Nephew visits old uncle

The last couple of days I have had my nephew Bruce staying over at my place.  Bruce has been visiting his family in Esperance on a short visit from his home in The Hamptons in NY.  We, Kev, Bruce and my Bro Graham, had two evenings with quite a few drinks and lots of laughs.  Yesterday we went into Fremantle and visited a quite wonderful store named Twisted Sisters.  It is full of hippie gear and Bruce selected clothes for himself and his wife Tam for the upcoming Halloween weekend.  The store owner served him and almost every item was knocked down by 50%.    I personally couldn’t see myself wearing any of that gear that I remember from my youth, and I know that Bruce and Tam will probably wear their outfits only once in public and save them for home and barbecues.

Click images to enlarge them

Later we went on a Fremantle Jail tour.  Most interesting.   It has not been in use since it closed in 1991.  It was commissioned in the 1850s and used to incarcerate men and women over 136 years.  The current prisons in Western Australia must seem like holiday camps compared to the conditions prisoners endured at Fremantle.

Narrowband UV light treatment still on

I am still having Narrowband UV light treatment for Psoriasis three times a week.  Each day I attend there are another 100+ patients getting the same treatment.  One young fellow I have seen there many times is about 7 years of age and has severe Psoriasis affecting his body, face and eyes.  This is not his first series of treatments and he has been treated in the last Psoriasis season.  I say ‘season’ because for most patients this is an annual problem starting late winter, when it is believed insufficient exposure to sunlight occurs.

A brave young lad who must expect that the condition will return next winter and the whole thing will start over again.  This is the second outbreak I have had starting in the winter season and talking to other people getting treatment it would seem that until some new treatment is found, I will return annually.

Losing it?

The maintenance on the Quinns Rocks unit is ongoing.  Yesterday I had enough and drove home for a rest.  I parked my car in the driveway and had lunch.  Then I realised that I had left the car unlocked with my wallet and phone in it.  A quick search didn’t find them and so I rang my iphone from the house phone.....nothing?  I thought they might have been stolen, but this suburb  is relatively safe and so I guessed that the phone and my wallet might be still at the unit....sooo another 120km round trip to find them safe on a benchtop.

Am I losing it??

Still more maintenance

I am still making the daily 120km round trip to Quinns Rocks to do maintenance on a unit I own there.  Every day I find more to do.   Today my son is coming along as I need a second pair of hands with a couple of the tasks.  

Watercorp is sending someone out today to replace a shutoff valve in the  water meter.  The tree man has not yet taken down three large palms and another large tree.  I have a plumber coming to replace a tap set in the kitchen and airconditioning is to be fitted in the lounge room.   

Brother Graham has a tile grout cleaning machine and on the weekend it is going to be working hard on a large tiled area.

I want this to be over soon.

Maintenance is ongoing

Western Australia has a water problem.  Our rains no longer fill dams and we rely heavily on ground water and desalination plants.  The Water Corporation offers free watersaving shower heads, two to a residence on a bring in your old one and get a watersaving model basis.   I collected my second one today and installed it (with a bit of swearing) at my unit at Quinns Rocks. 

The renovation is going slowly but steadily.  I have a quote to remove the three large palms, grind the stumps out and remove all the mess.  I had an idea that the quote would be around $4,000, but was very thankful to find the man will do the job for $1332.   I  guess he has the gear for the job and maybe he has no work on at the moment.

Cleaning out the gutters is the next contract job for both units and it looks like it will be a difficult job as the roof tiles almost cover the gutters.  The quote might not be as generous as the palms.  An aircondition unit is to be installed for around $2,000 and I think the couple in the rear unit will probably ask for one once they see it being installed.

