Holties House

Did you get all your Christmas cards??

2012-01-26T12:21:00.000+10:00

Some things are simply irresistible, here's a couple of examples.

I knew thet were cutting too many trees down!

I've just been through my Christmas cards and I'm pretty sure this applied to me too.

Places to visit

2012-01-24T16:43:00.000+10:00

This was sent to me by a friend and I thought it was worth a post... specially when my posts have been so infrequent.

Subject:Cahoots

Cahoots - I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing.
So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly! From one unstable person to another... I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doing pretty good in mine!

I'm a great grandfather again.

2012-01-03T23:23:00.001+10:00

Some of you will be aware, because we share some readers, that my Sister Merle has been very sick and has been hospitalized for a little over 6 weeks.
I am very pleased to report that she seems to have turned the corner and is feeling very much better, she has resumed her rehab exercises this time with much less pain, she has a crushed vertebrae in her lower back.
It is quite surprising to find just how much her illness affected me, while we are quite close I'm not usually a very emotional type, but I guess I got found out this time!!!
Enough...

Spent a pretty quiet New Years Eve with my good friend Warren, no trouble seeing the midnight hour as we are both night owls, so after 4 days I'm just starting to catch up on my beauty sleep (much needed).

These are my 3 great grand children, Phoenix, Ezra, & Scarlet, my oldest grandson Matthew and his wife Rhianna are the proud parents, Vicki & Rex are the proud grandparents.

Here's a start for 2012

2011-12-31T10:24:00.000+10:00

Puns for those with a higher IQ :

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding - A case of wife or death.

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.)

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted - Taint yours and taint mine.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

Santa Baby

2011-12-27T15:30:00.000+10:00

Look what I found under my Christmas tree.... She had gone by the time I woke up I'm sad to say.

Foreign Objects.

2011-12-12T20:42:00.000+10:00

This is a photo of a toilet on board the Indian Pacific train that I recently crossed the continent on.

With regard the lower sign... I got quite a strange look from a group of Italians on the train when I asked if they were experiencing any difficulty with blockages after use?????

Merry Christmas to all Bloggers.

2011-12-06T15:22:00.001+10:00

Well here we are…. AlmostChristmas 2011

And I’ve finished this years“family & friends” poetic message and low and behold I came across theBloggers 2007 Christmas Message which I decided to reprint ‘cos I like theidea!!!!

I write a Christmas messagefor family and friends

each year ( it’s a 22 26 yeartradition) and this is the

third year I have done onefor my blog buddy’s.

I thought it might be a goodidea to post this early

as I know I have some poeticfriends who might want

to join in to this idea(budding tradition?)

Bloggers 2007 ChristmasMessage

Another Year has ended

And with this, I’m sureyou’ll agree

I’m broke…. my money’sspended

Thank the lord blogging isfree

Once more I look back withglee

At what’s given and takenboth ends

Just to think that we, Yeah,you and me

Though still strangers,we’re friends

Oh what stories we make-up

And with all of that hype

Cyberspace we fill up

With all the stuff that wetype.

It’s been said many times

We are closer in “here” thanwith others

Here I’m searching forrhymes

I’ve got it… in “here” weare brothers.

As I read a sad, or happy,post

I often sit with tear in eye

The thing that surprises memost?

Just what has made me cry.

Another time I’ll burst intolaughter

As I admire the writingskills

And I’m hooked, a fanthereafter

With all my morning coffeespills.

So to all of us, yeah, I’llinclude me too

Whose memories andimagination

No matter whether false ortrue

Write our posts and avoidlitigation.

To all of my blog buddy’s

Wherever from far or near

As you sit in your study’s

Merry Christmas and a HappyNew Year

( If you celebrate someother form of religion or belief

I hope you have a good one)

Better try to add a verse ortwo

To bring this up to date

So this is from me to you

Yeah…. from your Aussiemate.

It seems like my bloglist isbroken

There are so many“retiree’s”

Such a lot of my originalcontacts

Are no longer shooting thebreeze

To say they are missed

Is so obvious, and sounderstated

But life has a habit ofgetting in the way

For many the writing urgejust dissipated

There are other reasons forgiving blogging away.

But to those hearty soulswho continue

And are happy just bloggingaway

May your lives be filled upwith gladness

As you find something new topost each day.

And Still They Come.

2011-11-23T12:15:00.001+10:00

The latest visitors to our shores are Crown Prince Frederick and his lovely wife Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, this Royal couple are fairly frequent visitors to Australia as Mary was born and raised in Tasmania AU.
She was born Mary Donaldson in 1972 and is of Scottish ancestry, Mary has lived the dream of meeting and marrying a real live Prince, they are a devoted couple and have 4 children, including a set of twins born in January this year.

It is always a pleasure to welcome our very own Princess and her family to our shores.

Visitors to our land

2011-11-18T13:01:00.001+10:00

Australia has been graced with visits by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip recently and President Barack Obama even more recently (I'm starting to worry about what the world might expect of us) but that's jumping ahead, first the reasons for this post.
Let me say at the outset that I am not a Royalist, I firmly believe that Australia should be a democracy with self rule and an AUSTRALIAN Flag, that said I have nothing but Admiration for Queen Elizabeth who was thrust into the spotlight by the death of her father, young as she may have been she has not put a foot wrong during her long reign.
At age 85, and 90 for Prince Philip, they present to the world a picture of grace and charm un-equaled by other world diplomats (even Phil managed to keep his foot entering his mouth much this trip, over the years his gaffes have become an expected part of any royal visit.

How many 85 & 90 year old's would look this good after a flight half the way around the world.

I read an article recently about the Queens dress code, a colour is chosen first, then the Hat, Coat, Dress and Shoes are selected in that colour and of course the Pearls to set it off

I have included the photo showing our Prime Minister Juia Gillard greeting Prince Philip, Standing behind Juia is Australia's "First Bloke" Tim Mathieson.... as a former Shepparton hairdresser Tim can't you come up with a better hairstyle for Julia???

The reason for the Queen's visit was CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting) which is a bi-annual affair this year being held in Perth WA

It seems we were no sooner done with the Royal visit than we were hit with cyclone Obama, I think the visit lasted 28 hours (but I'm really not interested enough to bother looking that up on the net) during this visit President Obama & Prime Minister Gillard were heard singing each others praises and photographed together enough times too fill an entire "Soapie" episode with material, I like to think of them as "Political Bookends" spanning the ocean between our two great lands!!!!!

Suitably framed by the flags of our countries (you might recall I'm in favour of a flag which isn't dominated by England's Union Jack)

And just how supportive can you get?????

The wealth of Aging.

2011-11-13T10:21:00.001+10:00

O.M.G., I'm rich!

Silver in the Hair

Gold in the Teeth

Crystals in the Kidneys

Sugar in the Blood

Lead in the Ass

Iron in the Arteries

And
an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas

I never thought I'd accumulate such wealth.

That's all folks.

2011-11-08T05:00:00.000+10:00

To finish up the photos from my train trip, hope you enjoy them.

Remembering the era of Steam at the Kalgoorlie station.

Lovely wide shady veranda's on the Kalgoorlie shops.

There are many lovely old building here denoting the wealth in gold taken from mines on The Golden Mile.

Also despite the fact that all the towns water comes via that pipeline they manage to keep it looking good.

One of the great train staff from Perth to Adelaide putting the portable steps into position at Cook.

The rail way lines from Adelaide and Perth met here in 1917.

I don't know whether they were his and hers jail cells, but there was 2 of them!!!

In 1982 the "Men of the Trees" planted 500 trees around the township of Cook.

Some of the trees and a sign to prove you can't escape salesmanship it reads "The Gift Shop Is Now Behind You"

The now defunct Cook School

Taking on fresh linen and supplies in Adelaide.

The emblem on the Indian Pacific is the Wedge Tailed Eagle the worlds largest Eagle with a wingspan of just over 2 metres,

The sun was in the wrong place but I wanted at least one shot of the train on a bend.

Coming into the Blue Mountains in NSW.

Sydney Central Station.

A suburban double Decker train at one of Centrals 24 platforms.

This is The Country Link train I took from Sydney to Brisbane.

Very green and lush as we traveled through NSW.

The Indian Pacific rail trip

2011-11-06T14:18:00.000+10:00

Where better to start than at the finish!!!! I'm home at Gympie and have slept in my own comfortable bed (for about12 hours!!!) the whole train experience was great but sleeping on moving objects isn't something I do well so it is good to be home for that reason.
Now let me see... I believe I was in Sydney when I last posted, I'm afraid I fell for the three card trick here "Country Link" with whom I'm traveling, have a nice comfortable waiting room at Central Station so rather than get clipped $150 plus for a night in a city hotel I decided to spend the night there as we had a 7AM start the next day...... WRONG.
Sydney, like many other cities throughout the world, has a homeless people problem and the fact that shortly after dark they descend on public buildings and sheltered places to spend the night.... No I didn't share my Waiting Room with them the Station staff locked the door not long after dark.... So I shared their drafty park style benches with them, I counted 29 bodies spread around the Station and counted myself very lucky that I only had one night there.
Bright???? and early next morning I boarded the train to Casino NSW and because by now I had had 4 nights of fitful sleep I started to question my decision to wait over for the daylight train/bus trip to Brisbane, the journey was comfortable fast and through some of Australia's most beautiful rural country.... BUT it rained most of the time and wasn't the best day for photos.
I got into Brisbane at about 10PM and caught a taxi to Warren's, incidentally the 800 Klm trip from Sydney to Brisbane cost $90... the 8 klm trip to Warren's cost $30??????????
Next morning we found the battery in my car was DEAD FLAT, we called on the RACQ to come and help us start it, turned out the boot hadn't closed properly when I took my luggage out at the airport 2 weeks earlier, so without switching the engine off I set sail for home, the trip home has recharged the battery so once more all is well with the world.

Alan & Lyn the delivery team to East Perth Station

My Cubby Hole by day on the other side there is a foot rest and a fold-up wash basin

Leaving Perth the countryside was still quite green.

Then on into the WA wheat-belt where harvest had started already.

The club lounge where the Sittin, Talkin, N Drinkin happens

The Perth to Kalgoorlie pipe-line for the water supply to this arid area.

Nearly at the end of the wheat-belt but still got that pipe-line.

Next comes the Low Mallee Scrub country, it goes on for hundreds of Klm.

Converted from day sitter to night toss and turner, the bed base folds up against the wall behind the pillow by day.

Just about every where you looked there were wildflowers thanks to a very good season.

This is the gradual transformation of the landscape into the plains country.

This is the Nullabhor Plain, and yes there are no trees, but for the first time in decades there are cattle grazing what is usually bone dry sand.

More of the exceptional growth this year has produced.

The metropolis of Forrest... population 2.

Upon reflection this has been a very eventful trip so I am looking forward to lots of peace and quiet for a while now... But I must ring Bruce and Paula tonight to find out if the car is fixed!!!!

There are just too many photos for 1 post... stay tuned lots more to come.

All Aboard!!!!

2011-11-02T19:11:00.002+10:00

I am still in Perth, its Saturday and I'mDue to train out at 11-50 AM tomorrow, the reversal of my plan to fly home cameas a result of Alan's ability to unravel the rail site on the internet so thefare dropped from $2300 to $1400 and I can accept that... so we are of on anadventure tomorrow.... I expect this to be a photo extravaganza so look forwardto lots of pics!!!!!

Train Travel, the ultimateway to traverse this large continent.

First up a few facts andfigures…

Our journey is Perth WA(west coast, Indian Ocean) to Sydney NSW (east coast, Pacific Ocean) Via Adelaide SA a distance of 4352 klm,this takes almost 3 days and nights (65 hrs) through some of the most remoteparts of Australia.

Our train has 16 carriagespulled by a single engine is 476 Metres long and weighs in at about 796 tonnes,when its busy they couple 2 engines together and put 25 carriages behind themit then comes in at 711 Metres and weighs about 1,375 Tonnes

I have a COMPACT butcomfortable cabin, excellent meals and the train staff are very friendly and efficient groupof people.

Because there is a singletrack with lots of sidings to allow oncoming trains to pass there are manybrief stops along the way, most of the rail traffic is freight trains but wedid pass the other “Indian Pacific” on its way to Perth from Sydney,

Our first official stopwas at Kalgoorlie where there was a moonlight tour of the city know as the“Golden Mile” because of the staggering amount of gold that has been taken fromthis area, having on a recent trip done a similar tour in daylight hours Ididn’t bother with this one.

