Dying with dignity with dementia

Jan 25, 2016 01:26 am UTC| Life

My father Alec, who died peacefully at 89 in his sleep, had dementia and lived in a nursing home for the last seven years of his life. After Mum died, he lived alone in their Mittagong home for about a decade, but as he...

Hot summer nights, and cold winter evenings: how to be comfortable and save money all year long

Jan 24, 2016 23:23 pm UTC| Life

Every summer, the number of Australian homes equipped with air conditioners goes up and up. Recent statistics show that 74% of Australian homes 6.6 million so far have some form of air conditioning. This stands to reason...

Forget the pick-up lines – here's how to talk about your sexual desires and boundaries

Jan 22, 2016 05:26 am UTC| Life Health

Pick-up artists from the American company Real Social Dynamics (RSD) have been back in Australia to run a series of seminars for men on how to seduce women. During a 2014 visit, RSD coach Julien Blanc was driven from...

Japan offers us many lessons in embracing longevity

Jan 22, 2016 05:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Japan is famous for the longevity of its citizens. A quarter of its population is older than 65. That is a proportion that Australia is likely to reach only by 2056. Japans experience makes it an interesting example to...

How to bump up your credit score

Jan 21, 2016 23:48 pm UTC| Life

Debt is cheap right now, but only if you can get someone to offer you a deal. The low interest rate environment has pushed rates on mortgages and loans to record lows, but at the same time, banks have tightened up their...

Why is English so hard to learn?

Jan 21, 2016 01:07 am UTC| Life

The prime minister, David Cameron, wants more Muslim women in the UK to be taught English to reduce segregation between different linguistic communities and even limit the lure of extremism. Most of us who have tried it...

Gossip is a social skill – not a character flaw

Jan 20, 2016 11:18 am UTC| Life

Lets face it: gossips get a bad rap. Smugly looking down from a moral high ground and secure in the knowledge that we dont share their character flaw we often dismiss those who are obsessed with the doings of others...