The Mulveys visit

Had a visit from a friend, Brendan Mulvey.  We taught together at Willetton SHS. Brendan’s wife, Tracie is an exec with Chevron and based in Houston, Texas.  They are here in Western Australia for a short break over Christmas.

Brendon gets the occasional job with Chevron running Aussie classes for U.S. folk who are being transferred to work in Australia.  He tells me that there are vast differences between Oz and the U.S. and these need explaining in detail to people who are about to experience a similar, but often quite different place.

Tracie dropped Brendan off at my place and much talk over a few beers was had.  She collected him so no expensive cabs were used. He brought some expensive boutique beers, but I thought he might like a W.A. beer.    He didn’t mind it; at least that’s what he said.

Brendan and Tracie

Catching up with Tracey

During this last week I visited an ex-student of mine in her business premises. Tracey told me that she didn’t enjoy school very much and as soon as she could, left and got on with life.  Now at the age 37, she has her own business as a finance company, financial planner and a small import agency importing Chinese products. 

She has talked to school leavers at a high school in a low socio- economic area showing them that they don’t have to have a degree to be successful.

Her businesses employ 21 people and are very successful.  I was most impressed with her management style and the obvious loyalty of her staff.

We had a couple of hours reminiscing about the past, our families and future plans.

 Tracey could talk under water. 

Resurrecting a MacBook Pro

A couple of weeks ago I was offered a MacBook Pro for my giveaway project.  I gratefully accepted the gift even though the owner told me that a repair firm had deemed the Logic Board to be kaput.

When I did receive it, it was sans charger, so I charged the battery to see if  the MBP was devoid of life: pressed the startup button and it leapt into life.

I had a small moment of moral turpitude, thinking for a second, that I should not tell the donor that his machine is OK and keep it.  That thought rapidly disappeared and I emailed him suggesting that when I had done some maintenance on it that he should collect it.  He was surprised and grateful and if a few tests over this week prove that it is running well, he told me he would collect it and give me a slightly older MacBook for distribution.

PS: There is a problem with the donated laptop.  It will not always boot up and I suspect it is a problem with overheating.  I will download a piece of software to adjust the cooling fans and see what happens.

Joan's Rose

My dear Joan’s ashes enrich this rose.  I will also help when it is my time; but not just yet.  Daughter Helen is the custodian of Joan’s resting place.

Queensland Fruit Fly

I notice that my neighbour’s apricot tree has been attacked by the Queensland Fruit Fly. A newspaper article told how there have been outbreaks of QFF in suburbs near my house.  QFF had travelled to Western Australia most probably in fruit brought over by travellers.  I have fruit fly traps in my fig tree and I notice plenty of flies on my trap which look like the Queensland Fruit Fly I have seen in photographs.

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Do I approach my neighbours and ask that they remove and burn all the infected fruit?

When I was a young fella, the Department of Agriculture in this state demanded that every household bait for fruit fly and I guess it is not politic anymore for government to be so prescriptive.

122 years

I arose this morning finding myself to be 76 years of age.  How did that happen?

Daughter Helen had her 46th birthday celebration yesterday.  Her and her husband James are having people around for lunch to celebrate both our birthdays.

Chinese company to lease Port Darwin

I normally do not comment on politics or religion.

But I confess to not understanding how the Australian Federal Government is to allow the 100 year lease of Darwin harbour to a Chinese firm.  China is spreading its wings commercially and militarily.  In the last 30 years or so, China has transformed itself from an agrarian peasant state to a manufacturing giant.   I have looked for Australian made products and except for cars, most of the goods for sale emanate from the PRC.  

I recently bought a worm farm and was pleasantly surprised to see it was manufactured in Australia.  Searching the house I cannot see anything else I have bought in the last 10 years made in Australia.

Darwin port has a RAAF base alongside it and there is a U.S. presence there in the form of shipping and approximately 1500 Marines on rotation.

