About me

Hi there, I'm Joel Rheinberger, author and broadcaster.

I have seven books you might want to check out:

ZeitHeist - after the ecological apocalypse, the banks and corporations that ruined the planet build an island paradise for themselves. And a group of Aussie thieves are hired to crack the place open.

The Poppy Lu Series - a young pilot learns to fly without a plane and joins the world of super heroes. Three books so far: (1) Suddenly Super, (2) Surprisingly Super and (3) Seriously Super.

The Hopping Ghost - a wee Scottish vampire finds herself in deep trouble in 1920's Shanghai.

Chick Magnet - a crime caper with a number-crunching assassin tracking down stolen drugs.

Discipline - a modern fantasy about an apprentice to a black magician.

When I'm not writing, I talk for a living on ABC Radio. (But for the record, this blog is purely personal.)

Some of my interviews get played right around the network, so if you live in Australia you've probably heard my voice. Often doing silly things, like getting naked on the radio or brushing a dead whale's teeth.

I also created and presented a long-running ABC podcast called Nerdzilla, which was about comics, computers, sci-fi, super heroes, games, gadgets, and geeks.

Before my time at the ABC, I was a copywriter. I won some awards for it, including a couple of New York Medals.

When I'm not typing or talking, I play games with my friends and teach Loong Choo Kung Fu.

I live in Hobart, truly the most beautiful city in the world, with my equally beautiful wife Iris and my son Louis.

I have an author page on Facebook.

I post on Mastadon now and then.

You can also find me on Blue Sky, Threads and Instagram.

And I would love to email you! Please join my list. 

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Whisky tasting ahoy!

 

Five merry gents met to taste their favourite tipple.

As always, we taste and score while the bottles are still in a paper bag, so branding has no impact on our opinions.

But we have thrown our previous price rule into the bin! There’s no longer a price limit and you can generally bring anything with the word “whisky” (or “whiskey”) on the label.

Our whiskies today:

Glenmorangie 10, bourbon cask, 40 %

Marty said his was still under the old $100 limit and was a nice middle of the road drink.

Our tasting notes: It has a light colour and a fruity scent. Upon first taste it’s pleasant but you have to search for flavour. Smooth and easy, not complex. A nice start to a day of drinking! Reliable, if a tad thin.

Score: 26/40

The Remnant - Herd Not Seen, 44.5%

Bearded Tim chose something new to him for its story, which involves cows!

Our tasting notes: Marshmallow and toffee on the nose, like Glenmorangie that hit puberty! It has a heavy raisin flavour and smooths right out with water. Delicious!

Score: 35/40

Glina 10 Jahre Triple-Cask, 57.2%

Joel brought his bottle back from overseas and served it with a glint in his eye.

Our tasting notes: Whoa! A lot of nose and flavour. Incredibly rich and syrupy, with notes of golden syrup and rose water. An aftertaste of gingernut biscuit, burnt and treacly. It’s very intense and we all went for water. After a few drops it relaxes.There’s less bite, but it’s still complex. Described as being “like a homeless person that can sing opera”.

Score: 33/40

Lawrenny Homestead Triple Cask, 41.5%

Simon brought something he’d never had and couldn’t wait to try it!

Our tasting notes: Delightfully fruity with a hint of fresh pear. Evokes memories of the nose - a childhood on the Murray amongst fruit groves. Lush with a classic Tassie whisky flavour. Water adds creaminess to it. We were too busy enjoying this to wax lyrical.

Score: 37/40 (Winner!)

Craiglachie 13 year old, 46%

Beardless Tim chose this because of a story about worms...

Our tasting notes: We immediately picked that this was Scottish. It was less sweet than the others, with an aroma like spicy hibiscus tea. Not complex, but a nice easy drink with a touch of sourness. Hints of citrus rind with a little burned sugar. Similar to the first bottle (the Glenmorangie) but a finer spirit.

Score: 30/40

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Europe Diary - Weeks 3 and 4

So we said farewell to our awesome little appartment in Paris. It was on the 5th floor with a narrow stairwell and no elevator! But it was comfortable and right in the middle of everything you could want to see.

Much of our holiday was planned around my wife's family and my son's love of soccer. But the next four days were basically for me! We wsent to Scotland so I could drink whisky.

Another thing that Scotland is good at is comedy! So we went to see some local stand-up in Glasgow.

MacSorleys pub has appeared in books and comics many times. And there it was!

Glasgow Cathedral with the Tomb of St Mungo downstairs.

This is an Indian place called Mowgli's, which was brilliant!

I went to the only distillery in Glasgow, the Clydeside.

Colourful streets of Edinhurgh!

The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh is pretty amazing too. This is barley grain bursting with sunshine!

And the second largest collection of unopened Scotch in the world.

More comedy, this time in Edinburgh, with Rosco McClelland who was very good.

Climbing up to Arthurs Seat outside the city.

Madness live at Edinburgh Castle!

Finally we stopped at Thailand on the way home. I went and saw some kickboxing. There's live traditional music played to match the tempo of the fight!

This is the train market - a few times a day they fold away the awnings so a train come come by about a foot from your nose.

Our guide Pramote showing us the coconut flowers where they extract the nectar.

My wife and son in Chinatown in Bangkok, because every city has a Chinatown!

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Europe Diary - Week 2

Here are some more of our European travel memories from 2024.

It's funny, I actually never got around to writing down a lot of our travel updates here until 2025, because life got in the way.

But I've seen significant changes to social media platforms recently, as Twitter went to hell and newer sites sprung up. And I've realised that you can't rely on any of these to be places where you keep your memories safe. At least this blog is under my own control!

So back to Europe. We went Dortmund so my wife and son could see a French match, and as usual I explored the town while they went to the game.

This green carpet lerads you through the city to the Fan Zone.

Next we hit Hamburg with the relatives. This building with its spectacular view is where their Symphony Orchestra lives.

This church was burned, rebuilt, bombed, then made into a memorial.

The bricks under this sculpture come from a camp where 50,000 people were killed.

We went to see Turkeye vs Czechia at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, it was an amazing experience. So loud!

And then we were off to Paris, which was frantic!

We spent half a day exploring all the scenes of the movie Amelie.

The Pompidou Museum had an incredible display of comics. These next few photos are original inks! Including Calvin & Hobbes.

Literally my favourite ever Batman illustration from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.

And the collection wouldn't be complete without a Kirby original.

You have to see the Eiffel Tower! The views are worth waiting in line for.

And we had a look at Versaille. It's utterly incredible. And by the end of it, I was so ANGRY! That these rich assholes lived in such utter luxury while their fellow citizens died in the shit. I can totally see why the revolution happened.

Notre Dame was unfortunately close for renovations. But they had beautiful photos of all the trades people doing the work!

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