Megan
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meganchapman.bsky.social
Megan
@meganchapman.bsky.social
510 followers 650 following 420 posts
Weekday IMH Clin Psych. Weekend improving, not quite so novice, potter.
Talks health, research, social justice, arts & crafts, occasional scifi fangirling, & African travels.
DPsych(clinical) PhD
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meganchapman.bsky.social
Megan @meganchapman.bsky.social · Mar 30
This used to be one of my Twitter mantras, so I guess I should restart it here.
For a moment of mindfulness, nothing beats Elephant watching on the Chobe river in Botswana. And you can do so via their webcam. Just sit back, count the elephants, and enjoy.
www.chobegamelodge.com/the-location/
meganchapman.bsky.social
Please indulge me momentarily while I show off this magnificent loaf of sourdough spelt bread that has just emerged from the oven.

#sourdough
A very delicious looking loaf of sourdough bread on a cooling rack
November 15, 2025 at 3:08 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
12 months. How has it been?
Miss you mum ❤️ 💔💔
meganchapman.bsky.social Megan @meganchapman.bsky.social · Nov 15
My mum died last Saturday of ovarian cancer. The final stage of her life was quick. A cancer diagnosis from the emergency department, to palliative care, to dying, all in the space of 18 days. It feels surreal. It will for a while. /1
November 8, 2025 at 10:37 PM
meganchapman.bsky.social
So many lyrebirds!
rickicoughlan.bsky.social Ricki Coughlan @rickicoughlan.bsky.social · Oct 24
Sound UP! When a gang of young male Superb Lyrebirds surround you, often within less than a metre. I zoomed back to 80mm but often had to lean back to get this footage. I've left it largely unedited to capture the mayhem of the moment. #birds #birding #nature #lyrebirds
October 25, 2025 at 10:37 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Went for a wander at Melbourne Zoo this week. Met a lemur with some serious attitude.
A lemur with a stern expression flexing his biceps
October 25, 2025 at 2:36 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Thought it was important to catch you up on the final outcome of term 3 of pottery. Pretty good, I reckon. I’m really enjoying carving, and the glazes worked pretty well. The bowls are proper salad bowl sized, which is good to see I’m managing bigger pieces of clay. Onwards to term 4.

#pottery
Four different hand thrown pots. Two carved mugs, one is blue and one in mustard. A large mustard bowl, and a pink with blue misting plate. 4 handthrown pieces of pottery. A mustard squat rounded form, a faceted mug with blue breaking over black, a light blue carved mug, and a large bowl, with the walls being a light camel but the bottom has pooled to blue 4 pieces of pottery. A faceted short form with lots of colours. A small dish that has two tones of glaze, a faceted and spot carved vessel in green, and a slip decorated large bowl in blue breaking over black.
October 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Wozers! A Nobel Prize for the University of Melbourne. Congratulations to Prof Richard Robson, Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
nature.com Nature @nature.com · Oct 8
BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks”

Stay tuned for more.
#NobelPrize
A Nobel medal
October 8, 2025 at 9:52 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
A reminder that AI is not a substitute therapist, or a friend. This is an interesting article.

www.codastory.com/authoritaria...
The AI Therapist Epidemic: When Bots Replace Humans - Coda Story
They promise judgment-free therapy at your fingertips. What they deliver is an algorithmic echo chamber that validates your worst impulses, isolates you from human connection, and even coaches you tow...
www.codastory.com
September 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Today was the day for a sneak peek at the new Arden train station, part of the soon to open Metro tunnel project in Melbourne. It was really well organised, lots of staff answering questions, and a lovely atmosphere with curious trainspotters taking a look, dad and I included. 1/
A sign saying “queue here for Arden Staion sneak peer” with an arrow pointing a large red prick building to the right. The front of the new Arden station, with a mural of two hands reaching for each other, and a big cavernous entry A sign saying “Arden Station” and a view of the back of the station, with the curved roof and entry evident.
August 30, 2025 at 4:08 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
My sister is off on a flying adventure to Lake Eyre. Her photos are definitely worth a look.
42helen.bsky.social Helen_chapman @42helen.bsky.social · Aug 27
Departed William Creek just after dawn for a scenic flight over Lake Eyre - truly an inland sea! Quite amazing.
August 27, 2025 at 1:14 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Events of today just emphasise that Australia needs to stop sleepwalking around access to firearms. Time to revisit how we came together after Port Arthur, and do something to reduce the amount of firearms in the community.

Sign the petition. Write to your MP. Don’t let it slip from the agenda.
australiainstitute.org.au The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · Aug 26
Pro-gun groups are mobilising against gun laws, and celebrating the increase in guns in our community.

We've launched a petition to create a National Firearms Register to help close dangerous loopholes and better protect public safety.