Our next stop was at Cooka thriving community, population 5, which while it doesn’t sound all thatimpressive it dwarfs its nearest neighbour Forrest , which has a population of2, their responsibility is to maintain a civil airstrip which rivals the lengthof some city airstrips, Cook on the other hand was built to house railwayworkers back in the early 1900s when the rail link was being built, it stillserves as a refuelling and water take on point.

As previously mentioned Iam writing this as it happens as I can’t post it until we get to a morecivilised part of the country so for now that’s all there is!!!

We are now stopped atAdelaide (capitol city of SA) where the time is 10AM there has been a completechange over of the train staff (they also seem to be quite nice so no problemsthere) last night I slept a little better than on the first night, I’m guessingthat the body gradually gets used to the constant movements and sounds, it is avery quiet train helped no doubt by double glazed windows.

Favourite daughter isoften in Adelaide but no such luck this time when I rang her, never mind shewas at the wedding so its not long since I’ve seen her.

Have had 2 nights andalmost 2 days on board the Indian Pacific and have loved it, plenty of newpeople to meet and chat with great meals and a very relaxing way to cross thecountry.

Its now Wednesday evening and I’m in SydneyNSW, the last day on the Indian Pacific was not as good as the first 2 mainlybecause we seemed to rock and roll most of the day, the track needs somemaintenance and this added to the fact that the new train crew were not as goodas the first lot, I think we got the very best first and there wasn’t anywherefor the others to go but down.

Now I have to wait until the morning totake the final leg home, well to Brisbane anyway as that’s where my car is,having decided on a train trip I figured I’d go the whole hog and finish byrail, the direct trip travelled all night… no scenery… So I’m going in daylightas far as Casino in NSW then by bus to Brisbane (about 150 klms).

So while I have good internet access I’llpost this lot and finish up later with the last bit of the trip and somephotos.

Wedding Bells.... & Bells Palsy

2011-10-27T18:51:00.000+10:00

Where to start????

My youngest son Bruce has wed his long term sweetheart Paula so of course another trip to Perth WA had to be organized, because of the residual effect on my right eye courtesy of Bells Palsy I decided that driving was'nt an option so i flew over, I had arranged to meet son Marcus at the Perth airport where I had a hire car booked...... do you sense a problem coming?
As Marcus lived in Perth for many years I had, at least in my mind, decided that he would be the driver I was at that stage unaware that he had got an earlier flight and departed the airport about 4 hours before I landed, so I had confirmed the hire car and started roaming the terminal building in search of an errant son.
Fortunately before the time to worry set in I got a call from Bruce who filled me in on Marcus' whereabouts so I set forth on a tour of suburban Perth in search of the 3rd of my sons (Alan) home, now I have made many brief visits to Perth over the years but have never become familiar with its roads so as you may have already guessed I got totally lost and pined for my GPS which was sitting waiting for me on the table at home in Queensland!!!... I finally found a familiar road and my way to Alan's house.
The day continued on the same pattern however as both Alan and his wife Lyn were at work.
I sat for an hour or so chatting with their dog Hugh (AKA known as his royal Hughness) and Lyn arrived home to let me, and Hugh, in.
Eventually, and without any further drama, I got to Bruce and Paula's home, there were enough people there to produce a few minor disruptions, such as my former wife (and mother to our 4 children) had encountered some car trouble and was driving a loan car while hers was being fixed, we survived and had the traditional "Fish & Chips for 8 before gradually drifting of to bed Friday was a fairly uneventful day.... thank you Lord.
Saturday the day of the wedding, Marcus arrived and was delegated to take my hire car to the airport and pick up my favourite daughter Vicki who was due to arrive 2 hours before the wedding... again as I'm sure any regular readers of HoltiesHouse will know.... I'm building up to another crisis point, Vicki managed to phone through a message of flight delay which would make her about 2 hours late, so we now have a sister and a brother to the groom missing and probably doomed to miss at least part of the ceremony.
Paula decided that she would stall this as much as she could, to which end she wasn't dressed (well she didn't have her wedding dress on) when the photographer arrived and with womanly wiles stalled the departure from home for quite a while, as it turned out her timing was impeccable as the bridal car and Marcus & Vicki arrived almost simultaneously, a small aside to this was that Marcus was wearing shorts and a polo shirt when he was called upon to read a part of the service, in his own style he got around this by saying "didn't the invitation say casual dress".
After a lovely service the rains came down but in the snug reception area we didn't mind at all.
The following day I was to attend the 79th birthday celebrations of a friend of 50 plus years in the township of Beverly some 130klm SE of Perth and Marcus wanted to return to Bussleton 200klm S of Perth, I borrowed Paula's car and Marcus took of in the hire car.
Once again, you just know something is about to go pear shaped don't you?.... I got about half way to Beverly and a warning light came on telling me that something was amiss, it didn't take long to find out what the problem was as when I stopped the escaping steam told me that the motor had overheated, here we are in a remote section of state forest with... no water for the radiator, no tools, no mobile coverage for the area, and a disposition which is rapidly becoming less affable.
A kindly motorist pulled up and helped he had water, insulation tape and some small cable ties so we had a temporary repair job done in quick time, I decided to stop about 20 klm on when I spotted a church hall with 3 rainwater tanks figuring I could top up the water if needed, sad to say there were no external taps and while I looked for them the motor cut out and then refused to start, the computer needs to be reset after the overheating incident we figure???
I managed to get Neil, the friend from Beverly by phone and he came out and towed me home, fortunately Paula's parent also live in Beverly and have assumed responsibility for getting the car mobile for when Paula returns from her honeymoon.
I had planned to return home on "The Indian Pacific" which is regarded as one of the worlds best train trips by many, it is a 3 day 3,800 klm journey across the vast outback of Australia, it makes 2 trips per week between Perth and Sydney and on the day I chose to travel it was booked out except for a sleeper cabin which costs $2300, I've seen this train many times and its about a mile long 2 engines to pull it along so I shudder to think how many people it carries, I had checked the internet before leaving home and selected a sleeper cabin for a tad under $1000 and was quite happy to pay that, but as I can fly home for about $300 in 5 hours I'm not so sure about paying $2000 extra for a 3 day trip which still leaves me 800 klm from where my car is.... its looking more like flying all the time.
One final thought on this..... There had better not be any more weddings in Perth for a while!

My lovely new daughter in-law Paula.

The anxious Groom and best men wondering why the bride is late, on the left is Cody , Bruce's son

Ok its all official now.

Maw and Paw and the kids.

Without the oldies!

Marcus in his speech making outfit.

This weeks bargain

2011-10-12T12:20:00.000+10:00

Hi All.

If you are interested in getting an iPad I can get hold of them through a contact.
These are legit, not off the back of a truck, they are from a canceled Hospital contract due to the Government cutbacks.
The numbers are limited - he has two hundred iPads going for less than half price so it's first come first served.
He has already sold one (pic is attached below so you can see what you are getting).
Get back to me as quick as you can if you want one.
Full spec as below (click on read more)

Australia's Carbon Tax Policy

2011-09-30T10:21:00.000+10:00

For anyone who is interested enough to wade through this information it can be seen that Australia's Carbon Tax Scheme will be an expensive joke when applied to the world CO2 situation.

CARBON TRADING FIASCO
By someone who should know - T.L. Cardwell

The Editor

The Morning Bulletin.(Rockhampton)

I have sat by for a number of years frustrated at the rubbish being put forth about carbon dioxide
Emissions, thermal coal fired power stations and renewable energy and the ridiculous Emissions
Trading Scheme.

Frustration at the lies told (particularly during the election) about global pollution. Using Power Station Cooling towers for an example. The condensation coming from those cooling towers is as pure as that that comes out of any kettle.

Frustration about the so-called incorrectly named man-made 'carbon emissions' which of course is
Carbon Dioxide emissions and what it is supposedly doing to our planet.

Frustration about the lies told about renewable energy and the deliberate distortion of renewable
Energy and its ability to replace fossil fuel energy generation. And frustration at the ridiculous carbon
Credit programme which is beyond comprehension.

And further frustration at some members of the public who have not got a clue about thermal Power Stations or Renewable Energy. Quoting ridiculous figures about something they clearly
Have little or no knowledge of.

First coal fired power stations do NOT send 60 to 70% of the energy up the chimney. The boilers of
Modern power station are 96% efficient and the exhaust heat is captured by the economisers and
Reheaters that heat the air and water before entering the boilers.

The very slight amount exiting the stack is moist as in condensation and CO2. There is virtually no
Fly ash because this is removed by the precipitators or bagging plant that are 99.98% efficient. The 4% lost is heat through boiler wall convection.

Coal-fired Power Stations are highly efficient with very little heat loss and can generate a massive
Amount of energy for our needs. They can generate power at efficiency of less than 10,000 b.t.u. Per
Kilowatt and cost-wise that is very low.

The percentage cost of mining and freight is very low. The total cost of fuel is 8% of total
Generation cost and does NOT constitute a major production cost.

As for being laughed out of the country, China is building multitudes of coal-fired power stations
Because they are the most efficient for bulk power generation.

We have, like, the USA , coal-fired power stations because we HAVE the raw materials
And are VERY fortunate to have them. Believe me no one is laughing at Australia - exactly
The reverse, they are very envious of our raw materials and independence.

The major percentage of power in Europe and U.K. Is nuclear because they don't have the
Coal supply for the future.

Yes it would be very nice to have clean, quiet, Cheap energy in bulk supply. Everyone agrees
That it would be ideal. You don't have to be a genius to work that out. But there is only one
Problem---It doesn't exist.

Yes - there are wind and solar generators being built all over the world but they only add a small
Amount to the overall power demand.

The maximum size wind generator is 3 Megawatts, Which can rarely be attained on a continuous basis
Because it requires substantial forces of wind. And for the same reason only generate when there is
Sufficient wind to drive them. This of course depends where they are located but usually they only run for 45% -65% of the time, mostly well below maximum capacity. They cannot be relied on for a 'base load' because they are too variable. And they certainly could not be used for load control.

The peak load demand for electricity in Australia is approximately 50,000 Megawatts and only small
Part of this comes from the Snowy Hydro Electric System (the ultimate power Generation) because
It is only available when water is there from snow melt or rain. And yes, they can pump it back but it
Costs to do that. (Long Story).

Tasmania is very fortunate in that they have mostly hydro-electric generation because of their high
Amounts of snow and rainfall. They also have wind generators (located in the roaring forties) but that is only a small amount of total power generated.

Based on an average generating output of 1.5 megawatts (of unreliable power) you would require over 33,300 wind generators.

As for solar power generation much research has been done over the decades and there are two types.

Solar thermal generation and Solar Electric generation but in each case they cannot generate large amounts of electricity.

Any clean, cheap energy is obviously welcomed but they would NEVER have the capability of
Replacing Thermal Power Generation. So get your heads out of the clouds, do some basic mathematics and look at the facts, - not going off with the fairies (or some would say the extreme greenies.)

We are all greenies in one form or another and care very much about our planet. The difference
is most of us are realistic. Not in some idyllic utopia where everything can be made perfect by standing around holding a banner and being a general pain in the backside.

Here are some facts that will show how ridiculous this financial madness is that the government is
following. Do the simple maths and see for yourselves.

According to the 'believers' the CO2 in air has risen from .034% to .038% in air over the last
50 years.

To put the percentage of Carbon Dioxide in air in a clearer perspective;

If you had a room 12 ft x 12 ft x 7 ft or 3.7 mtrs x3.7 mtrs x 2.1 mtrs, the area carbon dioxide would
occupy in that room would be .25m x ..25m x ..17m or the size of a large packet of cereal.

Australia emits 1% of the world's total carbon dioxide and the government wants to reduce
this by 20%t or reduce emissions by 0.2 % of the world's total CO2 emissions.

What effect will this have on existing CO2 levels?

By their own figures they state the CO2 in air has risen from .034% to .038% in 50 years.

Assuming this is correct, the world CO2 has increased in 50 years by ..004%.per year that is ..004 divided by 50 = ...00008%. (Getting confusing -but stay with me).

Of that because we only contribute 1% our emissions would cause CO2 to rise .00008 divided by 100 = .0000008%.

Of that 1%, we supposedly emit, the governments wants to reduce it by 20% which is 1/5th of 0000008 = .00000016% effect per year they would have on the world CO2 emissions based on their own figures.

That would equate to an area in the same room, as the size of a small pin.

For that they have gone crazy with the ridiculous trading schemes, Solar and Roofing Installations, Clean Coal Technology. Renewable Energy, etc, etc.

How ridiculous it that?

The cost to the general public and industry will be enormous. Cripple and even closing some smaller businesses.

