The case of the Boutique Beers

I have had a delivery of beers in a small suitcase.  That sneaky daughter has sent beers interstate. James Squire was a convict made good.  What else might you do if sent to the colonies, start brewing beer. I have received 'Hop Thief', '50 lashes', 'Swindler' and 'Nine Tales'.  I think these need to be consumed while contemplating in the Dell.

Forever Peace

22 yar after first winning the Hugo in 1976 with Forever War, comes a second Haldeman Hugo book, Forever Peace in 1998.  These titles seem to have a connection but even though the war is followed by the peace, it is not a sequel.  This one revolves around armies of robots where the soldier is in a bunker using direct input to control their actions.  I have seen this theme before where a receptor, like the jack for a music input, is installed on back of the neck for access to the brain. I can't remember the name of the film. That one ended badly however this book ends in peace, Forever Peace.

This crypt with a grave stone never appeared in the book anywhere - What the?

A Delivery of Stamps

Had success at the online stamp auction and today there arrived a largish box with $22 of stamps on the outside just to post it. On the inside were thousands of stamps. My strategy was to bid on bulk. There were lots going for all types of amounts and quantities. The most expensive was over $5000 for one lot and there weren't many stamps in it.  In the end I paid $446 which includes postage, commission, insurance, packaging and taxes.  All in all an interesting exercise.  Many lots were passed in so it is now possible to revisit those and buy them for the reserve price. I received 5 albums, 2 shoe boxes and a cake tin crammed with stamps. 

I'm going to need more albums

Online Prints

I have sent off for a stack of 8x10s to be printed online. These are the historic photos I found of places around Drysdale.  I have TIF versions which are high resolution and suitable for larger prints, even poster size, however the Snap Fish site can't deal with these. I uploaded them to Office Works who have a better set up for large printing such as advertising etc. So their photo section works with TIF files.  It will take two weeks. 

An early drawing of the Dell 1872

Same view but with the bath house erected 20 yar later 1891

McDermott's Secret Beach

Went looking for the first house built on the Bellarine Peninsula in 1849. Coryule was commissioned by Drysdale and Newcomb the pioneering women sheep farmers of the day.  The ride starts out on the most modern streetscape of Curlewis with under ground power and services and construction extending out to the horizon as well as to the water in the other direction. Then it all ends at a straight line with a dirt road extending off. Soon I come to Coryule which is only one large paddock away from being swallowed by housing estates.  And these people want their privacy, as the large picket fence with the very large pointed pickets cuts off the house and the view of it from the road. Further down, the dirt road deteriorates and ends at a high view of a beach. There is a path down to the secluded crunchy beach with a lot of sand and shells.

Malagueta

We have been getting many messages from various overseas travelers this Winter. Which all adds up to wanting to get over there as well.  Last night the Tour of Spain started and the first day was in Malaga.  The time trial route traced out just about every site we went to.  And yesterday they had to ban cruise ships for a day, as the port road was part of the route. I recommend Malaga. It has a bit of everything, including Picasso, Roman ruins and the beach.  And if Cartojal is on, there is wine in the streets. 

Visitors

We have had a flood of visitors (6 adults).  It seems like a lot in two days but it has worked out well. These have been beach days in Winter.  Good enough for those Banana Benders to have to take their jumpers off.   We have had some good water based observations as well, including kayak fishing, yachting and mussel boats.

Baby and Phone

Drop anchor here

From the kitchen window

Paddle fishing

No pressure

1st Beach Day 18/19

Went over to the beach, this time bringing a towel and wearing swimmers. It is officially 24/8/18 but but full immersion was obtained (not me) although I did get my feet in. My feet have a small problem known as 'cooped up in Winter shoes too long' syndrome.  Molly was the one who dived in.  The absence of wind as always was the key factor.  Quinn went in but Zara did not (How do you spell Zara, Zarah? 

The Mighty Quinn

Clear waters

Where's the towel?

