My working life took a dramatic twist in the first few months of 2005. After almost a quarter of a century as a technology journalist writing mostly for Australian magazines and newspapers, I've now donned a new cap. I'm working directly for Sister Helen Prejean and the Death Penalty Discourse Network to help end the death penalty in the US (and elsewhere). Sister Helen sponsored me for a working visa so I can do this work full-time instead of as a volunteer, and that visa was granted early in 2005.

My official title, which makes me sound very grand, is Director of Online Discourse. My job is to handle the online end of fostering broadbased discussion around the death penalty, while helping the rest of the organization with its technology needs. What a wonderful thing to get to blend my technology, writing and activist skills so perfectly in this job.

I'll still be doing technology journalism (drop by my site, Geekgirl's, if you want to see some of my writing or need a little help with Windows, databases or the Internet), but on the side instead of as my real day-time job, and that will mean I'll have a lot more time for participation in Omidyar as well as the various sites which come under the umbrella of the Death Penalty Discourse Center.

I am keen to connect with people who are interested in broadening and deepening the dialogue around the death penalty.

I write to a woman called Cathy Henderson who is on the most notorious death row in the country, in Texas. If any of you are looking for a simple way to make life better for someone being tortured by the death penalty system, this is it. Writing is simple and makes a real difference to the quality of life of the prisoner (and to your own life), but it takes a real commitment.

I'm also interested in finding ways to defuse the numbness and powerlessness which prevents most of us not only from acting to make the world a better place, but also from being able to see the world clearly.

I'm passionate about words and language, communicating complex topics to broad audiences, making technology accessible, music (from Gabriel Schutz to Bonnie Raitt), reading, the intersection of cosmology/quantum physics/spirituality, and my connection to the Australian bush. I love the concept of Gross National Happiness.

You'll note the Dropcash box for Margaret's surgery. This is a campaign I really want to see through. You can read more about Margaret in the Invisible Children discussion. Please consider popping in a few bucks.

And, yes, that is my real name. :-)