T.L. Cardwell

To the Editor,

I thought I should clarify. I spent 25 years in the Electricity Commission of NSW working, commissioning and operating the various power units. My last was the 4 X 350 MW Munmorah Power Stations near Newcastle . I would be pleased to supply you any information you may require.

Trying out new Blogger features

2011-09-21T14:50:00.001+10:00

Seems I've been away for such a long time that Blogger has changed the format for posting I am now offered lots more alternatives for things like Fonts and text size As well as text color I now can have different background colors

I can now insert a "jump break" although I must admit to being baffled as to why I would do this.

Please click on "read more"

Some ~~of these features~~ such as ~~strike through~~ are handy to have and I firmly believe in not turning your back on progress.

So I will probably use at least some of the new bits in future posts!!!

Yep, some good stuff here alright.

10 Years on.

2011-09-09T10:22:00.000+10:00

The World Trade Center before 9/11

As the 10th anniversary of "9/11" draws near we should all pause and silently remember those who didn't survive this terrorist atrocity.
AMEN

We hope and trust the conversion of "Ground Zero" to the planned Memorial to the victims and heroes of 9/11 will be completed soon.

Rain.... Blogging.

2011-08-30T17:19:00.005+10:00

Taken from my front porch, the water cascading from the overflowing spouting/guttering which couldn't cope with the volume, click to enbiggen.

Three things I know... (1) the rain we are having at this moment is the tail end of a cyclone/hurricane... (2) there are no cyclones around Australia right now....(3) its a hell of a long way from here to the East Coast of America so Irene must have been a hell of a storm!!!
If you or yours were caught up in that storm I trust that they all came through it well, this thought started me wondering just how many of my cyber friends were involved? to an Australian the East Coast pretty much describes New York, the Big Apple, while the West Coast is generally taken to be LA... Hollywood, I am fully aware that in both cases this is not the case but it sparked another thought.
Do the people who live in America's larger cities blog??? over the years I have visited with many cyber friends who live in the USA but none who come to mind live in the big cities, LA, New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston and the list goes on, my contact has been with folk who live in smaller towns or places that are know only to their immediate neighbors or other bloggers.
Along the same lines my Australian blog list in the main do not live in our bigger cities but in "other" areas... so is blogging a form of communication flavored by people in the less inhabited regions?? to help any overseas reader who is interested Australia also has a West Coast, Perth...
an East Coast Melbourne and Sydney... North, Brisbane and Gympie... Far North, Cairns... and Red Centre, Alice Springs... there are a couple of other places of interest, Darwin, the gateway to Indonesia... Canberra, where we try to contain most of our politicians... Our island state Tasmania, Hobart and apples.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the where-abouts of bloggers you know.

Seems to me I've been here before?

2011-08-24T14:45:00.001+10:00

Housework was a woman's job, but one evening, Janice arrived home from work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the table set. She was astonished!

It turns out that Chuck had read an article that said, 'Wives who work full-time and had to do their own housework were too tired to have sex'.

The night went very well. The next day, Janice told her Red Hat friends all about it. 'We had a great dinner. Chuck even cleaned up the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.'

'But what about afterward?' asked her friends.

'Oh, that........... Chuck was too tired.'

Emptying my inbox!!!

2011-08-15T07:14:00.011+10:00

Does everyone in the world hate Mondays???

Ya gotta learn to smile!!

What's this nonsense about pets and their owners looking the same??

What advantage does a rotary winged aircraft have over a fixed wing aircraft?

I knew all of you pilots out there would know this one;

Paddy was waiting at the bus stop with his mate Sean when a lorry went by loaded up with rolls of turf.

Paddy said, ' I gonna do that when I win lottery ' ....

'What ' s dat ' , says Sean.

'Send me lawn away to be cut ' , says Paddy.

Kylie Minouge will never live down this image!!!

Make-up and Hair style.............$500.00
New Dress for the show............$70000
Giant Stuffed Bear......................$300.00

Not knowing how to hold the bear with a microphone in your hand..........Priceless!

That's all folks.

Terror Alert.

2011-08-10T11:25:00.003+10:00

I love the humor of John Cleese, the Monty Python Shows are among my favourites, read and enjoy, I'm sorry that John didn't say what the American re-action was.

Subject: John Cleese terror alert

In light of the dispatching of Osama Bin Laden

ALERTS TO THREATS IN 2011 EUROPE: BY JOHN CLEESE

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Libya and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is canceled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

-- John Cleese - British writer, actor and tall person

This is FUNNY!!!

A man was asked this question during a quiz show....

"Where do women grow the most short curly hair?"

Apparently the correct answer is in Africa....

I went a bit more local than that!!!!

and answered in New Guinea, how did you do?????

Happy days are here again....

2011-08-06T22:30:00.004+10:00

I thought it was time to do a more normal (read happy) post, I've had a visit from my son Marcus, he's the one who recently turned 50, it was a real tonic to have him here for the 5 days, we managed to catch up with a few friends and generally have a good time together.
Ken and Jackie were my house minders when I went walkabout until recently and were the couple who's wedding photos I took, they now live at TCB so we don't see quite as much of one another

Taken at the lovely little seaside town of Tin Can Bay, Ken, Jackie, Peter, Marcus

From a bit closer up you can see the state of my Bells Palsy, perhaps this is one not to enbiggen?

We spent a day at one of my very favourite places, Australia Zoo, with images of Steve Irwin everywhere.

A kangaroo and its Joey which at this age still spends most of its time in mum's pouch

The weather has been perfect of late, COOOL nights but beautiful days, Queensland winters are famous throughout the country, this is just as well because the ladies on my computer haven't received any clothes yet despite the prayers.... so we are still communicating by braille.

A Prayer for Grandpa

2011-07-27T13:25:00.000+10:00

A Prayer for Grandpa

Dear God, please send clothes for all those naked ladies on Grandpa's computer.

amen.

Is life dreary... or is it just me?

2011-07-24T18:19:00.004+10:00

Who among you believes that the weather can have an influence on our dispositions?
I ask this because today is overcast, quite cool without being COLD, its Sunday afternoon and I'm feeling bored and a bit glum!!!
Against this being caused just by the weather the past week has been lovely, cold nights but beautiful sunny warm days... and I've been feeling the same as I do today???
I hasten to add that I am not ill, I still have Bells Palsy but freely admit that this is a very mild sort of affliction to suffer, it is irritating that its been with me for over 4 months now but apart from the fact that I still can't close my right eye completely which causes it to dry out and become a bit uncomfortable and the fact that a 3 month old baby can drink better (and drier) than I can Bells doesn't cause me much trouble.
So why the boredom and lethargy?? I suppose some of it has to do with the fact that I'm not doing the things I like to do nearly as much as usual, probably the main reason for this is that my eyesight isn't at all good, medical opinion on this says that the Bells will not affect my vision but the cold hard fact is that I cannot see as well as I could, this limits the time that I can comfortably spend at the computer 15-20 minutes a day instead of 3-5 hours, the clarity, read enjoyment, of a television screen, I have a library of over 1000 movies to watch but because they are inclined to look pretty fuzzy to me I'm not watching them much, reading a book, magazine, or newspaper is a hit and miss affair also.
This has led me into a bad habit of lying in bed until 10am or later just because I can't be bothered getting up, its easier just to lie there dozing and letting the time pass, I have never been a lover of mornings but the hours I now spend in bed are excessive, even to me.
As some of you would know another of my joys is traveling through our wide brown land, again this requires good eyesight to do it the way I love to... Driving... I'm able to drive short distances, to do the shopping etc. but I'm not happy about long distances, so where I might suddenly take off for the other side of the country under normal circumstances at present that's not an option.
I'm not sure just where this post is meant to reside... maybe its a rant... maybe its a case of a problem shared is a problem halved... perhaps I'm just feeling sorry for myself... if anyone reads this and has any suggestions about how to shake of the mopes I'd love to hear them.
BTW, don't worry... I'm not feeling the slightest bit suicidal!!!!

Another 50th Birthday

2011-06-25T20:49:00.005+10:00

Not a lot of photos of the big event. (As usual click on the photos to enbiggen)

Jacqui, Marcus, Peter (of the twisted face)

Marcus, Vicki, Peter

Jacqui, Marcus, Vicki, Peter.

Favourite Daughter

The only photo I took of Alan... Great job on the barby Al.

The reason I put the camera away, too many people in too small a space.

Alex, a great mate of Marcus and the family, sings and entertains and who could resist that pretty pink guitar.

On June 21st the third of my children turned 50, 1 more to go in 2 years time, so most of the family and friends from all over gathered to help him celebrate the event.
You may be aware of the chaos caused to air travel by the volcanic ash cloud from Chile's volcanic eruption, this ash cloud has taken quite a fancy to Australia and paid us a couple of visits, the first one was while we were all flying into Melbourne for the party and the second time was as we were all flying home again, flights to Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth from Melbourne were all affected at some time and caused some delays and disruptions.
With the news constantly changing about cancellations and delays when you are at a seaside town some 60 klms away from the airport planning the next move takes on a whole new outlook.
Enough about that, Marcus assured us that it was his best birthday ever, the travel that his family went through to be there with him was dwarfed by the efforts of one of his friends from the USA, way back in 1990 and again in 1991 Marcus traveled from England, where he was living and working at the time, to the USA where he was a camp councilor some 200 miles outside of NewYork.
Summer camp was for these kids was an 8 week vacation with accommodation and the camp activities led by the team of councilors of whom Marcus was the leader, during his first year at camp there was a boy named Joshua with whom Marcus developed a friendship, this culminated with Marcus and some years later his mother Jacqui staying at Josh's parents home in New York.
During the second year of camp Joshua had a fairly bad fall from a horse breaking his collar bone during an activity and in his words his only memory, apart from the pain, of this incident was of Marcus carrying him to camp and spending the next 3 or 4 hours looking after him in the local emergency room.
Again in Joshua's words Marcus became his instant idol, and during the past 20 years they have kept in touch and remained friends, but the last thing that Marcus expected was that the now very busy Tax Attorney that Joshua has become would spend 4 days traveling half way around the world with his 5 year old daughter in tow just for his birthday, to say that he was blown away by this would be an understatement.
I am a very proud parent when I hear of the high esteem that all of my children are held by those that they cross paths with and get to know.
On Saturday June 18 we had a Barbecue at lunch time with Marcus introducing us all to one-another with a short story of how each met and became friends this was an amusing time as he is blessed with a wit that makes his stories interesting and amusing, that evening he drove us all in a hired mini-bus (19 in total) to a night football match at the mecca of AFL Football the MCG where we saw his, and quite a few of the others, favourite football team The Geelong Cats play well and win convincingly, we had taken great pains in explaining to Joshua that while he was in Australia he should Barrack for rather than Root for his team, once we pointed out the Australian meaning for Root he decided to Barrack for Geelong.
On the evening of his birthday June 21 we went to dinner at a very nice local restaurant where once more we had the chance to see Marcus taken completely by surprise by a couple from Perth that had told him that sadly they wouldn't be able to make his birthday and then did.
The saddest part of this adventure was that I took so few photographs, hope someone else was more on the ball than I was and can fill some of the gaps.

About Blogging.

2011-05-31T13:40:00.004+10:00

Every now and again I feel compelled to shout out the reasons I love blogging, now that may sound a bit funny coming from one who only posts every couple of weeks or so and often the post will be just a joke or cartoon that has caught my eye.

OK so what brought this one on? this week I had my 75th birthday... the realization that I was now the same age as "Ol Horsetail Snake" was when I first discovered the magic that Gene wielded over his readers.... and him an old man in his 76th year!!!!

It is only now that I realize that the years you have spent on Earth have little to do with your AGE, this is much more an attitude of mind, sure, the body starts to remind you that you're no longer young much more often than it used to... the muscles and joints have their nagging aches more often, but in the long run its your mental attitude that counts... be happy, think young and stay young.

This brings me to the second reason for this post... I received about 30 messages of congratulations on my Facebook account, I thank everyone who took the time and trouble to send these messages, they really do mean a lot to me BUT I must be honest and say that I have never embraced Facebook... its just not for me, I don't honestly care what colour shirt you have chosen to wear to lunch with Aunt Betty or whether you prefer strawberry jam to the more conventional marmalade on your morning toast... these inane topics seem to be what Facebook is about, not the topics that make bloggers you have never met into friends that you cherish, friends that you share laughter and tears with as you read of their lives and share glimpses of yours.

I received an E-Card fro Karen and to say thanks for the thought I visited her blog where I read a story that brought a tear to my eye as I read it, "Just a little love is huge".

