Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Yesterday I drove Margaret and Joy to visit Araluen Botanical Gardens in the Hills above Perth.  Araluen is a wonderful spot and it is very popular with locals and visitors to this state.   The reason for our visit was to see the Tulip festival.  

                           A few pics here.....Click on the pics to enlarge them.

Take a look at its site here.

I have to admit that I am not really a flower person, but the extensive gardens, waterfalls and indeed the Tulips and other flowering plants and trees are impressive.  A couple of mother wild ducks shepherded their flock amongst the visitors.  A park warden told us that they will probably not survive too long with the wildlife in and around the park,  Sad!

Bad Parking

Just returned from a service station where I filled up with fuel.  In front of my car I watched a young Chinese guy having lots of problems getting fuel into his wagon.  A few litres had spilled onto the ground.  He hadn’t noticed the fuel hand piece didn’t fit into his filler....he was trying to put diesel into his petrol tank.  I yelled out to warn him and he slowly got the message and stopped.   Inside the servo he paid for 8 litres of diesel and I estimate 5 litres had managed to get in and mix with the petrol.  Big trouble now.

Yesterday at my local shopping centre I watched a woman park her 4WD over two parking bays.  She got out of the car, had a look at her parking, but didn’t think it was worthwhile backing out and having another go.  I took a photo with my phone. Not going to post it on this Bad Parking site.

Who do I vote for?

I am getting fed up with election politics with its Pork Barreling promises and half truths.   What to do?  I thought of giving my vote to the Greens, but they can only be, at best, a minor player in any government formed.  Their manifesto looks good...see it here.

The Greens can be a party to...’Keep the Bastards Honest’ which is a quote from The Democrats’ leader Don Chip.  Don has left us and The Democrats could well be considered a spent force.

In my electorate, Fremantle, the incumbent Labor Party candidate is certain to retain her seat.  Labor has held the seat without interruption since 1934, however the city of Fremantle has gone green and The Greens may pick up a few more votes this election.  

The Freo mayor has been very green, declaring Fremantle nuclear free and banning plastic shopping bags.

A tongue-in-cheek look at The Greens.....

Dr Rudi in Bali

Yesterday I had an eye examination prior to getting a new pair of specs.  The initial examination was retinal digital photos of my eyes to look at blood vessels, retina and optic nerve.   The woman operating the camera setup introduced herself as Faye.... I, with one of my lame jokes, asked if it was fait accompli. She replied, ‘no, it is Faye Jones’.  Confusion reigned and I had to get back in my box and shut up.  

Today I had a dentist appointment for a teeth descale and two small fillings.  I was in the chair for about 30 minutes and the bill came to $427. My health benefit fund  helped by subsidising the total with $256 and I ended up paying $170.

Whilst I was flat out on the dental lounge I noticed that I had my legs crossed and my arms folded.  I asked the young dentist if that was common.  It is common.  I recalled doing that every time I have been in dentists' rooms.  

Next time (if there is a next time) I will wait until I visit Bali again and have Dr Rudi do anything at around 20% of what Australian dentists charge.   It would have to be some major work to make the trip worthwhile.

At the moment there are airfare/accommodation deals for 5 days in Bali ex-Perth for around $600.   Might see if I can find someone to travel with and just jump on a plane.

Alone again

I am alone again. Yay!!    Our son has gone to Melbourne for a week’s break.  I had become used to being alone after my wife Joan’s death.  It is difficult living with someone other than your life partner.    My habits are quite different to my son’s.....mine are the good ones of course.

I must start looking for a rental unit for him even if I have to subsidise the rent each week.   When I was reading the diary of Anne Frank where eight people of different ages from two families spent two years in very close quarters having a few tanties over minor things, I saw myself.  Must try and relax about the things that get to me.

Helen and James invited me over for a seafood dinner last night.  Helen is every bit as good a cook as her mother.   Great food and good conversation.