Historic Dell

I have been hunting around for historic records of nearby places like the Dell.  Many old drawings, photos and prints have gone past copyright periods, so copies can be obtained as freebies.  I have found some good ones at the State Library Archive and they let you have a copy.  Now I have to find the best way to print some so that they can get on the wall.  My favourite is a subdivison map of Clifton Springs. It shows a steamer waiting at the end of the pier and the swimming enclosure nearby. All part of the advertising to buy a block in the 1890's.  I don't think it happened as most of it is now a golf course.

Phoenix Auction

I am currently bidding at an online stamp auction house. I am an online bidding neo. (Have no idea).  The rules and layout of the web site seem complex but I have placed three bids and am the top bidder on two lots.  There is a count down to a start time being tomorrow morning, so I think what we are doing now is placing pre-bids.  The third lot that I am now behind on keeps displaying a higher start price each time I up my bid.  Where not talking sheep stations here. I went from leading at $20 to being behind at $25, $30 and $35.  I just bumped it up to $40 and have taken back the top bid ranking.

Stamping my authority

A History of Britain

Read this book in fairly short order.  This history was a bit different in that its theme was around the stamps that commemorated historic events.  Some of these chapters were a bit of a stretch, such as a definitive stamp, which I have in my Maps on Stamps collection, with the theme of productivity, released in 1962. The author then goes on the hunt to illustrate the stamp theme with examples, like the Beatles being very productive that year in selling millions of records.  So its a bit of light reading that makes a change from SciFi.

Stamp with a Map

Open Sesame

Some expensive replacements have gone in around our entrance doorway.  The handle and lock mechanisms had a goldish finish but the sea air has tarnished and stripped off some of it. Also there is a two way speaker doorbell that has not been working properly.  The locksmith did the door knob job and retumbled the mechanism to our existing key.  We had to install and rewire the speaker and bell ourselves but now anyone who is at the door can be grilled and questioned about their presence and if they are a salesman or some other trespassing interloper, all without the need to open the door. This includes YOU.

before

before

after

after

Hangers

So far we have seen numerous activities passing our door, weather they be sailors, paddlers, dolphins,  ships or pelicans. This time it was hang gliders and they seemed to like a height just parallel with our deck. This could prove interesting during summer if we were on deck. One of them did an emergency (crash) landing below us on the beach.  It was a bit comical watching this guy try to walk his hang glider back to the grassy section.

Edgewater Flying

I need a rest

1 minute to fly here 45 minutes to walk back

Cables and Gliders

To print or not to print

Went next door to help rescue Bob's HP printer.  I've forgotten how I used to approach IT problems, half the time its the user and this is an octogenarian but he is savvy.  He has a wiz bang Lenovo where the computer is built into the back of the screen however the printer is 3 to 4 yar old.  I used to hover over these problems in my worker days but I dived in when I should have hovered a bit more as the printer had two problems.
Turns out an update from a few days back has killed off compatibility with his old printer IE the printer has USB 2.0 ports and the computer uses USB 3.0.  As a rule I always prefer a hard wire connection however this had wireless printing capability so it was a way to bypass the USB issue. After hunting around we found a scrawled password to his router and voila wireless connection was enabled.   We were still beaten as there was no black being printed.  A new cartridge was put in but still no black print.  Time for a new printer.  One set of 4 cartridges was almost the cost of a new printer.

Tour of Drysdale

I have devised a short 20km bicycle tour of Drysdale. Don't worry about your tours de force or your tours de france. Three of us set off in a bit of wind but it is fairly flat circuit.  It is a combination of dirt road, bicycle track and paved road but they were mostly quiet back roads. We stopped at the Potato Shed for a look inside. This is a well appointed stage production venue that is not implied by its name.  Our last stop was the boat ramp area below Jetty Rd. We have been watching the Earth moves from our deck. This reinforcement is now complete and new barbecues etc have finished it off.