 Probably another two weeks work before it can be offered for rent 

Desal plants in Australia.  Click to view

Keeping busy

I own a couple of rental properties in a northern suburb.  Both are 3 bedroom dwellings on a single block.  They are probably 40+ years old and starting to need serious maintenance.  One of the units has been vacated recently and I have started maintenance on that one before being able to rent it again.    I have found quite a few problems inside and outside the unit and have started daily trips from my place to get things up to a reasonable standard.    Outside there are problems with three monster palms dropping  fruit in the nearby roof gutters which has caused an overflow and  flooding of the roof eaves.  A contractor will be sought to clean out rubbish from the gutters of both houses and a tree person is to give me quotes for removing the palms.  They are huge and old leaves; or are they fronds, look inviting for some miscreant to set alight.

click to enlarge

Inside there has been a problem with shower tiles leaking water through to an internal wall.  I have sealed the tile grout and some patching and painting on the damaged wall is necessary.   I have repaired a toilet cistern and changed tap washers in all the taps.  Next is to have new curtains made and install a front door deadlock.  Most of the window fly screens need replacing.
 
The tenants in the rear unit have been there for years and look after their unit as though it was their own.  Don't want to lose them.

I’d like to sell them both, but the housing market has crashed here.

Working still at age 102

A local Western Australia university (Edith Cowain University)  has decided that a honorary staff member should retire and work from his home.   He is 102 years of  age, which surely must be a record.  Hope he doesn’t die before he sees himself in the Guinness Book of Records.

He doesn’t want to leave the university campus, but the university thinks he may be at risk travelling to and fro from his home every day.  He catches two buses and a train to get to work.   He was awarded The Order of Australia this year and feedback from the public generally wants him to remain at his post.  I listened to a radio interview with him and he still has all his marbles and works with the Centre of Ecosystem Management as a research associate.   The university has offered to set up his small home as a workstation, but he feels he will last longer if he is in contact with fellow academics.

I retired at 59 years of age because I read that an early retirement can lead to a longer lifespan.  I have reached 76 years and even though I loved teaching, I am glad that I retired when I did.

Ernest 'Shiner' Ryan

Recently reading an article in the local daily paper about Ernest ‘Shiner’ Ryan, I was reminded about my contact with Shiner.   In the last year of WW2, we (Mum and Dad, me, Uncle Jack, Aunty Gladys and cousin Valma and grandpa ) lived next door to Shiner Ryan in South Fremantle.  I cannot recall the sleeping arrangements in our unit, but I am sure there were just two bedrooms. 

Shiner was Fremantle’s own crook.  He had served time in jails across Australia mainly for theft.  

Shiner

Under a staircase in our unit was a pile of canned fish with the labels removed.  Cousin Valma and I would play on what was later explained to be stolen fish, courtesy of a couple of Shiner’s U.S. servicemen friends.  At the age of six in 1945 I was not curious enough to ask what all those cans were doing there. I am guessing that it was a keepsafe operation.

The south Terrace unit we lived in, built in 1870

I remember the excitement when VJ day was declared.  South Terrace became a speedway of cars, jeeps and trucks roaring up and down past our place.’ horns blowing, bugles blowing and lots of singing and yelling out.

By 1947 Dad had built our house in Bicton, an outer suburb of Fremantle.   In that year, along with just about every other local youngster,  I had my tonsils removed in Fremantle Hospital.  I recall mother collecting me from the hospital and on the way home visiting Shiner Ryan in his flat.   Whilst sitting at his breakfast table he unscrewed one of the legs to show us how he kept his money safe in the hollowed-out leg.   Later as he saw us off at street level, he commented on a car which was parked with the engine running saying…’In my day that car would be stripped and in the river’.  

Shiner was a bit of a folk hero.  He married late in life.  That marriage lasted about 8 hours.

The popular 'Shiner' Ryan

Bathroom warm again

I found a ‘sparky’ to install and wire a new bathroom heater/light/exhaust fan in one of the bathrooms.  The one I bought is the same brand as previously in the bathroom and although there were much cheaper units, I kept with that brand as the ceiling cut-holes are the same size.    All done @ a price of $150. cash in hand.*  The new unit cost $240. and other brands roughly the same size and capacity sold for as little as $99. 