Hung, drawn and quartered

I have a friend who is an ex-student of mine from Rockingham Senior High School around 1978.  We, and now I, have kept in touch with Sean over the years and we have stayed with his family, his lovely wife Denise and their kids Cody and Bae in Sydney and they with us when they return to W.A..   Sean recently asked me if I could look at his mother Penney’s stereo amplifier as it was making some strange noises.   Today, Penney dropped by and I managed to wave the magic wand over it and it now works well.     In actual fact I figured it was a build-up of carbon on the volume control and opened it up and blasted it out with compressed air.  All good!     I love those easy jobs!

As the population of this vast state increases we read of more violence from its citizens. Letters to the newspapers demand that the government ‘Bring back the birch’.  Others say that a return to harsher school discipline such as using the cane is needed.  Sorry, that just won’t work in these times.  Maybe the miscreants should be Hung, Drawn and Quartered.

Here is something I read today in The Writers Almanac.  Free subscription and a great daily read.

On this date in 1305, William Wallace was executed for treason in London. Wallace was a Scottish national hero. He'd fought unsuccessfully against the English for Scottish independence. In the 14th century, a convicted traitor was typically "hanged, drawn, and quartered": first he was dragged behind a horse to the execution site, which was often some miles away. Then he was hanged until he was nearly dead, at which point he was cut down and disemboweled; his entrails were often burned in front of him. At this point, he might be beheaded, and the final step — quartering — involved tying each of his limbs to four separate horses, which were then spurred to run in opposite directions.

A history book called The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I (1898) reports that Wallace was drawn — that is, dragged behind a horse — for treason, hanged for robbery and homicide, disemboweled for sacrilege, beheaded for outlawry, and quartered for "various depredations."

The Diary of a Young Girl

I have been re-reading the diary of Anne Frank.  It is a remarkable, well written story, told by a young girl about two families living in hiding in Holland in a secret hideout over a period of  two years until they were betrayed and transported.  Anne’s father was the only survivor from the camps of the eight people in hiding.   

 Her diary is a personal account of those two years in hiding, her personal thoughts and the inevitable difficulties of living in close contact with others. It was written as letters to her alter ego, Kitty.     Her diary ends abruptly with no indication that the hideout had been compromised.  Several investigations were held to address suspicions about who actually informed the Sickerheitsdienst (SD), but no single person was charged.  The diary having been published by this time, was probably the catalyst for investigations.  

A pleasant funeral

AB’s funeral went well with a large group of family, friends and three ex-pupils.

An ex-student of mine attended and it was great to catch up with him.  He is a relative of Bronwen and I did know that at the time I taught him.  Bronnie, or AB as she liked to be called, never married and spent most of her life teaching, travelling and mentoring friends and rellies.

Later in the day I helped a friend by doing a bit of lifesaving on his PC.  I am not into the Windows operating system, but downloaded a piece of ‘tuneup’ software to run on it and that seems to have worked.  His computer was being quite irrational and I didn't have much hope that this download was going to be a fix.            A trial version of AVG Tuneup is useable for just 24 hours.

My nearest shopping centre is in a nearby suburb which elicits quite a bit of scorn from non residents.  Yesterday I dropped into a small supermarket there to buy some supplies.  When I got home I realised I had lost my iPhone, having left it in the shopping basket.  I dashed back to the store and asked, with no real hope, if a phone had been handed in.  Bingo....it had.  A much relieved Kev tried to find out if the store manager got a name so that I could thank him/her, but he wasn’t available.  I will follow it up today.

Election Ho Hum

The run-up to the Australian Federal Election continues.  Candidates have been caught out showing poor knowledge of their party’s policies, making confused statements about topics such as refugees etc.  There should be a good selling DVD of the complete collection of faux pas statements made.  On second thoughts make one for each of the three main Parties’ muck-ups to ensure sales.

I guesstimate that about 80% of voters will vote how they always have, no matter what good policies opposition candidates espouse.  Followers of football clubs don’t suddenly change sides because of some scandal.    I am part of the rest of the population who actually considers the merits of announced policies and how they can be costed and votes accordingly...I hope.  At least I am willing to listen to all sides of the argument. We are what changes government at the ballot box and lots of people consider that a bit of flimflam.