I left my comment... Hi Karen, thanks for the birthday card and more particularly for the thought behind sending it.
Great post by the way, this is exactly why I've never embraced Facebook and the like, nothing does it like a blog!!!

...case closed.... no, I got an email from Karen that I want to share with you, it illustrates my point very well.

You're most welcome!! I'm glad you got the card and hope your day was special. You and Merle mean a lot to me and have since I "met" you both via the blogs. Facebook is fun but I can't be myself on it - well, the real sense of humor, anyway, since my mom and some relatives read my small posts. A blog was always my special place where I felt safe to write what I felt and didn't have to sensor anything. Yep, nothing like a blog :-)

*HUGS*
Karen

Niether of the links to "O'l Hoss" or "Karen" seem to want to work but both blogs are available from my blogroll "Reserve - Sidelined Players" Karen is there only because I'm lazy, Hoss has a much better reason... he passed away in 2009.

To all my many friends out there in blogland I hope this endorsement of what we do will help in some small way to make up for the lack of posts and comments.

And in response to those who have asked about my "Bells Palsy" I'm now in my 6th week of what is reported as an ailment that normally lasts from 2 to 6 weeks and I'm thoroughly sick of it... having said that there are countless ailments and people suffering them that are MUCH worse than Bells, but one does get sick of dribbling drinks everywhere and the constant threat of chewing a piece out of your lip or cheek when eating... did I mention the joy of washing your hair with an eye that won't close fully its bring on the "No More Tears" time, Not to mention the fact that my natural beauty has a whole new slant on things.... so as you can judge things here are great... thanks for caring.

How to undfrstand women.

2011-05-18T11:00:00.004+10:00

New abridged edition

"HOW TO UNDERSTAND WOMEN"

I think its amazing how much they have crammed into such a small space.

Horse of the century

2011-05-15T21:02:00.002+10:00

Let me preface this post with the information that I have virtually no interest in horse racing.

But every now and again my attention is caught by something extraordinary, this is the case with
The latest racing sensation "Black Caviar" this mare's racing program to date reads 13 starts for 13 wins, she is being described as "The best sprinter in the world" along with every other superlative the racing world can come up with.
Black Caviar has captured the racing fraternity {and the general populations} attention here in Australia like no other hprse since the great Phar Lap of the depression years, today in Brisbane instead of the normal 5000-7000 spectaters at Doomden there was a crowd of 40,000 all there for a glimpse pf our new champion.
Any racing enthusiasts anxious to know more about Black Caviar will find lots of info by Googeling Black Caviar

'Will that make me a better gunfighter?'

2011-04-29T10:09:00.003+10:00

A young cowboy sitting in a saloon one Saturday night recognized an elderly man standing at the bar who, in his day, had been the fastest gun in the West.

The cowboy took a place next to the old-timer, bought him a drink and told him of his great ambition to be a great shot...

‘Could you give me some tips?' he asked.

The old man said, 'Well, for one thing, you're wearing your gun too high - tie the holster a little lower down on your leg.'

'Will that make me a better gunfighter?'

'Sure will '

The young man did as he was told, stood up, whipped out his .44 and shot the bow tie off the piano player.

'That's terrific!' said the cowboy. 'Got any more tips?'

'Yep,' said the old man. 'Cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it - that’ll give you a smoother draw'

'Will that make me a better gunfighter?' asked the young man.

'You bet it will,' said the old-timer.

The young man took out his knife, cut the notch, stood up, drew his gun in a blur, and then shot a cufflink off the piano player.

'Wow!' exclaimed the cowboy 'I'm learnin' somethin' here. Got any more tips?'

The old man pointed to a large can in a corner of the saloon. 'See that axle grease over there? Coat your gun with it.'

The young man smeared some of the grease on the barrel of his gun.

'No,' said the old-timer, 'I mean smear it all over the gun, handle and all.'

'Will that make me a better gunfighter?' asked the young man.

'No,' said the old-timer, 'but when Wyatt Earp gets done playing the piano, he's gonna shove that gun up your ass, and it won't hurt as much.

I love it when a story comes together like that!!

What a day!!!

2011-04-23T19:20:00.003+10:00

Parental Guidance is recommended before allowing children to view this image.

If this image looks a bit upsetting just imagine looking at it from the other side!!!

Having spent the better part of a day wondering why my face was all distorted and my hard won improved vision was now worse than ever.... Had I suffered a Stroke? while most of the data I had suggested No, I found it impossible to rule out the possibility!!!

A tense couple of hours in the Emergency Room at the Gympie Hospital though and my mind was put to rest... I had in fact had a Bells Palsey attack? if attack is the correct terminology, I remember my Dad having a Bells Palsey episode? when he was about my age, it seems this is one of the many joys that come to visit as we grow older.

For those who are not familiar with Bells Palsey (which included me up until today) It is a viral disease, same general family that afflicts us with facial Cold Sores, duration is usually between 2 and 6 weeks and I have 2 forms of medication that I hope will help.

The simple task of drinking is now something of a dribbling exercise and hot drinks are even worse, eating is also a risky business as you try to gnaw pieces from the inside of your mouth with teeth that suddenly have developed a mind of their own.

My new medications are tablets 10 (yes TEN) a day for 4 days and then 5 a day for 4 days, the other ones are 1 tablet 3 times per day so it looks like a rattlin' good time for me.

I must make mention of the help I had today, firstly from my very good friend Margaret Davidson, and then from the very attentive ER who had me in for assessment very quickly and then were most helpful as the examination revealed the far lesser evil of the 2 main choices, the senior Medical Officer who gave me the news and prescription for medication rang me at home some hours later most apologetic that he hadn't included Drops or ointment for my right eye (that's usually the good one!) which at the moment doesn't close completly, he made some suggestions for treatment particularly overnight when it will dry up because it isn't producing natural tears, I found the extra effort that he made was way beyond the call of duty and it was really appreciated.

2011-03-29T12:45:00.003+10:00

I reckon this new wireless technology is for the birds!!!

Neil Diamond Concert

2011-03-22T22:04:00.003+10:00

Monday was a busy day, I took my good friends back to the airport for their return trip home to Victoria then continued on to Brisbane where I picked up a few things I haven't been able to get in Gympie.
Monday night Warren and I had tickets for the Neil Diamond Concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, we had booked these tickets about 2 or 3 months ago and were chomping at the bit to see him in action again, we saw him many years ago and loved his music and style.. would he still be as good though??? we had seen Frank Sinatra on his last tour of Australia and while he could still do full justice to his slower love songs he couldn't belt it out like the Frank of previous tours.
Neil Diamond totally HELD his audience from the moment he stepped onto the stage, it could be said that he played us like a fine old violin for the entire time he was on stage, it could be said too that the excellent sound crew AMP'D up his voice a bit... but there was never the slightest hint of any waver in it.
Neil performs with "his" band and they are a fine group of musicians too, a fact that hadn't registered with me until tonight is that he was born in 1941.... the man is 70 years of age... he looks perhaps half that and he displays incredible stamina and talent as both a writer and performer.
He totally captured his 13500 audience and was applauded roundly for his efforts, the crowd were in the main... mature aged... that sounds so much better than old fogies doesn't it? but by the way some of them carried on they had got lessons in concert behavior from their kids... or maybe Grand kids.

I have included a couple of photos I found on the net and would ask that you compare them with the photos of Allan in the post below... is there a distinct likeness there or is it in my mind???

Friends come to visit.

2011-03-19T17:29:00.002+10:00

A visit by old friends

Lorna & Allan at my front door.

I had a very welcome phone call last week from my friends of some 45 years Allan & Lorna, suggesting that if I could pick them up from the airport they would come and spend a week with me, I jumped at the chance because we only catch up every 2 or 3 years now.
Allan was the BP agent at Barwon Heads when I worked for BP... many years ago... we became firm friends during that time and have maintained the friendship ever since
We have relived many of the happy times we've shared over this past week and decided that it still seems to be working so we might as well remain friends.

Here are the happy couple proudly displaying the congratulatory message from Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary, with family and friends from near and far gathered around them it was a grand occasion indeed... and it was 5 years ago now!!!!
These two are living proof that if you choose the right partner, raise 5 children, have 24 grandchildren and 9 great grand children, all of whom love you life becomes a pleasure to enjoy.

Is it safe to sell?

2011-03-09T23:31:00.003+10:00

My big Sister Merle suggested a topic for another post about Dad, Merle got it a bit wrong suggesting that Dad lost his wallet... several times.
In fact what happened was that when Dad and Ada finally agreed to "retire to the coast" I went down to their property at Rosewood to help with the arrangements for a clearance sale and property auction.
These sort of events tend to draw a fair crowd and we were kept busy with the sorting of things for the clearance sale, during the course of the morning I became chief negotiator between the auctioneer and Dad, I was roaming through Dads office when I spotted his "Safe" a small but very heavy document safe, "do you want to keep the safe Dad" I asked, after a brief pause he said "no I'm not likely to have any need of it now, do you want it Son?" "no I don't have anything of value that needs to be kept in a safe" I said.
"Okay put it in the sale then" said Dad, I queried whether it was empty and where the keys were as well as the combination for the lock, Dad assured me it was empty as he gave me the key and combination, my first quick look agreed that it was empty but as I stood up I noticed a small drawer built into the top of the interior, curiosity made me pull this drawer open and much to my surprise there was a bundle of bank notes totaling $1000.
I put this money in my pocket and went to find Dad, "are you sure there's nothing in that safe?" I asked, "of course I'm sure" said Dad, "well I just rescued this money from it" I said, after some sputtering Dad agreed that he must have forgotten about putting it there, he grabbed the roll and pushed it into his pocket, he was sitting in an old armchair at the time.
I left him there and went to arrange for the safe to be put into the sale line up, at about this time the auctioneer suggested that I ask Dad to come out so he could introduce him to the crowd.
As Dad stood up to comply I noticed a wad of bank notes by his side, he had missed his pocket and shoved them down alongside him when I had given them to him before.... "You seem pretty determined to get rid of this cash" I said, he made a grab for the money and made quite sure he got it into his pocket this time, giving it an extra pat for luck when I said "if I find it a third time you will never see it again".
From memory the safe sold for about $80 so the $1000 bonus when they opened their new safe would have been a great bonus.
Within a couple of weeks of the property sale they were settled into a lovely unit at the Gold Coast where they enjoyed a short retirement before old age came along and took them both away.

A post from the past.

2011-03-06T09:53:00.004+10:00

Its Autumn (Fall) here in Australia and I'm still struggling for something to write a post about, this has been going on for months now and if I didn't love blogging and my network of blogging friends I would have just given up by now.
Instead I'm going to reach back into my memory chest and see what I can make of an old story, memory is a funny thing as no doubt a lot of you know already, I can walk from one room to another and upon arrival have no idea why I'm there sometimes (too often over the past few years!) but I have a quite serviceable long term memory.

Dad and I not long before we lost him.

I have decided on a story about my Dad to see if that will regenerate my incentive to write, I am going to tell you a true story if it sounds familiar to some long term readers that is because I have posted it before, I hasten to say however that this is not a re-post but a new telling of an old tale, I for one will be interested to see how similar they turn out to be.
The link above will take you to my previous telling of this tale it was a chapter of ICWAB (I could write a book) about my Dad.
This all happened a long time ago, in another lifetime in fact, one in which my Dad was still alive and I was happily married (or believed I was anyway).
Two of my very industrious cousins on my Dads side of the family had organized a family reunion at Sale in Victoria which had been the hub of the family network since my great, Grandfather settled there, I am purposefully avoiding dates here as these are not part of the things I remember clearly.
Dad was living in Queensland, some 1000 miles away from Sale, but was never-the-less keen to attend, he asked me to go with him, while I was not very interested, when he showed disappointment at this news I decided that we should all join in the spirit of the reunion and go to it, I am very glad that I did this as I thoroughly enjoyed the event and renewed a lot of childhood friendships.
The next day at the Motel we had stayed at Dad asked me if I could drive him home, I assumed that he meant back to Shepparton where he was staying with my Sister Merle's home, I said sure I could drive him home and inquired about why... was he feeling sick or something? we eventually got to his real meaning... home to Queensland!!! and also to his reason, "Oh I thought you could keep the car for the return trip" he said.
It gradually dawned on me that he was offering me a 3 year old Mercedes Benz if I drove him home in it, once the "penny dropped" it didn't take long to accept his plan and about a week later we set off for Queensland.
The Mercedes was a 300D model, the D signified a diesel engine which in turn meant very economical motoring so some 500 miles up the track I announced that we needed to re-fuel, Dad who had insisted he would pay the trip expenses asked if we could make it to the next town as fuel there was cheaper there, another look at the fuel gauge told me this would be a foolish risk to take, when I told Dad this he said "OK then we'll put $10 worth in here and fill the tank at the next town."
Fuel was in fact cheaper by 2 cents a litre there so Dad felt quite justified in his decision and he saved about $1.00 on the deal, the fact that he was giving away a $40,000 motor car yet had gone to the trouble of saving $1 on fuel seemed perfectly reasonable to him, and who was I to argue with my benefactor???
Without incident we got Dad back to Queensland and eventually ourselves back to Maryborough and so began the many years of happy motoring in our Mercedes.