Dumb policy move Australia.

Tree House

My daughter Helen has a Pre-Primary class at a school near Rockingham.  She, and her enthusiastic Teachers Aid, Lyndy, decided they should enhance the school yard with a Tree House and I was recruited to build the tree house and associated mushrooms and windows. The house is not as you might imagine.  The plan is to make a door an entrance to the tree. Later will come small windows around the trunk of the tree and a small crop of mushrooms around the base of the tree.

It sounded like a good idea and I bought bits and pieces from our local hardware store to construct the tree house door and it did test my woodwork skills as my woodwork tools run to a jigsaw and hammer.  I'm more of a metal bloke.

The doorway is to be fixed to the base of a tree in the school yard and further up the tree trunk will be windows with people ( things) looking out.  

I am only the artisan in this project and I hope that what I have made will stir imagination in their pupils.

The door to the tree house

Mushroom mould. Modelling plaster to be added.

Lyndy, with yet to be painted mushrooms

Oops they turned out to be Toadstools.

With Helen our daughter

Power cable storage

With all the computers, printers etc I have received over the years I have heaps of power cables left over from machines that were not restorable.   They used to live in a large cardboard box on the workshop floor, but now the black cords have their own rack.

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A Papua New Guinea Expatriates' gathering

Four ex-Papua New Guinea expatriates got together on Sunday.  Two served in PNG as Kiaps (Patrol Officers); I taught there for ten years and the other, Mike, was with DASF (Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries).

Harvey was a Kiap and we met in the Sepik District in the early 1970s.  My Vocational Centre students completed two projects for Harvey; one an aid post and the other to dismantle a prefabricated building and move it another site and reassemble it.

Vocational centres had to be self-sufficient with materials, tools, vehicles and fuels etc.  Staff salaries and boarding school rations were the province of the administration.

Much discussion on Sunday was about different characters, successful and some not so successful.  The DASF person Mike had also moved to different stations during his time in PNG and the day was spent imbibing some (plenty of) beer (I remained sober as I was to drive Harvey’s car back to his home) and lots of ‘Do you remember so and so?  All of us agreed that we were most fortunate and proud to have been part of the the lead up to Independence with extraordinary adventures never to be had again anywhere.

The old fellas....me being the oldest at 76 this month. Click to enlarge.

Mike, me, Harvey and Garry

Huge aloe vera

A couple of photos of an aloe vera bush (tree?) I saw at a market garden a few kilometres from my place.  There is a small house behind the plant.   

Click photos to enlarge.....

This closeup shows the dangers in arriving home

PP (partially pissed) and walking into the aloe vera

Narrowband therapy heating up

I am in my fourth week of Ultraviolet Light Phototherapy-Narrowband UVB treatment. Treatment is three times a week with each session increasing in exposure time.  Yesterday’s treatment was for 5 minutes 40 seconds.  I am thinking that the end of the treatment exposure time will be 10 plus minutes.  Yesterday’s exposure time was quite warm and I figure that during the final week, it should be hot enough for me to smuggle in a nice bread roll and a hamburger patty and onions to have for the drive home.*

So far I have noticed a vast improvement in my skin and my arms at least, will soon be able to be shown to the public.  Itching has calmed down also.

* Just kidding

Willetton SHS 1995 reunion

I had a wonderful Saturday evening at a reunion of students who graduated in 1995. I wasn’t part of that cohort, but taught many of them over their 5 years of high school.  

I was the only teacher who mixed it with the 130 ex-students of Willetton SHS.  I was a little disappointed with the lack of interest of other teachers of this group, but confess I enjoyed the attention and kind words bestowed on me.  Bit of an ego trip!

Brother Graham dropped me off at the venue at South Fremantle Football Club and responded to my call around 10.25pm; collected me and dropped me off home.

A few photos of these 36/37 year olds.  All of the guests I spoke with were most successful in their chosen careers.