RIP Bronnie

I have a funeral to attend this week.  It will not be a sad affair.  Bronwyn died yesterday at the grand old age of 104.    My friend Jack and I were taught by ‘Bronnie’ in grade six in the late 1940s.  She was an inspirational teacher, well liked by students and families.

Of recent years she was a resident in a nice residential nursing home where we visited her a couple of times.   On the occasion of her 100th birthday she remembered both of us, our siblings and parents. A later visit at around 102 years of age saw her struggling to remember us except that she knew that she had taught us.

I would think that it is pretty rare that a couple of 73 year olds would be attending their primary school teacher’s funeral who died at the age of 104.

 Bye Bronnie!

              Kev, Bronnie and Jack just 4 years ago on her 100th birthday

Who do you think you are?

A recent episode of “Who do you think you are?” on SBS TV was about a woman tracing her family back to the 1700s.    She has a Jewish background and I found it very interesting. 

Her family and indeed most of the Jews of Europe of the time, were persecuted by Christianity and Islam.   She began her search in Holland, which in the 18th century, was one of just a few nations that didn’t demand that Jews wore something to identify themselves.....  Shades of Nazi Germany in the 1940s

I don’t believe that either side of my family have Jewish roots, but I feel empathy with Israel.  History has treated Jews very badly and the state of Israel is not going to be dictated to by anyone.

Mel Brooks did a song and dance routine on ‘The Inquisition’ in his movie...History of The World Part 1.  

One verse........Hey,Torquemada, waddaya say?

                       I just got back from the Auto-da-fe´

                       Auto-da-fe´, what’s an Auto-da-fe´
                       It’s what you oughtn’t to do, but you do it anyway

Federal Election

The Australian Prime Minister yesterday announced the date for the Federal Election.  September 7th will see most Australians front up to schools and community halls throughout the nation to vote for a Prime Minister.   Voting in State and Federal elections is compulsory.

Australia doesn’t have presidential style elections, we vote for political parties, not personalities.....or that is how it is supposed to be, but there is no doubt in my mind that we will be voting ostensibly for a Prime Minister.   He will be the leader of the winning party.

Pundits tell us that the election will be decided in the eastern states of NSW and Queensland.   Because of the time difference between east and west Australia (2 hours at this time of year)  Western Australians don’t hold sway in elections, because in most elections we are still voting when the results are coming in from eastern states’ polling booths.

Thankfully the run up to the election/slanging match is relatively short. 

Ruby the observer

Daughter Helen invited me over (we live about 750 metres apart) for a drink and dinner last night.  He husband James is on a mine site at Boddington about 127 kilometres from Fremantle.  Helen and I are driving to the mine site on Saturday to deliver James his contact lenses.  James’ employer will not allow him to wear spectacles under safety glasses.

One of their two dogs, Ruby, likes to sit on a chair and watch the fish in their fish tank.  Ruby also drinks from an outside fish pond and the fish gather round her lapping.  Somehow they know that she is not going to snap at them.

                                                          click to enlarge

Meantime, in the fish tank, there is a bit of a pecking order being sorted out.  A lovely new yellow addition to the menagerie is constantly being hassled by the largest fish in the tank, so much so that when the lights are turned off, all the other fish except the new one, dash into the crevices in the rocks to hide.  It will be interesting to see if that situation changes.   Much like humanity eh?

Redback spider?

Yesterday our son Martin came home early from work.  He had been bitten by a spider and his right arm was swollen like a football.  His immediate boss drove him to Martin’s GP and he was given a Tetanus shot and anti histamines.  This morning his arm is still swollen and his boss advised him to take the day off if it had not improved considerably. Martin is a maintenance man at a hotel.  He didn’t see the spider that bit him and it is assumed that it was a Redback, which can be very debilitating. 