The man made use of an existing light switch near the doorway to the bathroom, then pushed a four core wire down the conduit alongside the existing switch wires.  The new switch has four buttons to operate fan,heater x2, light and the young sparky suggested I give away having two levels of heating and use just one and have that switch operating both heating lamps.   Works well and I have now returned to my own bathroom.

  OK, I won’t write any more Home Handyman stories.

*common term for these jobs is 'a cashie'.

Home Handyman problems

My sister Shirley has returned to her home in Esperance  at the bottom of Western Australia.  The FESS procedure was successful and after a couple of days here in the city she felt it was safe to return home.

I have a home handyman problem with a bathroom light/heater/exhaust unit which is probably 16+ years old.  The unit was installed after construction of the house and used a remote control to activate each part, as it isn’t ‘hard wired’ in.  Over the last month or so I had to be precise aiming the remote control at the receiver and then the whole thing died.   I figured it was the remote control, but after a bit of Googling, found a method of testing the remote.  The testing relied on a camera to record the infra red beam.  I used the built-in camera on an iMac computer and saw the IR light as I pointed it at the camera lens.  Smart stuff!  Sooooo, the remote is OK.  I guess that means the receiver is probably dead.   Trouble is, this model  has not been made for years and there are no spare parts available.

click to enlarge

Getting a suitable replacement which is controlled with a remote which will fit the exact size of the hole which will be left by the current one, is going to be difficult.

A Funeral

Yesterday I and several friends attended the funeral of a young woman who died suddenly at age 46.  I do not know the details of her sudden death, but it would seem that she knew her life was in danger.  She had written instructions donating any and all body parts which would help others.   The word aneurysm was mentioned by a few people and it may have been that she had an existing condition.

There were around 250 attendees and eulogies were delivered by friends describing her as a most interesting character, friend to many and a much loved daughter to her parents.

I wished that I had known her.

After yesterday I thought that I will need to book  Rentacrowd when I go.

Violet Holmes turns 100

This last Saturday, my aunt Violet; ‘aunty Vi’ celebrated her 100th year with a large group of family and friends.  She looks like she is around my age, 76, and announced that she had no plans to leave us all yet.  I took a lot of photos with aunty Vi and different family groups and individuals.

Vi has entered dementia territory, but when a group of singers played and sang some of the songs she knew well, she was able to sing along with each song.  She received letters of congratulations from the state’s Premier, The Australian Prime Minister and QE2.

Click to enlarge

Tomorrow I am attending a funeral of friends’ daughter.  I am not good with the sudden death of people younger than me.

Shirl is here for FESS surgery

My sister Shirley is staying with me for two weeks during which time she will have a procedure called Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery to remove polyps in her sinuses.   Yesterday we went to Hollywood Hospital for a consultation with the surgeon, and filling scripts for pre-operation medications.  She will be operated on next Thursday and staying overnight in hospital.   The possible side effects read like a horror story, but the man has told her that he has never had any bad side effects on the many similar operations he has performed.  The Frontal Sinus is to be accessed through the eyebrows. Ouch!

Travelling in France

Our daughter Helen and husband James have booked a European holiday  for the month of September.   Yesterday’s tragedy in the French city of Nice where 84 people were killed and another 202 people were injured by a madman who, was a Muslim, but was not a religious person.  

Helen and James have Paris, Nice and Avignon on the French part of their holiday and they and me of course, have some concern about their safety.  The perpetrators of such horrors aim to create as much terror as possible and so attack crowded venues.   

Bali, in Indonesia, suffered an attack in which 88 Australians were killed in a nightclub bombing.  The clubbing foreigners drinking alcohol were an easy target for religious extremists.  In the many times my wife Joan and I visited Bali, we never visited the clubs and stayed in quiet oldies' areas.

Helen and James will no doubt do the same when they visit France and Spain. 

Mitch is safely home

Mitch is home safe in Esperance.  Yesterday, daughter Helen and I collected Mitch from Fiona Stanley Hospital and drove him to Perth Airport in plenty of time.  I thought his baggage was overweight but it went through at no cost.  He will be back up to Perth in about a month for more knee surgery and the hospital will also check out how he is managing the ‘foot drop’ problem.    When he is able to drive again it will most certainly not be a motor scooter.