Can you sign and share?
▶️ theaus.in/firearm_regi...
August 26, 2025 at 7:16 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Week 2 of pottery. Time to attempt throwing a bigger piece of clay… and as if by magic, a big bowl appeared. Twice! Let’s see how they trim up next week. And there’s a couple of forms that will become mugs, for good measure.
A large pottery bowl, just thrown, sitting on a pottery wheel. 2 large pottery bowls, sitting on throwing bats on a bench. 3 smaller pieces of hand thrown pottery. 2 might turn into mugs. One is a rounded type thing… too small for a bowl, too tall for a dish, I’ll try to think of a better name for it….
August 16, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Megan
wehi-research.bsky.social
Discovery: mRNA vaccine candidate blocks malaria from reproducing inside mosquitoes, cuts transmission by up to 99.7%. Built on cryo-EM insights into parasite’s fertilisation machinery. A key step towards elimination. In @science.org

🔗 www.wehi.edu.au/news/reveale...
August 5, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Megan
wilwheaton.net
I saw so many responses and reposts yesterday. Lots of y'all said it helped you feel less alone.

I wanted to build on this a little, and gently ask/recommend that you choose kindness whenever possible (with others and yourself) because you never know; your kindness could make the difference.
wilwheaton.net Wil Wheaton @wilwheaton.net · Aug 3
I'm having a rough go of it lately, and have been thinking: everyone is going through something, and you have no idea what it is, or how it's affecting them.

Quote post this is if you're going through something, and maybe we'll all realize that we aren't as alone as we feel right now.
August 4, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Megan
infantstudies.bsky.social
Lazarus et al. (2025): A simple act with a lasting impact: Holding babies skin-to-skin in the NICU helped support their development and reduced differences linked to family income. Early touch can be a powerful way to promote equity from the very start #infancypapers doi.org/10.1111/infa...
doi.org
July 31, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Megan
newyorker.com
“Small children from poor or middle-class families who watch ‘Sesame Street’ do better on cognitive tests and in first grade than children who do not watch it,” Renata Adler wrote, in 1972.
The Invention of “Sesame Street”
Renata Adler’s 1972 review of the program that revolutionized children’s television.
www.newyorker.com
July 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Cats are excellent listeners. This is a lovely program, for the kids and the cats.

www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
Want to lift your children’s reading skills? Get them to read to kittens
Reading aloud to a non-judgmental audience – such as kittens – can help increase children’s motivation and confidence in reading.
www.theage.com.au
July 11, 2025 at 7:01 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Collected the pots this weekend. Some interesting firing results. Chrome pink has turned out iridescent blue on a few pots. Not what I expected, but nice all the same. Here is a sample of what appeared.

#pottery
A faceted vessel. Different glaze breaking over the facets. It’s blue over a black. It was supposed to be pink. Definitely not pink. It’s rather lovely A mug. Faceted, with a good handle. It’s a light green, and just glows. It’s rather lovely too Finally, something that was supposed to be pink actually turning out pink. It’s a lidded jar, with ridges on the body and lid, which as caught the pink glaze with a sandy coloured base. It’s pretty cool. Finally, the glazed teapot. It’s got a rather large spout, glazed in a celadon green. Curvy lines along the body of the teapot and a curvy knob. It’s small, just enough for a single cup of tea.
July 6, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Megan
marctennant.bsky.social
Substitute the word childcare for agecare and reprint - ITS THE SAME!!

Its a TOTAL MISTAKE for profit and care to be in the same sentance.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...
Profit comes before safety inside Australia's childcare centres
For those like me who have been investigating childcare for almost a year now, the news was horrifying but not a surprise.
www.abc.net.au
July 4, 2025 at 6:24 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
A good read. Thanks @amyremeikis.bsky.social

www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2025...
If events around the world are sending you insane, you're not alone
The normalisation of blatant inequality, outrage and a broken world order is sending us insane, but there is an alternative.
www.thenewdaily.com.au
June 22, 2025 at 5:41 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
I reckon I’ve got a good chance here….
June 17, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Reposted by Megan
itsanita.bsky.social
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"

- Albert Einstein
June 17, 2025 at 6:42 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
I think "act of wombat" should be included in property insurance.
I had to go and find the original thread. Most of the comments about the wombat are very wholesome. www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/...
June 16, 2025 at 4:26 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Can we just stop hating each other? “Othering”each other? Just simply care for humanity as a whole, and the only planet on which we exist. Why is this just too hard?
June 14, 2025 at 3:48 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
Dad gave me mum’s recipe books. This was the one I remember from when I was little. Mum still had it marked open with rubber bands on the biscuit page. She called these “Megan’s biscuits”. Favourite bickies then, favourite bickies now.
Miss you mum.
Picture of old hand written recipe books and three biscuits. A pile of home cooked biscuits. The recipe. 1 cup sugar 2 cups SR flour 3 oz butter 1 egg 1 large tablespoon golden syrup 1 large cup desiccated coconut 1 tablespoon of milk 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda dissolved in the milk A few walnuts. Cream the butter and sugar. Add egg, golden syrup, milk and soda. Add flour, coconut, and nuts Bake moderate oven 350F for 10-15 minutes.
May 31, 2025 at 6:43 AM
meganchapman.bsky.social
What my house sometimes looks like after collecting my pots after firing… lots of pottery waiting to work out what home it might go to, and which pieces turn into favourites that stay.

The cartoon is an old one by Joseph Farris from the New Yorker.
Cartoon by Joseph Farris from the New Yorker of a man sitting in a chair surrounded by pottery, and a woman coming in holding a pot. Caption says “look honey, I made another pot”. He does not look enthusiastic.
May 21, 2025 at 5:18 AM