Later this morning a couple of W.A. Museum men are visiting to get background information on a Papuan dance mask I donated in 1963.  It has been in storage all these years and it seems that they are going to let the public see it and want as much info as I can supply about its provenance.   I have quite a few other Papua New Guinea artefacts, but they aren’t getting any of them.  Once you donate to a museum you cannot change your mind and get the donation back.

Friends in Sydney have a collection of rare PNG artefacts that would rival most museums.  On my recent trip to Sydney town we gathered at their house and once again I was amazed at their collection.  What will happen when we ‘croak it’.  Are the 'kids' interested enough to display our collections?

On the road again

Our son Martin nervously awaiting pickup to go to their gig venue.  As it happened, the gig was a great success and they are to make a CD.    The band is unsure whether to seek regular work.  

WAMUG

I belong to a local group of computer users named WAMUG; the Western Australian MacIntosh Users Group.    Their (I guess our) online discussion group is invaluable for discussing problem solving when something needs tweaking on your Mac or peripherals.  There are a number of experts who give good advice without hesitation; two of them are professionals and do so without charge to list members.

My two year old iMac started flashing the screen when I dropped a file on the desktop.  It was a bit of a worry and I consulted Mr Google.  There were numerous reports of the same thing around the world, but no real solution offered.   I wrote to the list and Ronni, the list’s Guru of Gurus suggested a simple fix, which did indeed fix the problem. Thanks Ronni.

Membership of WAMUG costs $30 per year.  And each year I have been a member I have deemed that to be a very worthwhile  subscription.   Also, many of the computers given to me for redistribution are sourced from WAMUG members or their contacts.

I recently subscribed to a list called  A Word a Day.  Recent words include olid,

sook and zymic.   

You should expect some new words in future posts.

Book of Funk

Our son Martin is a bass player in a band named The Book of Funk.  They are playing to an audience of new and older followers tomorrow night at the Fremantle Workers Club.  The last time the band performed together was almost 20 years ago and sadly one of the original members has died.

They have been practising for weeks, but are a little nervous yet

They are pictured here in a hole I was digging in our backyard for an in-ground trampoline.   When I last heard them they were great.  Lets hope they can repeat the BOF sound.

learning something new

Yesterday I learnt something quite simple which solves an almost daily problem; fitting a new bin liner to my kitchen tidy.  Place the bag in the bin and the flap which is over the edge is twisted tight and the twist tucked under the edge.   Simple, but effective....a bit like me.  Thanks Maria.

Helen and James have a large salt water fish tank.  It has a virtual Great Barrier Reef of rocks and coral.  Fish, snails and crabs make interesting watching in the bright lighting.  Helen showed me the immediate transformation once the light is turned off.  Fish hide in rocky crevices and the Green Wrass dives into the sandy bottom of the tank.   Instinct?  Turn the lights back on and they all come out to play.  Recently a snail in a largish shell was eaten by a hermit crab and voila....new home for a crab.

On our recent cruise to New Caledonia, brother Graham and I joined a small group to meet the Captain on the bridge.    Whilst we were listening to the Captain tell us about the voyage and the rather complex steerage and navigation equipment, two crewmen interrupted the Capn. announcing  ‘Captain, we’ve got a leak in the engine room’.  The Skipper made a smart click of the heels and with a salute replied....’permission granted’.

A pre-election quick-fix to the refugee problem

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has announced a pre election quick-fix of the problem refugees who arrive by boat on our shores.  He has signed a deal with Papua New Guinea which effectively makes them eligible for PNG residency but not Australian residency.  Somehow, with some serious funding for PNG institutions,  Papua New Guinea has agreed to accept them as permanent residents and later eligible for citizenship.

I reckon this is designed to deter boat people rather than give them a safe place to live.  They want to come to Australia, not to a country which is likely to give them another set of problems assimilating with the indigenous population which already has shown great displeasure with the number of Chinese entering their country.  

Iranians, Afghanis and Sri Lankans etc would want to form close knit communities which in itself could cause resentment.  Land around the main cities and towns is scarce and even the indigenous population has large squatter camps of villagers who drift to the towns looking for something better than village life.  Port Moresby and Lae, the two largest cities, have high crime rates.

