Shark attack It's always entertaining to regale European friends with tales of Australia's deadliest flora & fauna, from giant stinging trees, brown snakes, and the lethal irukandji jellyfish, to salties, funnel-webs, and - if you're feeling particularly vindictive - the vicious drop bears. Shark bites are a favourite scare topic, but… full article

'Get confident, stupid!' It can be truly amazing to trundle around central Brisbane and listen to all the tooting of horns and hollering of friendly advice between motorists. It's almost as if everyone up here was born with an inherently consummate driving skill, and apparently nobody has navigational ability below… full article

Logically fallacious The New Year has long since been & gone and I'm pleased to report that lifestyles are now improving again here after the usual silly-season hiccups. Through that time of year it's all too common to use phrases like 'I might as well...' (as in 'I might as… full article

Thinking things through I'll always be grateful that I trained as a Chartered Accountant, because the qualification rewards you with an invaluable skill set, including the ability to think about problems logically. Consider, for example, the conundrum of what might comprise a good investment if inflation ever takes off again.… full article

Nobody's perfect (all of the time) I tend to be sceptical of those 'my typical day' articles you read online or in lifestyle pieces. In the Instagram era, almost anyone's life can be made to look like a highlights reel, and in reality everyone has days that are less inspired… full article

Big winning bets Hedge fund founder John Paulson famously profited to the tune of billions of dollars using credit default swaps to effectively bet against subprime mortgages at the peak of the US housing market. In subsequent years he took some less successful positions leading to the inevitable articles about… full article

Gaper blocked! I was driving through Fortitude Valley this weekend, at a time of day when there really shouldn't have been a traffic jam, but the flashing blue & red police lights in the distance foretold a disruptive accident. Fortunately, I managed to lurk away from the highway down a… full article

Born of frustration Do you ever have days where everything seems to be frustrating? Aye, so do I! It's easy to become discouraged when something unforeseen happens ('why me?'), or when we seem to be going nowhere fast on a rat wheel (where is this heading?), and especially when someone… full article

Letting go Some years ago I went to live in East Timor, and without particularly planning to do so ended up staying for a long time. It was a wonderful experience for a whole range of reasons, not least that I first went there with, in the literal sense, no… full article

Patience - not just a virtue When it comes to building your net worth, patience is not only a virtue; it's essential. In the short term markets can be risky, but over the long term they tend to be much less so. Don't fall in love with an investment, it… full article