Click on Pics to enlarge.....

The wonderful Sam who organised the event

My Joan

On TV tonight was a report about a U.S. study showing us that men didn’t like dating smarter women.  Hope they didn’t spend too much money on that survey.

My wife was several dozen points above me on the IQ scale and I loved her dearly for the 46 years we were together. Still love her.  We shared our intelligence and practicality.

Sister Shirl hits the Hamptons

I have just received an email from my nephew in NY telling me that my sister arrived safely from Perth, Western Australia.  Brother Graham and I had the task/pleasure of collecting sister Shirley at Perth domestic airport from her flight from Esperance on the south coast and looking after her before her evening flight on Emirates en route to NYC.   

We spent a few hours with Shirl before driving her out to Perth International Airport. My daughter Helen suggested I pay for a cab rather that try and negotiate the recent modifications on the airport roads.   ‘Nahh.  I can do it’, says Kev.  I had not been to that airport since multi-million dollar roadworks alongside and within the airport were completed and I had heard much discussion and complaints about the difficulty of finding the International Terminal.

Once off the main highway there are probably 7-8 roundabouts with not one indication of an International Terminal.   After about 30 minutes of somewhat terse criticism of the organisation, we were directed to a roundabout which eventually led us to the terminal.     Shirl was off, with a stopover in Dubai then on to NY.

Bruce and Tamara live in the Hamptons and Shirl will be mixing with the elite.

WSHS Class of 95 reunion

I arrived home from an outing on Friday and found a most welcome gift on my front door step.  Don’t know who left it there, but I am using it with some good soothing results on the the Psoriasis I am at present plagued with and I am most grateful for your kind thoughts.

Tomorrow I start round three of the UV Light therapy.  On Friday the exposure was for 3Min 10Sec.  The therapist told me that it is often at this stage that results start to be seen.   Hope so as I have a reunion of the Willetton SHS Class of 95 next Saturday and I don’t want to be scratching and squirming at that occasion.  WSHS was my most favourite workplace.

Dr Google

I am still suffering from this, my first ever attack of Psoriasis at 75 years of age.  The medical profession confesses that Psoriasis cannot be cured.   Dr Google has a myriad of people writing with successful treatments ranging from aloe vera, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dead Sea bath salts, epson salts bath, baking soda bath, Boracic Acid, Turmeric, beet juice, banana skin rub, etc etc etc.  Please note that all these must be in ‘organic’ mode.  

Candida gets a bit of the blame for Psoriasis.

Another wonder cure is Colloidal Silver both applied and taken internally.

I have made up a salve of aloe vera juice and body cream and it may be giving a little relief. Early days yet.    I am continuing the UltraViolet PhotoTherapy-Narrowband UVB treatment three sessions a week for another 7 weeks.

aloe vera

Psoriasis again

I am in my second week of the  Ultraviolet Phototherapy treatment.  The exposure times increase at each visit and my last exposure was for 2 minutes.    Today's visit will probably be for a 3 minute dose. I have not noticed any improvement in the rash or the continual itch.  I have tried many lotions and creams to no avail. 

The nurse who administers  the Ultraviolet booths tells me that it may be up to 8 weeks of exposures before I see (and feel) any better.   In some cases patients see no improvement.  She tells me that in this one small clinic she treats around 75 patients a day.

I have been using anti-histamines to try and ease the itch and I had to stop using one because of some nasty side effects such as slurred speech, balance problems and a strange hallucination where the tiled floor appeared to be flooded with gently swirling clear water.

I know that some people aim to experience these symptoms by taking/smoking/injecting, illegal substances.

A blurrygraph of my forearm

Second round of Ultraviolet Light Therapy

This morning I had the second  round of Ultraviolet Light Therapy.  I am scheduled to have this therapy three days a week with each session of increasing exposure.  Today the exposure was 1Min 20 Sec.     I am unsure how long this therapy will continue. In the 15 minutes I was there approximately 12 patients either entered or left the building.  On Monday I shall ask the nurse how many patients/treatments she has in a week.

