […]
IMDB Travis Holland, Charles Sturt University In June 1993, director Steven Spielberg released a film that unleashed a wave of technological change in film-making and simultaneously helped to revive popular interest in dinosaurs. Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton’s novel, spawned five blockbuster sequels as well as a multitude of spin-off games, toys, novels, and […]
Travis Holland, Charles Sturt University and Lisa Watt, Charles Sturt University The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series of films have long featured iconic female characters. Laura Dern’s Dr Ellie Sattler from the 1993 original has been lauded as “a female heroine unlike any other”. Julianne Moore’s Dr Sarah Harding from 1997’s The Lost World […]
A reflection on my participation in the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program and what it means for my career.