As far as I know, "Beyond The Black Stump" is an Australian expression which means "remoteness". It generally
indicates something is a long way away and in the middle of nowhere (in the boondocks?)
Apparently there was a telephone exchange in the Merriwagga/Griffith area called Black Stump and legend has it that in
1886 a woman named Barbara Blair was incinerated in a bushfire.
When her husband returned he found her charred remains and sadly described her form as resembling a black stump and the name stuck.
I've also read somewhere that the The Black Stump Hotel located in Merriwagga was the original "Black Stump".
I've also been asked a few times if it's affiliated or associated with Nevil Shute's book of similar name. The answer
is no, not in any way. In fact, having been asked so many times, I decided to go buy the book - it's now out of print
with little likelihood of a reprint anytime soon. But I have since found it in a second-hand shop, so I'll get to read it
one day.
Q.002
It started life as most sites do, as an experiment with HTML coding and consisting of my bookmarks. It was
originally called "Garriga's World Wide Whoopee Home Page" (yuk!), and then "Garriga's WWWorld" and finally
"Beyond....The Black Stump". It still exists in various directories under all of those names although it's over
16 months since the names changed to the current form.
When I settled on the new name, I wanted to remove my name from the site so it didn't appear quite so personal
and I wanted it to be, and sound, Australian without being too colloquial (i.e. G'day mate etc).
Q.003
The site is essentially a reference site to things I find interesting presented in a way that (hopefully) makes
resources quick to load (not many graphics!) and find. I also hope that others find the sites listed interesting
enough to keep coming back.
I detest sites with huge graphics which take forever to
load. (so don't suggest sites with a graphic on the home page which takes 10 minutes to load....)
Q.004
Chris Hills generally helps me out by scanning Usenet
for appropriate links an emailing them to me. I think Chris is my main "Promoter" also, suggesting to other sites
that they link back to "Beyond....The Black Stump". I have an idea that many of the "awards" the site has
won has been the result of Chris telling people about the site.
Adam Todd also helps out in a big way by providing a home for blackstump.com.au at no cost to me and
he's been the only one willing to run the Black Stump Search Engine. So, if you like the Black Stump site, drop
in on Adam at ah.net sometime.
Anyone else want to help ???
Q.005
I do it because I got sick of watching TV, a lot of it mindless junk
(except Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Frontline and Football!)
, and I wanted to be involved with, and get
to know, Internet technology and it's workings. I also like the idea of providing a resource that a lot of folks
seem to like - the email I get from people encouraging me to continue is also very gratifying.
Q.006
Arrggghh, too much ! Generally speaking, I use the Net between 9pm and midnight most days, probably more at
weekends. I use a few different providers who each have different "features"
which I find useful. Within Australia, Pegasus is useful as it's national and IBM is also
handy as it has global access (so I can always get my email).
Q.007
From lots of places. I scan a lot of different sites and Usenet groups and also get help from guys like Chris
Hills. I like to check each site I list for appropriateness so I know that each site listed has some value. I
don't list questionable sites (sometimes this is a pity as occasionally a really good site also has some "adult"
references, so it won't be listed here).
I also get a lot of submissions via email, some of which make the grade. This has become the most time-consuming
part of developing the site, for what is a small return.
Q.008
Pirate Pete is me (gee whiz, what a surprise !). I thought the expression "PPPoWWW!" was a bit catchy. Pirate Pete's
Pick is just my list of sites I find useful or just plain fun.
Q.009
Ahhh, I get asked this quite often. I keep my work and my "Netting" quite separate.....but I can tell you that
I'm in the Computer Industry (have been for 20 years) and I am currently the Internet Services Manager
for a large organisation with responsibility for the Asia/Pacific region.
Q.010
After I wandered thru the Web for a while, I got sick of endless home pages with long diatribes about the site
owner so I decided I'd never advertise or promote myself on this site.
I do have my photo on the site (it's hidden, but can be
found), and also a photo of my four kids and wife I've been married to for
over 18 years.
Q.011
That's an easy one ! Nothing, not a brass razoo. I've resisted any advertising banners, so far, in the interests of
keeping access time to the pages quick. Maybe one day, when I'm destitute..... So, the next time you are going
to email me to abuse me for something (yes, I get them!), remember the site costs me !
The one exception I will be making to this is to work with Adam Todd on ah.net. He provides me the blackstump.com.au site at zero
cost to me including the Search Engine (no other ISP I'm with will!), so I'm happy to generate something to
help out Adam. We're still working out how.
Q.012
Send the URL and a description via email if you think it fits within the Categories. Forget it, if it's "adult', though. I have an
email link on the main page. Ok, here it is again --> Postbox
If it's a commercial listing contact Adam Todd here
Q.013
It's just that I have four different accounts. I use Eudora Light and the Unix ".forward" command to direct
all mail to one repository usually. For the record, use this email account;
lions@mira.net
You may get a reply from a different system depending on which system I do the reply from.
Q.014
Basically, because I (alone) decide which sites to list, it's a big site and I don't want to spend all my time answering
email. Its a bit of a Catch 22, but I think that less than 10% of sites submitted by email actually make it, so its
a low return for a big effort. But, if you really must, see Q12 !
Q.015
I've developed and used a couple of Java applets, and ActiveX controls, but I think they make the page too slow to load
so I've just maintained a mainly text based page. Sorry if that's too boring for some but I'm aiming at people who want
some information unhindered by slow load times.