Yep; once the word gets out about what they may face in PNG, I am sure the number of boats arriving on Australian shores will drop significantly. 

Refugees arrive in Indonesia and make their way towards Australia in leaky old fishing boats of which many have sunk with  a high death toll.

Fashionistas

                                                      Click to enlarge

What is it that makes a fashion designer?  The fellow in this photograph was in yesterday’s newspaper decrying the demise of the local fashion industry.  I have never been into such a fashion store...he would scare me.  He looks like I might look, after waking up on the couch after an all-night bender.   

Another Perth designer is Ruth Tarvydas.  She is in her Mid 60s (or so it is rumoured) and offers herself to young, 'big and bad' men.

Read about Ruth here.

These people seem to attract the wealthy of society and I wonder if it is just the designs they produce or the snobbery of their clientele?     Most of them wouldn’t have seen the inside of a K Mart or an OpShop.  Hold on.....that looks suspiciously like the jacket I gave to the Good Sammies a few weeks ago.

Back in your box Kev!

Election Coming up

I wrote about the new political Party started by the billionaire Clive Palmer.  His nominee for the seat of Fremantle was Teresa van Lieshout.  She commented on my blog post.   It seems that she has been disendorsed from the party for supposedly ‘not toeing the party line’.  She has different views on refugees...very different; and different views on education.  

She went public about her disendorsement on radio in newspapers and Facebook.   The Facebook tirade is interesting.   She tells us that she is one of Australia’s smartest people. She alone can fix the Australian education system.  If you can spare the time it is worth looking at for a better understanding of this woman.   Good luck!  Here it is.

I have prepared a laptop for a young woman who is being helped by a welfare agency.  She is 18 and about to give birth.  She is living in a house shared with seven others, studying on line and her own laptop has died.  The only laptop I have at the moment is a bit slow and I was informed that there is no table to set up a desktop computer for her.   She is very happy to get the laptop until she can find better accommodation which is very difficult here in Western Australia.     I can only imagine her situation; living in a house with seven others sharing cooking, laundry and toilet facilities.  When the baby comes things will probably get worse.  I wonder if her family has abandoned her?  

                                                 'An oldie but a goodie'

Isle of Pines New Caledonia

The cruise ship Pacific Pearl is a comfortable ship for passengers with a large cabin and balcony, which is what we had.   I think I heard that there were around 2,000 passengers aboard, many of them school age kids on their holidays.

There are a number of eating places ranging from buffet meals to full A la carte dining.  There is one restaurant which charges for entry and meals which I figured was a private venture on board.   Other ‘services’ such as weight loss classes etc etc seemed to be private ventures.

Many of the activities on board did not interest us.  Things a such as Bingo and trivia competitions we gave a miss.  That being said there is plenty to keep oldies busy and interested.  They even had kid-minding activities.

                                           Brother Graham on Pacific Pearl

The main port of call in New Caledonia is Noumea.  It is not an unattractive place and there are some interesting French Colonial buildings and a very nice harbour.   Next year New Caledonia is to vote on independence from the French.  They have a complex voting system and there is considerable concern from  French citizens in New Caledonia that they will lose their little colony.

The ship spent a day at The Isle of Pines some distance from Noumea.  The ship dropped anchor about 5 kilometres off shore and five tenders took loads of around 100 passengers each run for an island visit.  They ran continuously to and from the ship all day.  

Captain James Cook discovered the island in 1774.   It was probably a lookout in the rigging who actually first discovered it and spent the rest of his life whingeing about Cooky taking the credit.  In reality the natives on the island first discovered it.  Cook didn’t land on it but realised it was inhabited when he saw smoke. 

The name comes from the native pine trees (Araucaria Conifer) all over the island.

                                            A flat islet showing the pines

                    Channel 10 regular, the Bondi Vet  doing a P&O TV promo

We became regulars at one of the dozen bars on the ship.  Two stewards looked after us with good 

                                                 humour and pleasant conversations.