Julie with the Mercedes, not very flattering of Julie but the only photo I could find with the Mercedes

Not topical, just funny.

2011-02-23T00:52:00.003+10:00

I think I stole this from Kenju... Thanks, not that we are having snow here I just thought it was very funny

Could this be the answer to the age old question....

Why did the chicken cross the road???

Click to enbiggen.

I'll see your cyclone and raise you a hurricane!!!

2011-02-02T14:37:00.003+10:00

I'm not sure whether people of other parts of the world are familiar with the saying when your luck is all running bad... " Gheess I must have run over a chinaman my luck is so bad"????

Our neighbors in North Queensland could be forgiven for thinking that someone from there was responsible for wiping out the Ming Dynasty... there has been a constant battle with flood waters since Christmas and now the biggest Cyclone on record is about to cross the coast line, winds up to 300 Km per hour and 500 mm of rain coupled with a storm surge of up to 7 metres are expected.

To put this into some perspective for readers in the USA our cyclones are rated at category 1,2,3,4,5.Cyclone Yasi is currently 500 km of the coast just below Cairns it is a category 3 storm at present expected to become a category 4 or 5 as it crosses the coast, again for perspective a Category 4 storm delivers wind gusts of 260 - 290 km per hour and a 5 has gusts of 300km per hour plus.

This is a Huge storm with a 500 km front if it maintains its current speed the eye of the storm may take an hour to pass over with winds of 300 km per hour on either side of that hour.

I am not the full bottle of knowledge on either cyclones or the Northern hemisphere's hurricanes
but I believe a category 4 cyclone is the equivalent of a major hurricane but on a much larger scale IE a 500 km front, for a bit more perspective Queensland is a BIG State, its about 1600 km (1000 miles) from Cairns to Brisbane so while we will probably get some rain from it down this way we won't experience any major problems

I'm not real big on prayers but if you are at all that way inclined the good people of North Queensland could certainly do with any help they can get over the next 24 - 36 hours and beyond.

A New Bra.....

2011-02-01T17:23:00.003+10:00

Well what did he expect????

Dr. Calvin Rickson, a scientist from Texas A&M University has invented a bra that keeps women's breasts from jiggling and bouncing up and down and also prevents the nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in.

At a news conference, after announcing the invention, a large group of men took Dr. Rickson outside and kicked the s#&t out of him.

I'm just askin'

2011-01-29T09:57:00.001+10:00

Could this be the biggest mistake Man has ever made?

Just a footnote to my Australia Day post.

I know that Aussie Bush Etiquette is recognized throughout the civilized world but we all need to be reminded from time to time.

In General:

1. Never take an open stubby to a job interview...

2. Always identify people in your paddocks before shooting at them.

3. It's tacky to take an Esky to church.

4. If you have to vacuum the bed, it's time to change the sheets.

5. Even if you're certain you're included in the will, it's rude to take your ute and trailer to the funeral.

Eating Out:

1. When decanting wine from the box, tilt the paper cup and pour slowly so as not to bruise the wine.

2. If drinking directly from the bottle, hold it with only one hand.

Entertaining at Home:

1. A centrepiece for the table should never be anything prepared by a taxidermist..

2. Don't allow the dog to eat at the table, no matter how good his manners.

Personal Hygiene:

1. While ears need to be cleaned regularly, this should be done in private, using one's OWN ute keys.

2. Even if you live alone, deodorant isn't a waste of money.

3. Extensive use of deodorant can only delay bathing by a few days.

4. Dirt and grease under the fingernails is a no-no, it alters the taste of finger foods and if you are a woman it can draw attention away from your jewellery.

Theatre/Cinema Etiquette:

1. Crying babies should be taken to the lobby and picked up after the movie ends.

2. Refrain from yelling abuse at characters on the screen. Tests have proven they can't hear you.

Weddings:

1. Livestock is a poor choice for a wedding gift.

2. For the groom, at least, rent a tux. A tracksuit with a cummerbund and a clean football jumper can create a tacky appearance.

3. Though uncomfortable, say "yes" to socks and shoes for the occasion.

Driving Etiquette:

1. Dim your headlights for approaching vehicles, even if your gun's loaded and the roo's in your rifle sight.

2. When entering a roundabout, the vehicle with the largest roo bar doesn't always have the right of way.

3. Never tow another car using panty hose and duct tape.

4. When sending your wife down the road with a petrol can, it's impolite to ask her to bring back beer too.

Australia Day 2011

2011-01-25T21:01:00.000+10:00

Australia is an old land but a very young country the first white settlement was in 1788 by English mariners bringing a precious cargo of convicted felons to settle this vast land, the convicts were of course supported by a few free settlers and the military personnel necessary to control them.

The first fleet brought 778 new settlers to these shores, they landed at Botany Bay and established the colony at what is now Sydney.

Over the next 40 or 50 years they pretty much dispossessed the traditional land owners, the estimated 500,00o aboriginals who had been here for some 40,000 years, so it is very unlikely that their descendants join with us in celebrating Australia Day.

The 60 years after World War 2 saw our population soar from around 10 million to 21 million with immigration from just about every country on earth accounting for a huge proportion of it.
In the 223 years of white settlement we have established 6 States and 2 territories ranging from the huge State of West Australia which occupies almost one third of the continent to the tiny island State of Tasmania and the even tinier Australian Capital Territory which houses our capital city Canberra.

Our Eastern seaboard contains Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland with Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane as their capitals, a little more than two thirds of our population lives along this coastline.

The vast, mainly flat inland of the continent is known as "The Red Centre" it covers some two thirds of the land mass and is virtually uninhabited, with Alice Springs the unofficial "Capital" and the only town of any consequence.

That same deserted Red Centre does have an irresistible magnet for Australians who have any adventure in their souls, it contains pockets of beauty that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth,such places as Uluru, The Olga's, Palm Valley, Kings Canyon, Stanley Chasm, Ormiston Gorge,The Bungle Bungles and The Kimberley, my life is now complete because I have visited and loved these places.

Because I love poetry I am going to include two very different poems in this "Celebration" of Australia Day for 2011.

The first one is almost our anthem, it describes the feelings of our settlers as opposed to the memories of their previous homeland.

My Country

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes,

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running through your veins.

Strong love of grey-blue distance,

Brown streams and soft, dim skies-

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains,

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror-

The wide brown land for me.

The stark white ring-barked forests,

All tragic to the moon,

The sapphire-misted mountains,

The hot gold rush of noon,

Green tangle of the brushes

Where lithe Liana's coil

And orchids deck the treetops,

And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!

Her pitiless blue sky,

When, sick at heart, around us

We see the cattle die-

But then the grey clouds gather,

And we can bless again

The drumming of an army,

The steady soaking rain.

Core of my heart my country!

Land of the rainbow gold,

For flood and fire and famine

She pays us back threefold.

Over the thirsty paddocks,

Watch, after many days,

The filmy veil of greenness

That thickens as we gaze.

An opal heated country,

A willful, lavish land-

All those who have not loved her,

You will not understand-

Though Earth holds many splendors,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

Dorothea Mackellar 1885 – 1968.

The second one describes the sheer frustrations of living in "Outback Australia"

Oodna-bloody-datta

The bloody town’s a bloody cuss,
No bloody trams, no bloody bus.
And no-one cares for bloody us
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

Just bloody heat and bloody flies,
The bloody sweat runs in your eyes.
And if it rains, what a surprise
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

No bloody fun, no bloody games,
No bloody sport, no bloody dames.
Won’t even give their bloody names
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

No bloody clouds or bloody rain.
No bloody curbs no bloody drains.
The bloody council’s got no brains
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

The bloody goods are bloody dear’
A bloody buck for a bloody beer.
But is it good, no bloody fear
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

The bloody dances make you smile,
The bloody band is bloody vile,
They only cramp your bloody style
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

The best place is in bloody bed
With bloody ice upon your head,
You might as well be bloody dead
In Oodna-bloody-datta.

Author unknown

There is a slight overuse of the great Australian bloody adjective here to be sure, however we were left in no doubt by Mr. Anonymous as to his feelings, and that epitomizes the Australian way.

Clear vision at last.

2011-01-22T18:55:00.003+10:00

Hi all, its 7PM Saturday 22nd January here in Australia!

About 5 hours ago I had the cataract surgery on my left eye, I am delighted to say that the world has taken on a much brighter hue.... its early days yet but if the improvment I'm seeing now persists I'm going to be one very happy camper.

Australia day falls on Wednesday 26th, I'll try to get back for a jingoistic post for our national day.

"Wireless"

2011-01-16T01:01:00.005+10:00

Archaeology.

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Brit's, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story published in the New York Times: "American archaeologists, finding traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the British".

One week later, the state’s Dept of Minerals and Energy in Western Australia , reported the following:

"After digging as deep as 30 feet in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, Jack Lucknow, a self-taught Archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely F**k all. Jack has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Australia had already gone wireless."

Just makes you bloody proud to be Australian.

6 feet high and rising, so Johnny Cash sang.

2011-01-13T23:31:00.006+10:00

Catching up on the flood news... we didn't quite make the forecast levels here in Gympie but it was enough to keep the Highway closed thus forcing the postponement of my eye surgery... Saturday Jan 22nd is the date for it now.

I believe the rest of Australia and indeed the world is being made aware of the Queensland floods, its 21 days since Rockhampton in North Queensland and Emerald in Central Queensland began this seemingly never-ending rain induced nightmare.

One of the worst hit areas has been Toowoomba (the garden city) where 5 inches of rain in 30 minutes sparked an inland tsunami, a wall of water roaring down the hillside and taking whatever it came across with it, in the Lockyer Valley below Toowoomba, the towns, farm buildings and equipment hundreds of cars and sadly 15 people, there are still 43 people missing so it appears very likely the death toll will rise.

It is now the turn of Brisbane , the States capital, flood levels were predicted to equal the record set in 1974, in fact they have fallen short of this by about 1 metre but are never-the-less creating huge problems for Queensland and in fact all of Australia... this State is the foodbowl for much of our fresh food... Fruit and Vegetables, Beef Cattle etc. so with up to 75% of the State flood affected and Brisbane being the main market centre things are going to get scarce and expensive.

There are now floods in the 5 States that make up our Eastern Seaboard making this the wettest Summer on record in many places and there is still over 1 month of Summer to go.

I am finding it difficult to watch the round the clock TV coverage without a tear coming to my eyes when you hear of the sad events and the tales of incredible bravery that are coming out daily.

How highs the water Mamma?

2011-01-10T17:05:00.006+10:00

This post is coming to you from rain sodden and partially flooded Gympie

Please click on photos to enbiggen.

This is the view from my back porch taken with a 50mm lens (about the same as we see with the naked eye)

It looks a little more dramatic through a 300mm zoom lens, now the water shows up on both sides of the shed in the middle distance, this shed is 3 building blocks from my house and fortunately about 25 feet lower

The first business area to flood houses among other things a major telco office

The flood waters begin their relentless march up the main shopping precinct of town, in the 1999 flood the awning of the hotel on the corner was under water, so at this spot we can expect another 10 feet of water.

The low lying shops have been designed to be stripped completely bare before the inundation as stock and sales fittings are all removed.

These business people seem to accept the flood damage sometimes an annual event. although our last flood was in 1999 (Have I mentioned that 10 year drought before???)

Unlike most of the other towns and indeed areas that have made the news all over the world lately Gympie is quite hilly, this leads to deep floodwaters in the low lying spots and high and dry areas in the higher spots. The main shopping precinct is in fact the only place that has been rebuilt after each flood, surprisingly few homes are inundated simply because Gympie has been going through this for so long that almost all the most flood prone houses have been scrapped and as I mentioned before its not flat enough for the water to spread and lay for days, its usually drained away in a couple of days and life returns to normal quickly (except for those dumb shopkeepers who return time and again!!!)

This is where our last flood peaked, it will be interesting to see what we wake to tomorrow

This shopping centre has been built since the 1999 flood so it will be interesting also to see if they got it right here, the under store carpark, which is slate grey looks certain to get pretty wet but if the shops stay dry I guess they will call that a victory.