Click Pics to enlarge.

The sock is not easy to attach

 so I am looking for a baby's booty.

Ultraviolet Light Therapy

For the last 6 weeks I have been suffering with a bad run of Psoriasis. I have had mild incarnations at approximately the same time each year over a 10 year period, but this time Psori  looks like it is trying to stay with me.

G.P., Dermotologist,  home-grown pseudo doctors have all weighed in the fight to no avail.    Ointments ; cremes, powders and a variety of witches' brews.  I am itching and scratching all over my body and decided to see my GP to get another referral to revisit the dermo again.

In the referral the GP suggested  that I would be happy to try Ultraviolet Light Therapy.  This is done at the Dermo’s suite where there are a number of round ‘booths’ lit by infrared light tubes. The patient has to be nude and wearing dark sunglasses as well as using a facemask. It is estimated that at three times a week I should see much improvement in 6 - 8 weeks.  I have been told by a friend who has had this treatment before that I should bring along a sock at each session.   Whatever can that be for??

Had my first session early this morning sans sock.

Fortunately the treatment is bulk billed and is free for the patient.  Australia has a very good healthcare system.

HMAS Australia 1935

I’m no Charles Darwin, but I know that girls tend to squeal more than boys.  I recently watched a nature programme which featured two groups of baboons in a territorial skirmish.  The males of both sides were showing all the aggression and the  presenter pointed out that the females in both groups were squealing.  I doubt that Joan of Arc was a squealer.

Today I recycled 30 older hard drives.  Many of those were from the first coloured iMacs and  the capacity ranged from 6GB to 10GB.  Base level hard drives these days start at 250GB.

This photo was taken by Naval Photographer Saxon Fogarty in 1935 when HMAS Australia was returning to Australia after the July Silver Jubilee Review at Spithead.  The dry dock was at Alexandria.

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Workshop cleanup

I decided that I will remain a single car person.  I have, in the past, had two or more cars;  my regular transport and maybe another one for weekend cruising.  At 75+ I figure that one car will do me and so the half of my garage which was just for junk has now been cleaned up and turned into the gardening section with all the gardening stuff including mowers, edgers, blowers, hedge trimmers, chain saw, whipper snippers neatly lined up.

There are a few duplicates there and I am too embarrassed to explain how that came about.

   

After shifting all that gear to the garage I had a major cleanup in my workshop.  I knew I had a problem with rats, but sweeping up all the rat shit made me determined to find where they are getting in and out of my workshop.  I found a poor piece of workmanship in the upper brickwork where a gap big enough for a cat to get in was found.  I have sealed that gap and have set rat traps to finish off any rats now caught inside.

This weekend I will start recycling computer stuff which has been sitting in the dust for years. In this stuff are 75 hard drives and I will recycle the older drives with lower capacity and others I have marked as dead.  

Mediterranean Fruit Fly

My loquat tree is loaded with fruit and I am going to ensure that I don’t let the Medfly (Mediterranean fruit fly)  lay their eggs in my fruit.

It is a two pronged attack on the little blighters*….foliage spray and sticky baits.

 I have made up a mix of sugar and Pyrethrum and sprayed most of the foliage which should attract and kill ‘em.   I bought two traps which contain a lure and a very sticky surface which is already grabbing medfly.

The Medfly is thought to have originated in Africa.  

* 1950s alternative for a swearword

More computers for my ongoing project

Last weekend I collected 5 Macs from an Australia-wide printing firm.   I was told that the two 24” iMacs weren’t working as well as two G5 Towers.    I have been successful in resurrecting one iMac and two G5s.  The other G5 tower is one I really wanted to get running again as it is a liquid cooled G5 Pro.  Nice machine, but the power supply is dead and so I went on Gumtree and advertised it for free for a Hackintosh build.  