                             Mary is from The Phillipines and Lan is from India

Sydney Photos

A few photos of around Sydney...Click on them to enlarge

                                        Securely bolted down

                                             The Queen Victoria Building

                                             Four levels of pure elegance

                                                    Modernity

                                    Last day of the Sydney Monorail

                                 From another angle

                                   Town Hall renovations

                                                   In Darling Harbour

Final full day of the cruise

We are in the final day of our cruise.  It is expected that we will berth at the P&O wharf around 7.30am tomorrow.  We will taxi it to a hotel for an overnight before flying west around midday.

The cruise has been pleasant, but neither bro Graham or I will plan another for some time.   We met quite a few people who have done dozens of cruises in various places around the globe.  They talk like caravan people with a certain amount of one-upmanship about their cruises.

 New Caledonia is to have a referendum next year so the the inhabitants can decide whether to stay as a French territory or 'go it themselves'.  The indigenous people are called 'Kanaks'.  In New Guinea some bush people are called Kanakas which is a derogatory term.

More about the cruise with photos when I get home.

Pacific Pearl cruise

We are somewhere between Sydney and New Caledonia. The ship is a bit Rock n Rollish in rough seas.The Skipper tells us that tomorrow will be calmer.
Sydney is a great place to visit..if it isn't raining non-stop.  It had been raining for the last 10+ days and the sale of umbrellas has boosted the Australian economy.  Our hotel was in Darling Harbour which is a massive entertainment area.
On  Saturday night I caught up with some friends fro our Papua New Guinea days.  We gathered at a club in Coogee.  Another friend from my earlier time in PNG, Albert, drove us around to a few touristy places before delivering us to the harbour to board the Pacific Pearl.
Graham and I rode the SydneyMonorail on its last day of operation.  I am unsure exactly why it was shut down.  I have heard lots of reasons and one of them was that it "just doesn't suit Sydney town'.

Thanks Sydney friends. Great to catch up.

Wednesday:  Last night the sea was still rough and the whole ship creaked and banged all night.
The entire ship ran out of hot water early yesterday and it took most of the day for engineers to fix a major pump to get hot water back on.

Can't post photos until we get home.

A new Prime Minister?

This Friday brother Graham and I fly off to Sydney town for three days before boarding the Pacific Pearl for an 8 day cruise to and around New Caledonia.  We have a deluxe suite with a large(ish) balcony, but the temperatures are probably not going to be great for sitting out drinking a beer.  Bro has packed a large case which may be over the QANTAS weight limit.   That can cost big.

Lots of news today.  Kevin Rudd our ex Prime Minister is having another shot at taking back the reins from Prime Minister Julia Gillard.  The ballot takes place in just 18 minutes.  Both contenders have vowed to leave politics if he/she loses.

Another surprising story emerged today about a couple who lost an expensive diamond studded bracelet. It was found by an Anglican priest who was previously a lawyer.  He turned it in to the police as lost property and after six weeks when it was not claimed he became the owner of it.   

He somehow traced the real owners and suggested that as it was insured for $6,000, they should claim the money from the insurance company and give him half to get the bracelet back and both parties would win.  He would get $3,000 and they would get back the bracelet and another $3,000.     The story hit the papers and he was quizzed on radio.  He claimed he had done nothing morally wrong and that it was a gift from God.   He is now in the Poo with the Archbishop of Perth who is very embarrassed by his mean, almost fraudulent act.

Just another 4 minutes before the labour parliamentarians gather to vote on a leader change.



Breaking News:

Kevin Rudd won....he is Australia's new Prime Minister and has made the predictable speech praising his adversary.