Gympie is on the national "Highway 1" which circumnavigates the country for an amazing 14,523 Kms, as has been the pattern for the last 100 years this highway is under water on both sides of town, one can't help but wonder (especially if one is a bit cynical about such things) just how much of the heartache that is about to befall Gympie and neighboring town of Maryborough might have been avoided had the "Green" population not prevented the building of the Traveston water storage Dam that had been planned for the Mary river????

The trucks that use the Bruce highway have been stuck near each of the places the highway has been cut.

Please join me in the fervent hope that my eye surgeon, who lives on the Sunshine Coast about 70 kms away does not get flood bound next thursday and can complete the cataract surgery I have scheduled for then.

I had a vision

2010-12-28T11:04:00.002+10:00

I hope that you all had a good Christmas and now as we head for the New Year I realized that I had not done an update on my eyesight.

First thing... my eye surgeon is very happy with my progress and has ordered his new BMW, delivery a few days after my left eye cataract surgery.

For about 10 years I have worn multi focal glasses, so the morning ritual of puuting on glasses so that I can find my way to the next room is well established, now however with no cataract and a new lens in my right eye (which has been my best eye for years) means that the glasses only serve to blur my vision, so I take them off, now I can see quite clearly through my right eye and as my left eye has been deteriorating for years I notice very little difference through it, the problems start to arise if I want to read something or even identify objects up close, for these I need glasses (and probably always will) now the thick strong lens for my left eye takes over while the pre-existing lens for my right eye is too strong, you will by now have become aware of my problem (you may also have noticed that I am in the middle of constructing the longest run-on sentence either of us has ever seen) without my glasses I tend to squint my left eye and use mainly my right eye, while the situation reverses when I put my glasses on... then I tend to squint my right eye, when you add to this situation the further complication that as I have worn glasses constantly for so long now my face feels naked without them and has created its own solution to this... it now feels as though I have glasses on, whether I have or not!!! so you can see (better than I probably) that the return of my long sighted vision has its very own set of complications, I now look forward to January the 13th when my left eye surgery is due.... an especially the month or so afterward s before I can have my reading glasses replaced with more suitable lenses, I also look forward to the time that I have to carry glasses wiih me all the time but not conveniently located on my face.

Well that's my try at the long run-on sentence and also the explanation of where my vision is at, thanks for reading (if anyone did) and may 2011 treat us well.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T22:24:00.004+10:00

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

to all who visit here

The Weather

2010-12-20T23:21:00.000+10:00

After 10 long years of drought (significantly less rainfall than normal) throughout most of Australia it is now approaching our wettest Spring/Summer on record in much of that same parched land of such a short time ago.
It seems that as soon as "Climate Change" became part of our language and we were promised less rainfall, global warming, melting polar caps, rising sea levels... we have had weather changes.... record levels of rainfall with subsequent flooding.
Now I'm not sayin' they got it wrong.... I'm just sayin'!!!

Mysteries of life

2010-12-18T09:47:00.002+10:00

This is a Japanese School Bus

Pretty well equiped aren't they?

This is an Indian School Bus

So how come when I have trouble with my computer my Query goes to an Indian call centre?

There are Windows in that Apple

2010-12-13T12:19:00.003+10:00

Just a friendly reminder to anyone who isn't sure who's in charge!

Please click on picture to enbiggen.

F111 1973---2010

2010-12-09T22:25:00.001+10:00

After 37 years as the flagship of The Australian Air Force's fleet our F111 fighter-bombers are being retired from service, their replacement the FA18 Super Hornet has some big shoes to fill in the Australian public's eyes.

We have grown to love the F111 as they do a fuel dump-n-burn as a finale to most of the shows that feature a fly past of them,

I have read with interest that the replacement FA18 can not perform a dump-n-burn, it carries less payload, is slower, and has a shorter maximum range... I sure hope there is a plus side to this ledger.

I am reminded of one of my favourite A.B. (Banjo) Paterson poems.

MULGA BILL'S BICYCLE

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, "Excuse me, can you ride?"

"See here, young man," said Mulga Bill, "from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk - I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight.

There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight."
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,

That perched above the Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road.

He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But 'ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver steak,
It whistled down the awful slope towards the Dead Man's Creek.
It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks.

The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man's Creek.

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore:
He said, "I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five-pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet.
I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it's shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still;
A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill."

Written by A. B. (Banjo) Paterson.

Rural Fire Fighting

2010-12-06T21:41:00.009+10:00

Once again holtieshouse takes pride in bringing you the very
latest news from our land down-under.

One dark night in the small town of Woopwoop, W.A,
a fire started Inside the local sausage factory. In a
blink the building was engulfed in flames.
The alarm went out to all the fire departments for
miles around.
When the first volunteer fire fighters appeared on the
scene, the sausage company president rushed to the
fire chief and said, 'All of our secret sausage recipes
are in the vault in the center of the plant. They have
to be saved, so I will donate $50,000 to the fire
company that brings them out and delivers them to
me.'
But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon
more fire departments had to be called in because the
situation became desperate.
As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that
the offer to extricate the secret recipes was now
$100,000 to the fire department that could save them.
Suddenly from up the road, a lone siren was heard as
another fire truck came into sight. It was the fire
engine of the nearby Baringa volunteer fire
department composed mainly of Aboriginal
fire fighters over the age of 65.
To everyone's amazement, the little run-down fire
engine, operated by these Aboriginal firefighters,
passed the fire engines parked outside the plant, and
drove straight into the middle of the inferno. Outside,
the other firemen watched in amazement as the
Aboriginal old timers jumped off and began to fight
the fire as if they were fighting to save their own lives..
Within a short time, the Baringa old timers had
extinguished the fire and saved the secret recipes.
The grateful sausage company president joyfully
announced that for such a superhuman
accomplishment he was raising the reward to
$200,000, and walked over to personally thank each
of the brave elderly Aboriginal firefighters.
A TV news crew rushed in after capturing the event
on film. The 'on camera' reporter asked the
Aboriginal fire chief, 'What are you going to do with
all that money?'
'Well,' said Chief Billy Cokebottle, the 70-year-old fire
chief, 'de first ting we gonna do is fix dem brakes on
dat farkin old truck, eh!!'

Advertising at its best.

2010-12-03T22:50:00.004+10:00

You are never likely to get a better chance than this for a bargain!!!!

Willard is obviously a professional Car Parts man.

TSA body scanner radiation.

2010-11-27T19:10:00.003+10:00

"Traveling Underwear"

For those who know me it will come as no surprise that I don't fly often, I much prefer to drive when I travel as it makes it so much easier to visit Family and Friends along the way.

So it came as a bit of a shock to learn that there is now on the market special underwear for frequent flyers, while my driving may not be perfect it certainly doesn't require any special underwear so I'm gonna stick to driving.

Inventor Jeff Buske has said he has created new clothing products that should protect flyers from TSA body scanner radiation. Additionally, the new bras and underwear should help flyers who want to keep their private parts a mystery.

Dubbed "Rocky Flats Gear," Buske says he does not care about the politics of the situation, but instead wants to protect citizens from unwanted radiation.

Women can wear special bras or underwear, and men can wear underwear with a fig leaf design that has properties that will block radiation.

The flexible metals will not trip detectors.

Buske has also made it clear that while the fig leaf will hide your genitals it will not hide a weapon or other items from the scanners.

Not too sure about this... when the inventor uses "should" twice in the opening paragraph instead of "will".

Blogging... and other addictions

2010-11-20T13:35:00.005+10:00

I find it amazing how this "Blogging" thing seems to wind its way into the very deepest parts of our beings and resurface after we have virtually given up on it.

I have been suffering the greatest "writers block" that I've ever known for the last few weeks, so much so that I had decided that my career as a blogger was over.... but something??? kept pulling me back to "holtieshouse" and kept me browsing through my favourite blogs, I have mentioned before that my sidebar bloglist shows that a lot of us after 3 or 4 years seem to give up blogging or at least become very irregular with our posts.

I was surprised and delighted to see that one of my favourite bogs has been given the kiss of life, I'm talking about Lightning Bugs Butt if you feel like a chuckle or want to laugh out loud Rich will seldom disappoint you, so all I need now is for a few more of my friends to resume blogging to give me the incentive to blog again... so how about it Pamela, Jamie Dawn, WT and the others we all enjoyed reading so much.

A Proper Post

2010-11-12T20:41:00.002+10:00

It seems like such a long time since I did a proper post... So here is one,

Its a huge old gatepost at Dixons Creek, that's where we lived for the first six years of my life, the post is adorned by our cat named Streaky who was born not long after me... so he would be a bit over 70 if he hadn't gone to cats heaven about 60 years ago.
Hope you all enjoyed this post!!!

Just a quick catch-up post.

2010-11-10T22:51:00.003+10:00

Where does the time go?? I can't believe its two weeks since I attended Anne's funeral as I said in my last post Sad Times.... those of you who know me will understand my reluctance to agree when Keith asked if I would be the first to speak at the church.

With my in-built dislike of public speaking and my tendency to choke up and become incoherent at times like that the results were by no means assured of success, again I must say that to pay a tribute to a lovely lady was an honour and something I just couldn't refuse to do.

Afterwards I had several people comment about the words I said so it must have come out OK.

The trip down did give me another chance to spend some time with my sister Merle and also to catch up with my Son Marcus and his family who have just moved back to Victoria from WA, they have settled in the very nice little town of Ocean Grove, near Geelong so as this is only about one third of the distance that WA is from Queensland who knows I might even see a bit more of them.

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my eye surgeon, just to finalise a date to have the first cataract surgery, wish me luck!!!

Sad times

2010-10-25T11:33:00.005+10:00

Its Springtime in Gympie and once again the Jacaranda trees are in bloom,
I'm about to leave this lovely view that greets me each time I step out the
front door, sadly I am flying to Victoria to attend the funeral of a dear friend.

The photo below was taken a couple of years ago in much happier times.

Keith was my best man and Anne was Jacqui's bridesmaid when we married
way back in 1956... so you can see these are very long term friendships.
Sadly Anne passed away yesterday morning losing her brave battle with
cancer, as so many do.
I don't handle funerals at all well, my emotions have a habit of bubbling to
the surface, but for friends of the caliber of both Keith and Anne I couldn't
not attend.
The tears are already rolling down my cheeks as I type.....
FAREWELL DEAR FRIEND... RIP

Fun Monday

2010-10-18T13:26:00.001+10:00

Now let me see... I've been going to do a post for Fun Monday... but for one reason or another I keep putting it off... there must be a single word explanation for this...PROCRASTINATION.

And our Fun Monday host for the month of October has set this as the topic for the week so you had best get a start on as there's no way of telling how long it might take!!!
I hope that Faye will forgive me for using her Maxine example... its just SOO right.

Now if procrastination ever becomes an Olympic event you are looking at a potential World Champion right here, I have been putting off or postponing things for so long now that it takes a conscious effort to decide to get out of bed each morning and from that time on throughout the day for each chore or task I have to do.

It seems to me that the best method of avoiding putting things off is to convince yourself that you really want to do ... whatever it is you are post-poning, we are far less likely to post-pone something we enjoy doing... good luck with convincing yourself that you enjoy weeding the garden or washing the car!!!!

I believe that procrastination is born out of laziness but develops far beyond mere apathy the longer we practice it, as an example of this.... I can quite easily put off washing the dishes for a week at a time (some time back I purchased an extra set of dishes as I was running out of plates before I was ready to wash-up) now I look at this as dedication to the cause... PROCRASTINATION Rules!!!!!

Fun Monday

2010-10-12T13:01:00.000+10:00

Fun Monday is hosted this month by Faye's Summit Musings

While at times when I travel I lead a mildly exciting life if proof of my normal mundane existence is required a quick glance at the adornments on my refrigerator doors will surely be sufficient.

Sitting on top of the fridge is one of my heroes Steve Irwin 'the crocodile man" while on the doors starting from the top; The manufacturer "Kelvinator" gets pride of place, a strange little magnetic button asking that we call health @13 HEALTH, having never made the call I'm not sure what the result would be, Energex (who were my electric power suppliers at one time) were good enough to supply information about why my supply was temporally unavailable and just what I should do about it, Next comes a little sign that says "The older I get the better I cook" this is a total lie and deserves no further comment, centre stage is a magnet in the shape of a rooster adorned with "cockado-odle-doo" until his battery ran flat he used to make a similar noise to this... he is clasping a small "belly button duster brush" a gift for "The person who has everything", beneath this is an old exercise chart dating back several years to when I was still able to do exercises, a magnet supplied by the caravan park that I called home for about 3 years away back when I had a heart that could be broken, finally on the freezer door there is a thing about politics... you know, Socialism "you have two cows and you give one to your neighbor" etc etc.
On the door of the fridge there are two magnets from financial advisory firms, I don't recall whether I took advice from either or both of them suffice to say I have very little money so perhaps they are the reason for this? next there is a magnet showing my grandson Daniel during the time he played AFL football for Geelong, the final magnet is probably the only one I have looked at recently and its from "Eagle Boys Pizza" an often times meal choice.

