Sad Day

Today was a very sad day, because we had to put both Darwin and Newton to sleep. They had both been doing much worse over the past 5 days, and we knew it was time. This is Darwin and Angel when we first got them, in 1994, in Los Angeles. Darwin had the nicest spotted tummy! 

Darwin Kitten

Darwin was always playful in a quiet way - and he could strike the cutest poses... 

Regal Newton

Newton was known for striking regal poses while having a very silly streak! 

Friendly Newton

Newton was very friendly with other people (always wanting to go home with them) and he was very friendly with the other cats - especially little Zamboni... 

Newton the Mad Licker!

It will be sad this Christmas, with no Newton trying to lick the ornaments... 

The Artiste

Newton was, at heart, an artiste... 

Refined Gentleman

Darwin was more of a refined gentleman, with a love of art and fine wine... 

Thanks and Gratitude

We will miss them both tremendously. We are very grateful for having shared Darwin's life since May, 1994 and Newton's life from October, 1995. We'd like to thank Dr. Marcus and all the great people at the Paddington Cat Clinic for the kindness and understanding they showed us, and the wonderful care they lavished on Newton and Darwin. 

Farewell!

Farewell to thee! but not farewell
To all my fondest thoughts of thee:
Within my heart they still shall dwell;
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
by Anne Bronte  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is THANKSGIVING in America - would KILL for a piece of pumpkin pie.... 

Farewell to Debbie Terry

Today we said farewell to outgoing Head of School Professor Deborah Terry. Debbie has been the HOS for over six years and during that time the school has grown enourmously as well as achieving academic and teaching success. I wrote a funny farewell speech, during which Debbie had to read off cue cards... 

A great time was had by all...

Many staff were on hand to wish Debbie all the best in her new role as Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences...(and they found the speech pretty funny...) 

"I'd like to thank the Academy..."

I got Debbie an Oscar from the School, which reads "Best Performer in the Role of Head of School" - here she is wearing my shades and looking very Hollywood! 

More Chinese Art

Tim did NOT go to China again (much as he would have liked to) but DID pick up more Chinese art from the Australian imported of the place in Beijing where he bought the other art scrolls. Here is our new crane scroll... 

Chi Lin

And this is our new Chi Lin. The Chi Lin is a mythical Chinese creature which is similar to a unicorn. It is often known to be a dragon horse mixture since it seems to have the body of a horse and the head of a dragon. According to Chinese tradition, looking at this creature is very auspicious and brings happiness. 

Cane Toad Comes for Dinner

Well, we had company for dinner last night, and guess who came as an uninvited guest? A cane toad (which secretes a poison from glands under the skin). Guests were either a) impressed (US guest) or b) unimpressed (Australian guests), one of the latter of whom said ("well, that's just a TINY one..."). 

At the awards ceremony cocktails

The teaching awards ceremony took place at Customs House, a heritage building owned by UQ. It it right on the river, and is a great setting... 

Teaching Award from UQ

The award is lucite, although it looks like glass. I also got a certificate...you can see an excerpt from the citation at the UQ Teaching Awards Page. 

I'd like to thank the Academy...

Here is a close-up of the teaching award itself... 

What is she holding?

And finally, one of the publicity shots (it looks like I'm teaching chemistry, but actually it is a neuropsychological test I've got in my hands....) 

Teaching Award

I won a University Teaching award last night. This is me walking down from the podium after getting it (note the clear statue in my hands!). I was very excited because it is a huge honour! But it's probably the most nervous I've felt since I gave the speech at our citizenship ceremony last year...