Palmer Politics

The Australian Federal Election is just around the corner and a new player in Australian politics, Clive Palmer, has been rounding up candidates for his Palmer United Party.  He recently endorsed two women to contest seats in Western Australia; one in the seat of Fremantle is Teresa Van Lieshout, who, like Mr Palmer has a few crazy ideas.  In yesterday’s West Australian newspaper it was reported that she claims that the GFC is an antiChrist strategy and hurricane Sandy was sent by God to warn against globalisation.  She also warns that an ‘AntiChrist man who will come out of the European Union, probably the Soviet Union (North of Israel).   Work that one out for me please.

Another of her claims is the the US Government used explosives to demolish the Twin Towers and it murdered 3,000 of its own citizens.

Clive Palmer is a multi billionaire who believes the the Greens in Australia are financed by the CIA to destroy Australia’s coal industry to advantage the U.S..  He is also going to built a replica Titanic. 

He makes both the Labor and Liberals look positively smart, nice, folk.

iFixit

I get good working Macs and unserviceable Macs from a variety of sources.  Businesses often purchase new when a machine is out of warranty and sick or dead and I am mostly able to repair them and pass them on to needy people.  

Recently I received three iMacs from a newspaper.  None of them worked no matter what magic I tried on them, so I went to the iFixit web page and downloaded detailed illustrated instructions on how to get inside this model.  The instructions rated the fix as difficult, but I gave it a go and replaced the hard drive on the first one and it is up and running, fully loaded and ready to give away.    As with most fixes, once one has done it once, the second time is easy.

iFixit is quite a wonderful site where an attempt is being made to save electronics etc from going to landfill.  They have instructions on how to fix just about anything.    iFixit can be found here.  Just remember to disconnect power cables before getting inside something and know that capacitors can store high voltage electricity for some time after disconnecting from a power source. Zappo!

                                                One of my Tech assistants

To Test or Not Test

In this morning’s newspaper, The West Australian, there is an article about a retired TV weatherman who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  The article goes on to say that he will be an inspiration to other men to have regular PSA tests to detect the cancer before it jumps out of the prostate and gets into other organs and or bones.

A prominent medical man who is regularly on radio and TV is Dr Norman Swan and he has suggested that it is not a good thing to have PSA tests.  A Federal Minister in the government is a strong advocate for testing, as I am.   In a routine PSA test some 14 years ago I had elevated PSA levels and the subsequent biopsy showed cancer.  I took the gold standard and had a radical prostatectomy.  Gone!  I have no doubt that if I had not done the PSA test I would not be here now.

Here is a link to YouTube which airs both sides of the argument.

There is the fact that many elderly men die with it, rather than of it.  At my age when I was diagnosed I didn’t think that watching and waiting was the direction I should have taken.

Triangulation

Yesterday we had a gathering of ‘the usual suspects’; friends who get together almost weekly for tea and conversation.   It was my turn to host it and the weather was warm enough to be seated outside until around 5pm when it started to get cold.  Good company and I guess we will continue these get-togethers for as long as possible or until we get bored with each other.  I don’t want to think about the other reason.

Over my back fence there is a creeper constructing a self-supporting triangulation in an effort to reach my rear wall and then further on under my roof tiles.  I trim it back regularly.  I am amazed at the engineering which takes place...very much like bridge construction.  What force enables a plant to modify its growth to suit certain circumstances?

The creeper and some man made examples.

We. here in Western Australia have our own radio Shock-Jock; Howard Sattler.  I don’t hear much about him as I don’t listen to commercial radio, but yesterday during an interview with Prime Minster Julia Gillard, Howard, in his desperate attempt to be outrageous, asked if her partner was gay.  She handled it quite well.  Today he has been ‘suspended’ and the station has apologised, but as in a court case where the jury has been instructed to ignore some piece of evidence or heresay, the seed has been planted.

Expensive rents in W.A.

Accommodation rentals are very expensive in Western Australia.  Our son Martin had decided to move out of my home and be by himself in a one bedroom unit.  There were two relatively inexpensive places near his place of work to look at.   The first one was a run-down second story unit at $285 per week with lots of  work to be done and not much chance that the owner was going to do any repairs.