Last evening I watched ‘Family Feud’.     The thing I find most strange about this show is that the producers somehow manage to find the strangest mix of character in the two families competing.    I have not seen the U.S. version of this show, but the Australian version manages to have at least a few members wearing quite outrageous clothing when they proudly parade themselves for the Australian viewers. So I switched over to the 40th re-run of MASH.   In MASH, I notice there are no ugly nurses.

Some good news for Mitch Jones and Mum

Some very good news for Mitch who is in Fiona Stanley Hospital doing rehab after a major road crash.  It has been eight weeks since he was flown up to Royal Perth Hospital Trauma Unit for specialised surgery  to leg and arm breaks, internal injuries and knee reconstructions.  During the past week he was transported back to RPH Trauma Unit for assessment.  The specialist  team removed an arm plaster and determined that he is fit enough to return home to Esperance this coming Friday.  He has some more knee surgery in a couple of months and maybe some nerve grafting to repair the ‘foot drop’ in his right foot. The nerve damage may well fix itself.  At the moment Mitch’s toes are unable to turn up which may cause tripping on carpet etc.    He is philosophic about this problem as he realises that he is very fortunate to come out of this major crash with most functions working pretty well.

Mitch with Mum, Karen

Click to enlarge

Tom Waits

I have been playing a Tom Waits disk in my car.   I dug it out of my collection because I have not heard anything from him for years.   I went to one of his concerts in Perth some 35 years ago and immediately became a fan of his gravelly voice cultivated by many bottles of whiskey and thousands of cigarettes.  I googled him and it seems that he has lost that course voice and has sort of joined the crooners.  Pity!       I  guess my favourite TW number is Kentucky Avenue which is sort of an autobiographical song about growing up. Here are the words. 

Eddie Grace’s Buick got four bullet holes in the side

Charley DeLisle sittin at the top of an avocado tree

Mrs Storm will stab you with a steak knife if you step on her lawn

I got half pack of lucky strikes, man come along with me

lets fill our pockets with macadamia nuts

then go over to Bobby Goodmanson’s and jump off the roof

Hilda plays strip poker and her mama’s across the street

Joey Nafinski said she put her tongue in his mouth

Dicky Faulkner’s got a switchblade and some gooseneck risers

That eucalyptus is a hunchback, there’s a wind up from the south

let me tie you up with kite string and I’ll show you the scabs on my knee

Watch out for the broken glass, put your shoes and socks on

and come along with me

Let’s follow that fire truck, I think your house is burning down

then go down to the hobo jungle and kill some rattle snakes with a trowel

we’ll break all the windows in the old Anderson place

and steal a bunch of boysenberries and smear em on your face

I’ll get a dollar from my mama’s purse and buy that skull and crossbones ring

and you can wear it round your neck on an old piece of string

then we’ll spit on Ronnie Arnold and flip him the bird

And slash the tires on the school bus now don’t say a word

I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials in my arm

and I’ll show you how to sneak up on the roof of the drugstore

I’ll  take the spokes from your wheelchair and a magpie’s wings

and I’ll tie them to your shoulders and your feet

I’ll steal a hacksaw from my Dad and cut the braces off your legs

and we’ll bury them tonight in the cornfield

Put a church key in your pocket, we’ll hop that freight train in the hall

We’ll slide all the way down the drain to New Orleans in the fall

You can listen to it here....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bTCOQsupY0

The Ups and Downs of medicine

I am waiting around for my son-in-law to deliver me to hospital for a Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy.  I have had them before, but this time is the first time because of a positive in a Faecal Blood test.

I haven’t really eaten anything in the last few days and the bowel cleanser seems to have done the job...as it were.  I won’t crack the old joke about hoping they do the Gastro first.

I know that when I come around I will be offered a sandwich and a coffee but I will really be thinking of a nice meal I have already prepared at home.  

Daughter Helen is collecting me from the hospital and I am hoping that I have good news to give her.