  

A Hackintosh is a Mac case with a powerfull PC guts.  Within minutes of placing the advert I had replies from a dozen people keen to come and collect it.  As I answered each reply, several told me that my phone number didn’t work, so I rang the house phone from my iPhone....it worked.   It transpires that dummy Kev placed the advert on the NSW  Gumtree list.     4,000+ kilometres is a little too far away to collect from my home.

I have rewritten an advert for Western Australians.

Click images to enlarge them.

All aluminium case

Stripped down showing the liquid cooling radiator

Australia's new Prime Minister

Australia has a new Prime Minister.  That makes five PMs in the last 5 years.

PM (sorry ex PM) Tony Abbott was gently deposed by Malcolm Turnbull.  I always thought Malcolm should be the PM.  Seems to be a nice guy; intelligent and not too belligerent in parliament or out of parliament. Unlike Tony, he doesn’t have any distinctive facial features for political cartoonists to latch on to.

I am unsure of the facts, but it has been said that Tony was just three days short of being eligible for ex PMs’ lifetime free travel etc etc on the public purse. 

Clive Palmer, the senator for Fairfax, Queensland is sometimes the only entertainment parliament experiences.  A couple of days ago from the rear seat of his Rolls Royce, he made a short video telling the then PM to go.  See it here.

He does a goodbye video to any politician who is in a bit of trouble.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung.  The birds are building nests; willy wagtails harassing the crows, white cabbage moths are getting into my meagre vegetable garden and a few flies are hatching out.  Who told all the birds that it is mating time?

Fathers Day yesterday saw me enjoying a lavish lunch at my daughter Helen and her husband James’ house.  My brother Graham joined us there.  Great food and company. 

Bye Bye sitemeter

I have been using a piece of software called sitemeter to see where on earth people are who visit this blog.

Please understand that sitemeter only tells me how many visits per hour/day, the location of the visitor, what computer/pad they are using and the country and location within that country they are visiting from. No personal details, names or email addresses are shown. In the third image, the duration of the visit shows as 10 seconds.  The initial visit is not timed and that 10 second notification shows the time looked at a previous posting.

I have been using sitemeter for 8 years and over the last few years it has started to go offline for weeks at a time. It was started in 1999 by a single man. I guess he may have onsold sitemeter and the new owner(s) may be struggling to keep it running. I think I will close my account and try another counter.

Some screenshots of sitemeter.  Click images to enlarge.

It is a pity sitemeter is not functioning well. It is the only way I know if anyone is actually reading what I write.

Phishing?

I get regular Phishing messages asking me to test a product and for my assessment keep that product.   Dishwashers, juicers, BBQs, electric toothbrushes, coffee machines, Kenwood products and many voucher offers for retailers in Western Australia.

All the messages come from Wilmington Delaware in the good ole U.S.A..  There is a click here if I no longer want to receive these offers, but I’m guessing that that will just confirm that it is a real email address.

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Tinpis Papua New Guinea style

Doing some grocery shopping at a Fremantle Woolworths store, I saw  a familiar can of Mackerel 777.  Last time I saw this brand of tinned fish was 40 years ago when we worked in Papua New Guinea.  I bought a can and when I got home made a typical PNG meal of tinpis rais; tinned fish and rice.  It was as I remembered all those years ago.  Nice!

I am a member of an online group called I used to live in Papua New Guinea, so I thought I would take a photo of the can and post it on the list.  Within a few hours it got dozens of comments relating to the edibility of said mackerel.   Many expatriates claimed that they only fed it to their dogs and never tasted it. Others told where 777 tinpis could be bought in Australia.  I figured that as 777 Mackerel was the basic fare of PNG nationals, some expatriates looked down on it.  Others were familiar with it being used to feed almost every expatriate's dog and figured it was below human consumption.  Others told of  recipes using 777Mackerel.