The second one we looked at was a one-room ‘very Fremantle’ backyard bed sit which amazingly had a free standing outdoor shower and toilet.  No roof or walls around either the shower or toilet which would make for a very cold shower or toilet visit; not to mention the very public display of flesh in the backyard.   The owner called it ‘very Fremantle’ because Freo is a bit tree-huggy greenish.   That room was $230. per week plus another $30 per week for utilities.  It would be very difficult to use $30 worth of gas and power per week.  I am pretty sure that planning permission for an outdoor toilet and shower was not sought by the owner.    And so, Martin remains living with me.

Backyard accommodation is usually termed a Granny Flat and under most council by laws, can only be occupied by family of the owner.  The Fremantle City Council has just legislated to allow Granny Flats to be rented to non family people.   This is in response to lack of rental properties available in the Fremantle council area.

More reversing camera discoveries

More reversing camera findings.   

I figured that the TV images appearing on my reversing camera screen were from one particular house I drove past.  Probably with a satellite dish??   Another place I was driving past showed me a parked car which was ahead of me.  Son-in-law James pointed out a security camera on the garage door in front of the car which popped up on my screen. It is obviously a wireless connection from the camera to a monitor/recorder inside the house and my wireless reversing camera picked it up.

I  have still not heard from the local supplier with help solving the poor reception problem.

I own a unit in a block of units in a southern suburb named Orelia.  It is not the Dalkeith (rich folks suburb) of the south and the residents don’t worry too much about keeping things neat.  On rubbish collection days all manner of junk is tossed out the front next to the bins....mattresses etc.  The truck cannot collect stuff on the ground as it has one driver and a hydraulic fork pickup to lift the bins and tip the contents into the truck, so the rest of the junk is left on the roadside outside the units.  Another intelligence test is the placement of the bins.  Many of them are so close together that when attempting to pick up one bin the next one is knocked over.  The driver must get very frustrated at having to climb down, stand the bin up and collected the spilled smellies.  I believe he has stopped collecting those bins which are going to cause him trouble...I would.

              

                                                click photo to enlarge 

Wireless car reversing camera

I have a rather frustrating few days installing and setting up a wireless reversing camera in my car.   I followed the instructions carefully and the screen lit up when I tested it in reverse gear.  As I started to reverse, the screen broke down with horizontal blocks obscuring the view.  Damn!    I had purchased the thing at an electronics store some distance from my home and drove to the store where the store manager observed the problem first hand.  He determined that the screen was faulty and I attached the new screen at the store....still no good.   Next he swapped the wireless sender...same story and lastly gave me a new camera which still didn’t fix the problem.

Click on the photos to enlarge them

I have contacted the local agent of the importer of the device asking for help.  I am unsure what can be done as the entire system has been exchanged and I have retested all the connections. 

  

This morning I drove to collect my son-in-law from a car service centre and told him about the problem and whilst we were driving home to his house the screen suddenly lit up showing a fuzzy, but recognisable, morning TV programme.   I know, it sounds like that 1950-60s story about a fellow who had radio reception through a new amalgam tooth filling.

 
                                                     Works for me!

Colonoscopy

Our son Martin had a colonoscopy of Friday and the preceding two days were a bit tetchy with a very restricted diet and total abstinence from solids on the last day.  The 400 gallons of Pico-prep he had to drink to throughly clean out his bowel didn’t make him any happier.  At least it seemed like 400 gallons.

He came out of it very hungry and with a recommendation from the discharge nurse that he start a more fibre fuelled diet.  His GP will interpret the report when he sees him next week.

Apart from that, Martin has been pretty lucky over the last week.   He received a package from The Readers Digest with the good news that he was just a fly’s penis away from a $500.000 prize....or as I see it, or a Mercedes car, or $9,373, or $25,000, or $50,000 and travel to Sydney for the presentation ceremony.  Why wouldn’t he buy a subscription to The Readers Digest when he is so close to winning?    Click photos to enlarge.

I noticed that an antibiotic I am taking for a throat problem has Braille writing on the box.   Nice touch for the blind folk out there.