PS:  All is well.

Mitch in rehab at Fiona Stanley Hospital

My niece from Esperance has been staying at my place whilst visiting her son in rehab at Fiona Stanley Hospital.  Mitch is undergoing rehab after a major road accident where he had three breaks in a leg, a broken arm and two knee reconstructions.  When I saw him on Sunday he was on a machine to exercise (stretch) the ligaments in his right knee on a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion) machine.  He is a long way off being discharged; probably another month before he will be able to walk unassisted.   Fiona Stanley is a relatively new hospital of probably three years.  It is huge and up-to-date with all the latest medical facilities.

Last night I advertised an Apple Mac G5 tower on a trader paper, Gumtree.  This model is very popular with people building a ‘Hackintosh’ where the Apple Mac’s guts is removed from the solid aluminium G5 and a fast Windows computer packed into the empty space.    I didn’t want any money for it and overnight, I had 185 views of the page and 16 people wanted to come and collect it.  One fellow finished work at 10pm and fronted up to take it away.    I restore Macs and give them to needy folk for free.  This one refused to run properly so I sacrificed it to Hachintoshville.

The Inoccents

Daughter Helen had me over to dinner last evening.  Her husband James was on a mining site; week on, week off.

She had made a lovely curry and after finishing the meal we adjourned to the lounge to watch a bit of TV.

Helen complained that one of the staffies (Ruby and Rosie) smelled like urine.  She did a bit of sniffing of both of my grandkids and was a bit perplexed about which of the girls had done a Number 1.  Helen asked me to come and investigate the smell and after a short sniff-around I determined that is was on her.     We  both realised that she has spilled some Fish Sauce on her blouse when she was making the curry.   The girls were forgiven.

Getting old

Yes, growing old isn’t for sissies.

   

My Psoriasis has returned and I have made an appointment with the dermatologist to recommence the UV light treatment, which to a large extent worked, earlier in the year.  

I had a blood faecal test which came back positive and I am booked in to have a colonoscopy .  My GP tells me that the presence of blood  doesn’t necessarily mean I have bowel cancer.  Thanks Doc.

Daughter Helen and my late wife Joan. 

circa 1983

Letters to the editor

I always read the letters to the editor in our daily newspaper. There are other minor weekly papers serving specific areas surrounding Perth City.  A recent letter to the editor of The Fremantle Herald had Barry having a bit of a whinge about homeless people camping in his leafy suburb of Applecross.

Tina replied to Barry in the next week’s edition and Bazza shot one back to Tina the following week..  I’m not sure this exchange is totally finished.  In any case it’s a good read.  Click to enlarge text

A good week

I have had a very good week; visits from two lovely ex-students, a friend, an ex-colleague, who is visiting home from the U.S. and today a friend who brought me some memory food back from one of his his regular trips to Papua New Guinea.  Click images to enlarge.

PNG products still popular 

This morning I went to a ‘swap meet’ and bought a blow torch.  It is probably 50+ years old and still works well.  The fuel tank is brass and will polish up nicely.  Not sure if I will ever use it, but it is a nice piece.    A ‘swap meet’ is perhaps not the correct name for a flea market as the only swapping done there is swapping money for objects.

Lynch Syndrome

Our daughter Helen recently had a Colonoscopy and the results showed no cancers, but 31 polyps were removed.  That number is of concern and when she visited her GP she was told that there is a possibility that she may have Lynch Syndrome.  

An extract from the doctor’s information handout....

   It would seem That either my side of the family or my late wife’s side may be genetically disposed to this syndrome.  I should perhaps get tested. I will discuss the matter when I visit my GP next week.

Meanwhile Helen will have regular tests and scans.

St John's Ambulance Service

Yesterday I had a visit from an ex-student of mine; Hwee.  Hwee was a fav student of mine at Willetton SHS and she works as an ambo for the St John’s Ambulance Service here in Western Australia.    There are many stories we should gather on the work of ambos; some of them humorous, some dangerous and some sad.   Ambos certainly see a broad cross-section of society. There is a good book or a realty TV show to be made there.