Five Finger Salute

Tree takes a Bough 

Boat ramps

Beach Walk No 297

Low tide certainly allows more space to walk but high tide throws up a few oddities. I seem to be timing it more for high tide lately.  There are still a few jelly fish about but not that many.  A passing bulk carrier must have sprung a leak in the hold as there is a line of wheat currently stretching all the way along the beach.  Some other items included a particularly ugly toad like fish, some gnarly drifwood and an aboriginal carved spear head made of green glass.  Almost looks like part of a bottle neck but the area is an aboriginal site. Good thing too as there would be another bottleneck of cars but the site preservation prevented the building of a car park. Hooray.

Cormorants

Wheat

Glass  bottleneck SpearHead

Penny Black

I have been reading a history thru postage stamps. This was the world's first postage stamp, featuring a young Queen Victoria and as such is worth the most money. Rowland Hill received some letters at his house when he was young.  The early system required the receiver to pay for the delivery on arrival. The cost was dreamed up on route. He was sent into town to sell a few items laying around the house, to get the 3 shillings required.  Twenty yar later he invented the postage stamp.  His idea saw him put in charge of the post office and he printed 40 million penny blacks in the first year 1840. If you can find a mint one today, it is worth $220,000.00

Black was not a good choice of colour as it often hid the cancellation.

Solar Flow

Our first electricity bill has come in since the faulty inverter was replaced some weeks ago. Not that I am complaining. (Yes I am).  The Delta people replaced it under a 10 year warranty. Can't complain about that. If something is attached to a house, does that mean you have paid for it when you buy that house? As the previous owner actually paid the bill. Anyway we got a grand total of $15 off our bill. I have heard  a lot of  hooey about these systems and its not sparking enthusiasm so far.  I know of people who have paid $10000 to get it installed. Maybe ours will generate more over Summer. As for saving the environment all the early more generous FIT  rates will run out in the next few years and then batteries will come down in price. These batteries are huge and how are they to be disposed of?

Sunny Day Ride

If the sun comes out go for a ride. Found mostly dirt roads on this ride, one of them was Banks Rd but up the very top end where it hits a T intersection. There is a boat builder here in the middle of farm paddocks with no water for launching boats. I rode mostly on back roads.  Also found a camel, a ruined house with only the chimney left and a flag pole.  24 kms in total in just under 2 hrs.

He was wanting food.

Mannerim memorial

Chimney and Kiln

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

I finished reading another Hugo, this one from 1967. Robert Heinlein has written a story paralleling the American War of Independence. Instead of East Coast North America it is the Moon trying to fight off a tyrannical Earth.  Kim Stanley Robertson did the same thing 30 yar later when Mars was having its troubles with Earth.  Maybe Hugos should be read in chronological order, as authors seem to borrow ideas from those who have gone before.

Major Tom

Down a Rabbit Hole

I have never been inside the ACMI in the Fed Square.  We were getting out of the rain more than anything, as our tickets had expired at 9:30 but they let us in at 11:30 anyway. This was similar to overseas experiences, where we have arrived but missed our time slot, like for the statue of David but they let us in late there as well.  This was the better activity from yesterday. The hole was a rounded hole at the top but on the other side it was a descending staircase.  A slide would have been better. After that Alice's wonderland opened up. The theme was the many times that A in W had been filmed over the years and the techniques used.  The ACMI had their own version of the Mad Hatter's tea party and it was a full immersion 3D virtual reality party but without the 3D goggles.

No Head

Drink Me

Look but don't touch

Cheshire

Speakeasy HQ

The 60th birthday outings have continued but we did not pick the best day weather wise. Yesterday was 20 but today was 13 with no wind but with a cold rain. We brought umbrellas but still got wet at least three times.  The Speakeasy has been in Flinders St for 2 years now. It's not the best show in town but still worth a look and don't expect to be filled with food if you take the High Tea option as the emphasis is on the vaudeville not on the food.  And we skipped lunch beforehand. No phasements.  We met a couple from the Light side who'd come from Safety Beach for the show. Small World as they are good friends with the Dawes.

This old bank is Vaudeville on top

And below is the Vault another small venue