Just for comparison This is my sister Merle's fridge, I'm not going to describe or explain any of it and I'm sure Merle wouldn't either.

Happy Fun Monday Please check out other players at Faye's.

The "Indian Pacific"

2010-10-10T12:12:00.001+10:00

Hot off the press here is the latest report from your roving reporter, leaving no stone unturned your intrepid reporter brings you the very latest news from "Broken Hill" NSW, this is the home town for the giant resources company Broken Hill Propitiatory (BHP Billiton).... not that that has anything to do with this story but it is the reason the town exists.
As we did a tour of the town we saw at the railway station the famed "Indian Pacific" this famous train travels between Sydney in the East and Perth in the West twice a week a distance of 4352 km each way, this train was huge, over a mile long with 2 giant diesel /electric locomotives to haul it.
The "blogger" in me immediately knew that I must capture some images of this monster for you.. my readers....

Here she sits with power pulsating from the 2 giant engines while a mile of luxurious carriages coil around 3 bends in the line behind them.

I knew that in my effort to record this amazing event I would need to find a suitable site.

As luck would have it we came across this seemingly ideal spot

From this elevated position I would record the passing of the famous train.

As a whistle sounded in the distance I gazed into the setting sun and with camera at the ready prepared to take the shots of a lifetime.

What happened next was to put it mildly a bit of an anti-climax... around the bend crept the largest freight train I have ever seen.... sure it had the same "Indian Pacific" logo emblazoned on its two engines and it was at least a mile long but it just wasn't THE Indian Pacific I had waited for.... to add insult to injury by this time it was getting quite dark up on my perilous perch so I had to admit defeat and settle for some railway image for the blog.

Peterborough Railway Museum

2010-10-08T16:28:00.000+10:00

The small SA town of Peterborough has a railway history probably unequaled in the world??? In the early days of railroads in Australia we embraced several rail line widths (gauges) the most common of which were defined as; Narrow, Standard, and Broad gauge.
Peterborough was established as the place where the trains using all 3 gauge lines would meet for maintenance, distribution of freight and passengers swapping from one line to another.
Rather than go about this in a slipshod method the railway commissioners of the day employed an American engineer by the name of Webb to design the necessary marshaling yards and workshop facilities, he did an excellent job with a turntable designed to move a locomotive to any of the 10 sheds in a "roundhouse" design on any of the 3 gauges in use.
In these service bays any necessary repairs or maintenance could be done either from pits below the loco or carriage or from raised ramps in other sheds, at the height of its use the Peterborough yards were handling up to 103 trains per week with all and any railway work done on site.

This old aerial view of the workshops and marshaling yard gives some idea of the size and complexity of the area

At the heart of this complex was the turntable which could distribute locos to any of the ten shed via the correct gauge lines that crisscrossed the yards.

This loco sits on a raised track and also has a pit beneath it so that work could be done from above or below it.

Another example of the servicing pit below a loco.

Some of the many display locomotives depicting early railway days.

Including a 1932 Morris sedan modified for rail use, transport for inspectors doing line checks or visiting dignitaries, seen behind is a small rail scooter for maintenance crews to use between jobs.

A fine example of a first class carriage built in 1920, complete with leather chairs and a piano.

With ornate pressed metal ceilings and high set leadlight windows this carriage was from 1907.

I hope you found something of interest here, there is a follow up on the modern "Indian Pacific" to come... stay tuned.

Kalgoorlie WA Superpit.

2010-10-01T13:50:00.000+10:00

There is a historic town in WA called Kalgoorlie, it rates with the best of them when it comes to gold production and it is still producing at this time unlike some of our other very rich veins which have run out of viable deposits.

An Irish miner by the name of "Paddy Hannan" was the man who discovered gold in Kalgoorlie, the main street in town is named Hannan Street in his honor.

This mine "Poppet Head" takes pride of place at the top end of Hannan Street.

Also located nearby is the "Superpit" the enormous hole that has been carved from the gold bearing reef, this comes complete with roadways used by the giant (150 Tonne payload) trucks that bring the reef as it is shattered by explosive charges up to the surface.

As can be seen these roadways provide a fairly steep climb out of the pit

West Australia's Wildflowers.

2010-09-28T21:06:00.003+10:00

There is an infinite variety of wildflowers in WA they love the sandy soil and the hot summer weather.

"Bottlebrush" A common plant also used extensively as a street tree planting in many cities and towns.

The black Kangaroo Paw is a lot less common than the Red/Green variety.

Daisies of every shade are plentiful.

There are also many varieties of Banksia, all very spectacular.

Above are just a small sample of what are on natures display list each year during springtime, hope you enjoy these photos, all will enbiggen if you click on them.

The Pinnacles WA.

2010-09-25T22:30:00.004+10:00

The promised/threatened post about our trip to the Pinnacles!!!

Located 180 km north of Perth near the small township of Cervantes is the fascinating area known as "The Pinnacles" these limestone outcrop vary in size from needle like 2/3 inches to 15 foot high monsters, there are theories aplenty as to what causes them in this one area but as these are only theories I'm not going into them here, suffice to say there are thousands of them spread over about 100 acres.

This is on of the tallest at about 15 feet while the one alongside is about 6 feet tall but much bigger around the base.

They can occur in clusters of similar sized outcrops or as individual specimens.

We traveled in 2 cars as a family group to see the pinnacles and had a very pleasant day out until almost home when Alan's car ceased to function when the regulator on the alternator burned out allowing the battery to overcharge and overheat, while we waited for roadside assistance it got quite cool so rugs and jumpers came from everywhere.
This information is offered as an explanation for the attire in the previous post and it marked the end of a very pleasant family day out.

Holy Holtie Batman

2010-09-23T22:45:00.007+10:00

We met up with a very wise and holy man on return to Perth after a trip to The Pinacles (blog post to follow).
While the content of the video clips is exceptional I must apologize in advance for the fact that the camera was turned to the "Portrait" view during the filming and there seems to be no way to remedy this, if you are viewing on a laptop you can turn the computer on end!!!!!!

After some considerable practice a casual "hair flick" was achieved much to the delight of the viewing audience.

Seen while traveling.

2010-09-23T00:50:00.000+10:00

From here and there while traveling.

Wazza "On the rocks"

Peter "On the rocks"

Wildflowers... lots more to come.

It was a gift from Vicki so I had to wear it... please enbiggen!!!

Costal wildflowers.

Canal Rocks , near Margaret River in WA

Wildflowers

Kangaroo paw, the king of the smaller wildflowers

Wattle.. there are hundreds of varieties and countless bushes, trees and shrubs.

More coastal wildflowers.. still heaps to come.

The famous Busselton Jetty WA

Wazza surfing on Wave Rock WA, this rock "wave" is about 50 feet high and very spectacular.

The Wedding

2010-09-20T00:37:00.006+10:00

The wedding has all happened and it was a grand success Aimee was a beautiful bride and she and Luke made a very handsome couple, the service was good, the weather was excellent, the reception was a great night and all's well with the world.

Please click on photos to enbiggen them.

The Groom and Bride, Luke and Aimee.

Proud parents Alan and Lyn with Aimee and Luke.

An equally proud grandparent with the Bride and Groom.

Cutting the cake which consisted of scores of iced donuts, one of Aimee's favourite foods.

Jacqui (another proud grandparent) with our son Marcus in front of a beautiful sunset over the Marina at Hilary's Beach in Perth WA.

Paula and Bruce (youngest son) same lovely sunset.

And where else would this post finish but with my favourite Daughter Vicki.

Getting closer!!

2010-09-13T11:22:00.003+10:00

While we were in Adelaide we decided to go for a short trip down to the Fleurieu Peninsular
which is a quite scenic area with coastal scenery and a very good wine grape growing reputation.
The main town there is Victor Harbor so we timed our arrival for lunch time with the plan that Warren could sample the local specialty "King George Whiting" this fish is known as the fighting
whiting and is a real fighter on a fishing line as well as being one of the best table fish.

We were delighted to sight the Victor Fish Shop shown in the photo above.

Again we were pleased to see their sign declaring that they were runner up in the best Fish'n
Chips Outlet in SA... not quite so pleased to see that this happened back in 2003.
We went inside and joined a queue awaiting service... awaiting service... awaiting service... awaiting service... now I am a very keen advocate of Fish'n'Chips but my patience was finally exhausted after a ten minute wait without any acknowledgment of our existence or, perish the thought... taking of our order, I spied a Subway sandwich shop opposite and told Wazza I would see him outside when and if he got served!!!!
I had time to locate a shop that sold batteries for my pocket camera fit the same to the camera, order and be presented with a toasted Subway and still beat Wazza out of the shop... enough said... I know why they were only Runner up in the competition!!!

Here is Wazza enjoying his Whiting and Chips which he said was very nice.. the chips were, I know because I stole some!!!

While on the subject of Fish and Chips here is my giant serving at the Wudinna Hotel where we dined last night... it was every bit as good as it looked too.

The dinner was a good chance to catch up with Grandson Daniel and his lovely wife Jana who will in January next present Daniel with their first child, Vicki with her third grandchild an me with my third Great grandchild... we are all looking forward to this with great anticipation.

It is great to see that the very good crops I have spoken of through Qld. NSW. and Vic. have extended into SA as well this photo and the next one are at Daniels and Vicki & Rex's

Speaking of my favourite Daughter here she is , and I'm delighted to say that she is in excellent health after the adventure filled 6 weeks tour of the USA, I had some concerns that this might be too much of a strain on her.

There is another new addition to her family, a lovely X3 BMW wagon... Rex headed for Adelaide in it just after we arrived so we didn't get a chance to drive or study it closely yet.

September 11

2010-09-12T14:38:00.004+10:00

I was intending to address this remembrance post to my many American friends but on reflection decided it was pertinent to people everywhere!!!!!
May the terror of 9/11/01 never be repeated, May the world remember the innocent deaths, May we keep a permanent place in our hearts for the victims and heroes of that day.

Lest We Forget.

We have a winner!!!

2010-09-08T16:02:00.002+10:00

After almost 3 weeks of negotiation/bribery our three independent Members of Parliament have cast their votes and we once again have a government in Australia, one has sided with the opposition and two with the government giving Julia Gillard the job as Prime Minister by the narrowest possible margin, I forecast some pretty tough times ahead for our first female PM

A political statement.

The trip continues tomorrow when we head for Adelaide... stay tuned.

Not quite marooned.

2010-09-06T10:19:00.004+10:00

The three wise monkeys (See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil.)

There seems to be a conspiracy to keep us in Victoria at the moment, I'm not sure my sister would be involved in the conspiracy (after all we've been here for 6 days!!!!) there have been drought breaking rains right throughout Victoria with lots of flooding ranging from minor to serious dependent on location.
This has resulted in a lot of road closures but it seems that our next chosen destination will be okay when we leave Merle's tomorrow, there may be photos to follow it depends how close we get to floodwaters.
There has been a unanimous vote that this visit was a good one, that's always good to know!!

Visiting Family and Friends

2010-09-02T19:31:00.003+10:00

Click on photos to enbiggen

Merle and I... and she calls me little brother!!!

Some bloggers will recognize Jan.

My wee friends Keith and Anne.

Cousin Gordon is the oldest living member of my dads family line.

A tourist paddle wheeler on Lake Mulwalla on the NSW/ Vic. border.

The trip continues

2010-09-01T20:58:00.004+10:00

Click photos to enbiggen.

An interesting cloud formation that adorned our sky today.

The trip is still on schedule and we are now at my sister Merle's at Shepparton, for those who read Merle's Blog will know that she has not been well lately, but I am pleased to report that she is much better than she was a few weeks ago... still has plenty of aches and pains and very limited energy but the fighting spirit seems to be coming back.
By comparison to sunny Queensland its a bit bleak here in Victoria, but spring is in the air so we are looking forward to some improvement in the near future.

I made mention of the fact that Bourke was located in our OUTBACK, this was our accommodation at the Kidman Camp... it began its life as a shipping container thus its width was only 8 feet to allow for road transport, the veranda attachment added to its visual appeal.