I was surprised to read that the U.S. state of Alabama still has separate schools for whites and the rest of society.   I thought the American Civil War to end that sort of rubbish was won in 1865.   

Mitch is on the mend

Mitch is on the mend.  The latest surgery was to reconstruct his left knee.

 They want to leave a week in between each surgery. Next will be right knee then left wrist. He is in good spirits and keen to get things moving along. Abdomen seems fine now so let's hope it stays that way. 

Mitch with mum Karen

'You've been in the wars!'

Short report on my niece’s son Mitch. Text from mother Karen....

had a set back last night.  Emerg surgery to remove part of his bowel that had a hole in it and leaking air through his tummy.  Big abscess draining now.  In ICU. Hopefully tomorrow back to trauma unit.

and then more the following morning....

In pretty good spirits.  Gut not working still. Small blood clot left vein of kidney. Bit jaundice today. So many things at work/concern.

My mother would have said...’you’ve been in the wars’.

Google searches

Some six years ago I wrote about a David Attenborough documentary titled ‘The Biami People of Papua New Guinea’.  I found it on YouTube on January, 18th 2010. You can find that post here.

Yesterday when I was checking my blog hits I found that that posting suddenly has 80 hits with people searching for The Biami People of PNG.    Most of those hits were from the UK and so I thought that Attenborough’s documentary must have been screened on BBC television that evening.   Looking closer, I found that around 5 hits were from the U.S.A.

Searching for that documentary with Google I found a TV programme on air on May 8 with small clips of many of Attenborough’s travels and the Biami was part of a collection of his previous adventures…this one from 1950.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2016/may/04/attenborough-90-wildlife-legend-top-10-tv-moments

This is a screenshot of that segment…

Click to enlarge

Mitch update.

Mitchell's situation is looking better.

Facebook post by his mother Karen.

Mitchell's ongoing saga

 My niece’s son Mitch is still in intensive care after his major road accident.  His leg and arm have been repaired, but he is still on oxygen because of damage to his lung.  The medics cannot repair damaged ligaments until his lungs are deemed strong enough for more surgery.  The lung problem is preventing an MRI scan as the medics think he is not  strong enough to detach him from oxygen etc for the 15 minute transfer to the MRI machine.  If the ligaments are not repaired soon, they may shrink.

Mitch also has some cracked/broken ribs.   

I have this information from my sister in Esperance.  It is all a bit ‘sketchy’ and I hope I have it correct.

T-Boned by a 4WD

My sister Shirley lives in Esperance, a nice seaside town on the south coast of Western Australia.  Her daughter Karen also lives there.  One of Karen’s sons was involved in a serious road accident yesterday.   He was riding a moped to work when a 4WD T-boned him breaking his leg in three places and his arm.  He had a CT Scan and was flown to Royal Perth Hospital for specialist treatment.  Further scans have shown extensive bruising of his heart, lung, kidney and spleen.  The open wounds and broken bones of his leg and arm will probably be operated on today.  There is concern that his heart and lungs may not like the anaesthetic and fail.  I would surmise that RPH has the equipment and skills to get him through the first stage.  If he pulls through, this looks like a long spell in hospital.  

Karen and another son and her ex-husband, the father of Mitchell are standing by.

Update:  Mitchell has survived the initial surgery to repair his leg and arm.

Blowflies

Here in Western Australia we are still in Autumn.  It is cool and we, in the metropolitan areas, have had some welcome rain.  Another welcome event around this time is the dearth of flies.  In warmer times I have a problem with blowflies getting down my kitchen exhaust system, negotiating the exhaust fan and coming in for an inspection of my curry cooking.   The exhaust system goes through the ceiling, through the roof cavity and out to fresh air through a ‘Chinaman’s Hat’ vent.  Previously I had surrounded the vent with fly wire to keep the blowies out and recently had to venture up on the roof to repair gaps in the wire screen.   

Click to enlarge

          Someone, please remind me what flies are here for.  