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Cross with Red Cross

A few years ago I signed up for monthly donations of $20 to the Australian Red Cross. I assumed that I was agreeing to a one year arrangement.   I cannot recall if it was a door-knock or a phone call to which I agreed to join.   A couple of weeks ago I received a donation receipt for the 2014-15  financial year.  It seems that once signed up, the donations continue to be sucked out of my bank until the arrangement is cancelled.

I rang Red Cross and they confirmed that I had to cancel to stop further payments.  I remonstrated that many oldies like me don’t often look closely at bank statements and that their bank account may be drained for years.

I am getting a little forgetful of late, but I cannot remember receiving a tax statement from Red Cross before. 

My friend Dennis is home and well after his major surgery.  I find it quite amazing that after such complex surgery he was well enough to come home after just 12 days post op. 

Billy Cart finals

Friday’s Billy Cart race off went well.  I took some pics of the Lower Primary groups. It was well attended by parents and grans and I think it turned out a highly successful day.

There were a few policemen attending and they provided a bit of entertainment when they breathalised and booked a couple of staff who knocked over some witches hats due to erratic driving.

I am sorry that photos of students are not allowed on 

public accessed sites and so my pics of the Billy Cart finals cannot be shown.

Dennis 'on the mend'.

I have been to visit Dennis who is in recovery after major surgery for oesophageal cancer.  He was moved from Intensive Care to a general ward a couple of days ago.  He is in remarkably good condition, but will not be allowed home until perhaps Monday.   

His blood pressure has dropped somewhat and his kidneys are not functioning fully, but he is looking good and has been up for a shower etc.  He has a room to himself and constant minders dropping in to add or remove the numerous hoses draining fluids and monitoring other bodily functions...if you know what I mean.

I was most impressed by the hospital which was fully commissioned earlier this year.  It is a world class facility with wifi controlled meal delivery to patients.  See here.

Dennis and Carole

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    When I get ‘crook’ this is where I want to be.

Billy Cart Derby

Daughter Helen brought home her class project of the ‘billy cart’ for final touch-ups and  a ‘service’ before the big race day on Friday.

Each class in her primary school has constructed a billy cart with help from dads and mums.   I will attend the big event and take some pics.  

Today a team of two; driver and pusher, is to be selected with trial runs around the short course (the staff carpark).    

The ‘race’ is to be a time trial and Helen’s class is one of two Pre-Primary classes.  Should be fun.

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The patient is getting better

My friend Dennis has had the big operation and has come through OK at this stage. Carole, his wife, has told me he is looking better and it would seem that they feel he is ready to shift to a general ward in the hospital.  Good news.

I have a Hewlett Packard printer I am configuring to give away with a computer.  It ran out of ink and I purchased two new sets of cartridges from China.  When I replaced one of the original cartridges with a new one it told me that the cartridge was not compatible.  I tried a few tricks to get it going, but no luck.   I was about to take it to a recycling depot when I thought of a possible solution and carefully prized off the chip from the original and fitted to the after-market ink tank and it is working beautifully.

Click to enlarge

Post-0p

I haven’t heard any news from Carole about my friend Dennis.  He was due for his major surgery some time yesterday.  I rang Carole just after 9am this morning, but she hadn’t heard from the hospital.  She promised to ring as soon as she heard from the hospital.

He was to be in the Intensive Care ward for a week or more; then a longer time in a general ward before being discharged.  The surgery is risky. One in ten patients don’t make it.

Hope to hear some good news soon.

I have prepared five Macs and printers for some welfare clients. Must start to get a bit tidier and not clutter up several rooms.

My fruit trees are doing well with all the winter rain. I have started to give away as many lemons as I can, but most people with a yard already have lemons. 

Tahitian Limes turn yellow when ripe

The Tahitian Lime tree is bearing well and a locquat tree is loaded with fruit.  I will make sure I spray for fruit fly this week.

I love Locquats!