While the interior was pretty basic and a bit cramped it provided the needed place to sleep if not much else!!!!

The Outback!!!!

2010-08-31T22:13:00.000+10:00

On this trip we have intentionally gone "off the beaten track" a little so after our visit to the "Gully Pub" we headed for a town known throughout Australia as the start of the true outback, the town is Bourke NSW which boasts the saying "back of Bourke" which translates to Beyond the Black Stump or WAY OUTBACK.
Apart from being a long way from most of the rest of Australia Bourke was "the end of the line" for the paddle steamers which carried the huge wool clip down the Darling River to the rail line at Echuca Vic. The Darling has always been a river that has been very much affected by the seasons often drying up into a series of billabong's before the next good rains brought the water level up to navigable levels.
These good rains have already fallen in 2010 so while the paddle wheelers no longer ply the river there is a substantial amount of water in the Darling, in fact in all the rivers and creeks throughout the area, in turn this has given the surrounding country a green gloss that has been missing for the last decade

The "Outback" is looking great with the coming of Spring there are Wattles in bloom everywhere

The 3 level wharf at Bourke allowed loading of the paddle wheelers regardless of the river height

The fields of brilliant Yellow denote a bumper season in the making for Canola Crops

A sight to gladden the heart of an old river man... The Darling running a banker!!!

Tripping with Wazza and Frank (Sonata)

2010-08-30T21:11:00.001+10:00

Day one saw us at our pre-chosen destination "The Nindigully Pub" in outback Queensland, the town of Nindigully (population 9) is home to the Gully Pub this pub holds the oldest liquor license in Queensland.

This pub is the epitome of Australian humor and the elevated position we gladly bestow on our pubs, the meals here are legendary as some of the photos will show, the specialty hamburgers are a trademark of the Gully Pub and are designed to feed between 4 and 14... dependent on appetite.

For those of you who are not familiar with the State of Queensland's shape the first large hamburger is presented in a bread roll in the shape of the State.

This is the "Queenslander Burger" which seemed quite capable of feeding about 10!!! there was a story attached to this particular burger which we knew nothing of until the next morning.... the couple pictured cutting the burger had been married at the pub some hours earlier and had been presented with the Queenslander as a wedding present by the publican... A wedding to remember!!!

This was one of a pair that fed a table of 10 people.

The humor extended to the toilet block where this sign adorned one end of the urinal!!!

Among the variety of "decorations"there is an enviable collection of Bushmans Hats, as well as a bar towel that try's to decide just what is Man's best friend, his dog or a Fourex Gold Beer???

This couple chose to order two "Mixed Grills" there were 2 of each component ie 2 chops, 2 sausages, 2 steaks, 2 fried eggs, 2 rashers of bacon as well as vegetables... me-thinks they should have ordered ONE!!!

Here is the Nindigully Pub, a touch over 140 years old and still licensed to sell liquor.

Warren chose an eye-fillet steak with mushroom sauce, another sizable serve!!!

Warren is seen here waiting for the "Free Beer" which was served "Yesterday"


I wish Wazza had warned me he was about to shoot... perhaps I would have smiled, my meal was "Gully Spare Ribs on Potato bake.. very tasty..

The Start of another trip

2010-08-27T17:40:00.000+10:00

For any regular readers... (do I have any of these left??) it will come as no surprise to learn that I set off once again minus an important piece of equipment!!!!!!
After completing several laps of the house and deciding that I had not forgotten anything, away I went, arriving at Wazza's place (180 km from home) we very soon discovered that when I disconnected the MacBook I had left the magnetic cable and transformer behind, inquiries to Apple produced some good and some bad news, the good news was that they could supply a replacement, the bad news was that it would cost $99.00.
Some quick map study revealed that to return to Gympie and then rework day one from there would only add about 300 km and with Frank's very good economy this will only cost about $30.00 so tomorrow we will start out a bit earlier than we had planned and go via Gympie.
Before anyone offers the inevitable advice that I compile a list AND read it before leaving.... I did both of these things its just that my list didn't include Computer AND cables... you know the story about making things idiot proof.... Well I'm a better idiot than previous models!!!!!
No photos yet perhaps over the next few days???

We thought we had an erection

2010-08-22T13:30:00.000+10:00

I awoke this morning to hear the news that Australia had a "hung parliament" in the midst of my rejoicing because I felt this was what our parliament fully deserved for the poor performance levels and the dismal campaigning over the last 5 weeks I was to discover that this simply meant that we... the people of Australia had been unable to select a clear winner to put in charge of our nation for the next few years.
We can now look forward to a week or so of nervous negotiations between the two major parties and the four elected independents who will be cajoled and bribed to throw in with either Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott, ah the joy of watching the political system at work!!!!
On a much brighter note Wazza and I will be leaving for our extensive trip next Saturday 28th, hopefully there will be stories and pictures to follow.

A mixture of this and that.

2010-07-31T00:13:00.002+10:00

G'day all, I am pleased to report that my"cut and paste" eye surgery seems to have been successful, TV or Computer screens are still a bit blurred at times but I think the worst is over now, the surgeon was quite pleased with the healing progress when I saw him today, so if he's happy so am I.
I had a visit from an old friend from my days as a "farmer" in Maryborough Vic. John and his charming new (to me) partner Barbara located me, we had completely lost touch after we both went through divorce's, we recalled many good times and funny incidents through the bottom of a variety of glasses and bottles over a fun filled 3 days.
John and Barb are on their way up to Cape York (that's the pointy bit at the top right of a map of Australia) which is one of the best "Four Wheel Drive" adventures in Australia, its another 3000 klm North of Gympie and the adventure part kicks in not long after you leave Cairns, there is almost 1000 klm of gravel road, or track dependent on how far North you are, most of this is corrugated and pretty destructive on vehicle suspension/tyres and driver/passenger nerves, but the scenery and pristine isolation is well worth the effort.
I am envious of their coming adventure and I'm certain they will enjoy it, John is the one who first introduced me to four wheel driving and many of our reminiscences were of the trips we did.
While these are fresh in my mind I might even post some of them??? time will tell.
That said... I have been able to spend enough time at my inbox to come up with material for a post.
We are into the second week of a 5 week election campaign so you can imagine the plethora of political stuff that's around.... I won't bore you with a lot of it.

Always completely unroll your newspaper before reading the headlines

Cattle guards

Our Government at work!

For those who are not familiar with Outback Australian roads Cattle Guards (note; I have always referred to these as Cattle Grids) are horizontal steel rails placed over pits in the roadway at fence openings these effectively stop cattle from crossing them as they fear getting their feet caught between the rails.
Sometime ago PM Kevin Rudd received and was reading a report that there were over 10,000 cattle guards in NSW and Qld. Graziers (cattle and sheep farmers) had protested his proposed changes in grazing policies, so he ordered the Minister for rural affairs to fire half of the cattle guards immediately.
Before the Minister could respond, and presumably try to straighten him out, the Minister for employment Julia Gillard interrupted with a request that.... before any cattle guards were fired they be given 6 months of retraining.

This is our ex PM and the current PM folks and they run our country.

Editors note; according to Snopes.com this old chestnut has been around for a while Presidents Clinton and Obama have both been accused of the same thing... its still funny though.

The Scotsman

A salesman drove into a small town where a circus was in progress, he read a sign that urged "Don't miss Derick the amazing Scotsman" so he bought a ticket and sat down.
There on centre stage was a table with 3 walnuts on it, standing next to it was an old Scotsman. Suddenly the old man lifted his kilt, whipped out a large willy and smashed the 3 walnuts with 3 mighty swings.
The crowd erupted in applause and chaired the old Scot from the stage.
10 years later the salesman visited the same town and saw a faded sign for the same circus, sure enough there was the sign that said "Don't miss Derick the amazing Scotsman" he could hardly believe the old guy was alive, much less still doing his act, so again he bought a ticket, again the centre stage had the table, however, instead of walnuts, 3 coconuts were on it.
Again the old Scotsman stood beside it again he suddenly lifted his kilt and shattered the 3 coconuts with 3 swings of his amazing willy, again the crowd went wild.
The salesman requested a meeting with him after the show, "that act is incredible" he told the old Scot, "but you're older now why switch from walnuts to coconuts?"

"Well laddie" said the old Scot, "my eyes are nae whit they used to be!"

Hey! I'm not remotely interested.

2010-07-27T12:50:00.000+10:00

Have you noticed the ~~subtle~~ radical changes to our lifestyles since the iniquitous "Remote Control" device appeared some years ago?
No longer do we have to struggle from our comfortable Chair/Bed to bring about some miraculous change in what we are watching/listening to or even the temperature at which we do it.
The problem as I see it is that these little bastards have learned the seceret of reproduction and are breeding at an alarming rate while we blissfully sit/lie back and let them take over our lives.
The selection shown below is a sampling of those that have invaded/taken over my home, the 11 on the top row are to the best of my knowledge all hybrids that have come from their own breeding plan, whatever that may be... world domination??? I say this because I have no recollection of ever owning any piece of equipment bearing the name shown on most of these remotes.
The middle row shows the 8 units that inhabit my living room, I have made a sincere effort to combat the spread of feral remotes by purchasing a "universal" remote from which via the oft mentioned in this blog technology wizardry, assumes the functions of 5 of the other 6, this little genius is 5 from the left of the middle row.
The bottom row are the units that live in my bedroom/office and as far as I can tell are of a different feral tribe as they appear to have cannibalized one of their kind... no trace can be found of the small remote that used to live with my DVD player.
I have another small colony that live mainly in my car "Frank" of whom you shall be hearing more soon when Wazza and I take of for an epic trip covering more than half of Australia... stay tuned, meanwhile back on topic this colony perform tricks with Franks sound system, the camera equipment that lives there if there is a trip on, the clever little fellow who pays for my use of tollways... he uses MY money of course, not his own, as well as the known ones I have forgotten to list and the new crop of feral's that have undoubtedly occurred recently

I have published this information as a public service to warn any readers who may not be aware of this potential invasion on their lives by the "Remotians"

tap tap tap here I come

2010-07-22T09:38:00.000+10:00

Its about 48 hours since I had my right eye cut and paste and I thought you might like to see what the world looks like from my side!!

10 things I don't understand

2010-07-16T05:20:00.001+10:00

I have borrowed this from Susan a fellow blogger, thanks for the idea... I hope you don't mind.

Not that I'm suggesting there are only 10 things I don't understand... its more that these are 10 biggies.

(1) Computers, in fact technology in general;
This doesn't protect me from the impulse to want to get involved with each new idea that pops onto the technology horizon... well I have managed to resist the iniquitous Mobile (cell) phone.

(2) Women;
Now I'm not saying that I have anything against women, in fact if anything I am more than happy to spend time in their company... its just that I don't UNDERSTAND their thought processes or reactions to things that I find normal.

(3) Mathematics and Spelling;
How is it possible for there to be so many answers to any question that I apply my mind to and yet only one is correct... usually the one I didn't think of.

(4) Politics, on a local, national or world basis;
Is there a special "God" of politics that says that once elected all semblance of truth and decency must be abandoned?

(5) Dogs;
How can anything as loyal and intelligent as your average dog be sucked into believing that his master is worthy of the adoration that they give us?

(6) Aging, weight gain, hearing and vision loss;
I guess this is more a plethora of things against which I rebel than things I don't understand, surely in the overall plan of things there were better alternatives to... Mondays, Work, Aging etc!!!

(7) The distribution of wealth;
There is MORE than enough money in the world, its just that the HAVES and the HAVE NOT"S are separated by far too wide a gap.

(8) Blogging;
This one is a bit different to some of the others, I have a reasonable grasp on the mechanics of blogging what I don't understand is the emotional closeness it brings, to people we have never met and in most cases will never meet, who over a period of time become just as important to us as the "real" friends we have in our "real" lives.

(9) Airplanes and Ocean Liners;
Just how is it that anything the size and weight of a 747 or a ship laden with its full cargo can fly through the air or sail through a stormy ocean without falling/sinking... yeah I have a vague knowledge of flotation and aero-dynamics, but just let your mind play around with the improbability of these things!!!

(10) The World around us;
Whether you favour "Creation", "The Big Bang", "Evolution", or any other theory the amazing diversity of the plants, animals, natural weather patterns etc that surround us is beyond the comprehension of my mind, and I suspect yours too if you think about it.

(10a) Did I mention Women????

This was a project that I anticipated would probably take 30 minutes or so to complete but I found that the further I went the deeper became the water/thought process and the further from my original label of "humor" it became, so for now I'm not sure what label I'll use???
Maybe we'll go for "If it looks like a rose and smells like a rose......