The cooler weather has brought on a small plague of moths who make every effort to lay eggs in all my pantry leftovers. Time to buy some sticky moth baits.

 I guess moths have a place in this world too??

Another question: Is it sensible for a 76 year old bloke to be up on a roof?

Creepers and the Corpse Flower

At 76 I have seen lots of interesting plants especially creepers.  When we worked in Papua New Guinea, one plant was not common, but usually found by following a scent which was described as smelling like a rotting corpse.  I saw only one of these plants, by smelling it and wandering off into the bush to find a strange looking plant which was not one you would cultivate in your garden.  Read about it here.

Here, at my  house, I grow a number of Passionfruit vines and am always fascinated to see how quickly they form support structures to enable them to bridge a gap.  Where are their brains?

Having a look for the sun

Almost there!

A most welcome gift

Yesterday we had our weekly gathering of 6 oldies.   One of the group, Ralph, was chief photographer for Telecom in Perth, Western Australia for ten years until his retirement. Prior to that he was in the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) for 20+ years as a photographer and served in Vietnam during that conflict; Malaysia and Woomera rocket range and as Ralph says....’also at the local pub at Werribee’.  Plenty of stories from Ralph about his life adventures.

Ralph yesterday gifted his collection of cameras to me. Some nice gear in that lot and even if they are all from the time of film, I think I might source some film and shoot some photos through the medium format Zenza Bronica.  At our old house, I built a darkroom and processed film and printed photos.  I taught photography for some 12 years and have gone completely digital in cameras and photoshopping images.

The new acquisition will join my camera collection.  Click images to enlarge

A little sucker

Doing a bit of pre-winter gardening I found a little sucker (literally) sucking on my Tahitan Lime Tree buds   Don't know its entomological name and being a nice day and feeling well I didn't punish it.   Drink up kid!
Click image to view.

I can't drink upside down.

A good deal!

I was doing some grocery shopping in an IGA store and noticed a large stack of coffee machines.  When I asked about the price I was told they were free with the purchase of 6 packets of coffee pods.  I went for the deal and for A$39 I have 6 packets of 12 pods of different tastes and a nice coffee machine.    Best deal I have had in many a year.

I already have a coffee machine but have not used it much as I didn’t enjoy the coffee I had ground.  It is also a bit messy compared to the pod machine.  I'll sell it or give it away to someone.

Click images to enlarge

In with the new

out with the old

Winners and losers

And I definitely lost today.  My microwave oven light had died so I sourced one from a parts supplier.  It is not a standard low wattage bulb and it cost $38+.    The salesperson told me it was expensive because of the microwave rays it would be exposed to.   BS!  The bulb isn’t in contact with any dangerous rays. 

  PS; if you are attempting to replace such a light bulb in a microwave oven, be careful of any residual high-power zaps from touching the wrong bits.

I have a microwave leak meter to detect leaks from poor door seals. Inexpensive, and well worth owning when many microwave ovens are operated at eye level.

Made my day!

Doing some shopping at a local market this morning I met Suzie, a wonderful young lady I taught during my years at Willetton SHS.  I urged her to visit for a cup of tea and we had probably about an hour of great reminiscences about family, school and friends.

Suzie has an ongoing affliction of migraine headaches and over a number of years she has tried the usual medical treatments and even some alternative treatments to no avail.

She is hopeful of eventually finding the cure.

Suzie today and another pic from my scrappy marks book when I taught her in Year 8.

You made my day Suzie.

How is it so?

Today I received a small tool I had ordered from Germany.  It is designed to accurately push out pins in a metal watch band to adjust the size to suit a wrist.  As an old bloke I am getting quite skinny and I needed to shorten the band of the watch I received from my school upon retirement some 17 years ago.   It cost a mere A$1.40 and was sent air mail, post free and delivered to my door by Australia Post.  How is that done?  Click to enlarge the image.

  

I’ll try it out tomorrow, but not be too upset if it doesn’t do the job.

Music on the Brain

Wonderful programme on ABC Catalyst recently....Music on the Brain.

