: About Me

Hello there
Glad to meet you. Born an Australian in the little country town of Gayndah in Queensland, I reckon there's a bit of country left in me. My granddad got my father a job in the bigger town of Rockhampton, so we moved there when I was three. That's where I grew up.

Known as Rocky by the locals, it was a great place for a kid bent on adventure. And there was plenty. Over the road was a big, bush paddock with a creek at the back. Mum demanded we be home by 5.00 o'clock. My brothers, neighbourhood boys and school mates would spend hours exploring the bush and as every kid knows, creeks are perfect for all sorts of fun. We never did make it home by 5. It was worth getting in trouble with Mum, just to linger a little longer.

It's a shame really. Now I live in a big city and my kids have computers, movies, DVD and TV. Not the same fun. So we go camping. They love dragging wood out of the bush to build a fire. We take the dogs too, and the kids and dogs roam around creating their own memories.

There's lots to do and see around where we live, so we try to get out as much as possible. I need to live to be about 590 years old to get it all done.

But I work and live like most people. I enjoy my work, writing and travelling and love my family and friends.

My passion is ...

my family

I know too much about ...

nothing

My parents always told me ...

to respect my elders and wash behind my ears

My childhood ambition ...

was to become a rocket scientist

My favorite memory ...

is private, but I might tell you about it sometime

Why I write ...

because I've got something to say

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Reading a 1968 literary prize winning book, "Sound of the Mountain".

My first job ...

was working in a plumbing supply shop

My best moment ...

was the birth of our first child

My inspiration ...

is our creator God

Arts & Humanities > Asia, Africa & Mideast History How to learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

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Let's get one thing straight from the get go. I'm not an expert in any way when it comes to languages. Skills extend to above average English, a smattering of words in German and French, a word here and there of Mandarin and Vietnamese. (I took Mandarin classes for a few months. What a diabolical language!) I even studied Biblical Hebrew for a couple of years. But Egyptian hieroglyphics? Not a chance! However, from my Hebrew studies, I discovered that learning a language is not impossible. Hebrew reads from right to left. The mind's capacity for learning is wonderful. Those 22 squiggles ma...

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