Research worldwide has shown that people in deep dementia awake and even sing along when headphones playing familiar music are placed on the head of patients with remarkable results. Similarly, patients with advanced Parkinson’s Disease when experiencing dance music lose all the dyskinesias associated with Parkinsons and begin dancing effortlessly. Footage taken in nursing homes show this amazing temporary change.

If you are in Australia you can view this 30 minute program on ABC iView.

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/catalyst/SC1502H006S00

Oldies gathering

Had a gathering yesterday of a bunch of oldies with a lifelong association with the scouting movement.  As we have lost a few in the years gone, their wives have remained friends as part of this small group.  Most of us started out in the Cub Scouts at around age 9/10; progressed to Sea Scouts and then the Rovers.  So I, at least, joined the movement at around 67 years ago.   Here is a pic.  I am not in it as I was wielding the photographic machine or whatever it’s called. 

Click image to enlarge

Imagination

This morning I ‘installed’ a small job I did for daughter Helen’s Pre Primary class. I drove to the school and went to the office to sign in as a visitor.  The school registrar quizzed me about what I was here for and asked if I had a Working With Children certificate.  I told her I hadn’t and she was on her way to tell the Deputy Principal.  I yelled out that I was not going into a classroom and my daughter had chosen this exact time so that her class would not be outside in the playground.  She hummed a bit, but signed me in and gave me a visitor’s badge to wear.  A lot of people think that Principals run schools, but in my experience the registrar seems to be in charge most times.

The little job was to try and attach a few things I had made onto a tree to entertain the kids and spark a bit of imagination.  The tree wasn’t my choice as it was difficult to get all the things looking like they should.  I would have preferred a straight trunk tree, but Helen said it looked fine and the kids would love it.

I stood outside the fence when the kids were let out to take a look.  It was a great success.  One girl told everyone the ‘there is someone inside there’ and tried to open the little door.  Worthwhile project.

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Young performers

A friend (and ex-student of mine) Sean, has two lovely kids, Cody and Bae.  I took a snap of Bae when my wife Joan and I visited Sean and his family in NSW some 10 years ago.

Click images to enlarge.

Bae is now 16 and is quite the thespian.  Pic here of her playing The Bad Joke Monster in a production of ‘Conundrum’ and was nominated for Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) award.

Cody is a music performer and has recently commenced a music diploma.

Canadian visitors

Had a nice couple of days with cousin Ann and husband Doug visiting from Canada.  Ann was a Lock from Narrogin Valley in Western Australia and she met Doug who was in Australia, working and they returned to BC, Canada where they still live.  They are leaving Australia on Sunday flying direct to South Africa (Sith Iffrica) for a few weeks there on safari etc.

Many laughs in the two days they stayed over at my place.  My wife Joan and I visited Doug and Ann in Canada for a pleasant week and they suggested that I could return for another visit.  Maybe; or I could just wait for their regular four yearly visit back to Australia to catch up again.

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Joan Lock

Today marks five years since my Joan died.    We had 46 wonderful years together.  Miss her every day.

A few pics of our time together. Click to enlarge

1965

1973

1990

?

From Bridgetown, Yogyakarta, Agde (France),Bali and Penang

Honour among thieves?

A friend, Joy, had her purse stolen from a shopping trolley in a store at a large shopping centre.  She only realised it was gone when she fronted up to the cash register to pay for her purchases.

She immediately cancelled her bank cards and tried to remember what other details one does keep in a purse or wallet.  I don’t offhand know all the cards etc I have in my wallet. 

Yesterday she received a parcel from Australia Post’s Returned Mail Office containing her purse, minus the cash, her bank cards and drivers licence.  She enquired with Australia Post as to how her purse became returned mail.  It seems that opportunistic theft of purses and wallets is mainly to get cash and credit cards.  The rest is often dropped into an Australia Post mailbox and when sorted is dispatched to any address on ID in the purse.

Joy has already sourced a new driver’s licence card and her bank cards will take a few days to arrive.