Asher screws it up

Another birthday and this time the mother is out done by the daughter.  The last time I had this much action in a 24 hr period must have been the last rogaine I went on.  There was no gym session or even breakfast at the Mantra this time around. We just got up showered and headed out.  Having the bike in the room with us saved time in the rain last night and seemed to be good entertainment for a Chinese tour bus this morning as I attached the bike rack. Which worked OK except for the broken electrical plug that I left dangling on the ground when I drove off some weeks back. This is where Asher helped her dad get a replacement plug fitted.

Small flower for a small hand

Taking Tricks

The card school is back is session at least for tonight.  It has been a less regular occurrence of late maybe partly due to the spread of retirement residences from country Ballarat thru the Bellarine Peninsula and if we stretch it via Storky then even as far as Bowral NSW.  The next trick is getting there, as the car has been used for grand daughter sitting.  Easy, just ride to Port Arlington from 2:30pm catch the ferry at 3:45pm. Start the ride again from Docklands at 5:00pm get to Tullamarine by 6:00pm, get cleaned up, find some food, drive to Xsanguinator by 8:00pm.   No Problemo.

What a Joker!

My Health record

I got the poo results which said no occult blood to be found. This is a good thing and consistent with previous tests. However I thought I would check the My Gov website and see what was actually recorded about it. There doesn't seem to be anything that I can see.  I checked Pathology and other areas like Hospital discharge reports, all of which has happened in the last 12 months but the record is empty.  What I would really like is info about inoculations, when they happened and when the next booster is required particularly from a travel point of view.

White Fish

Went for the swim today in grassy water.  Not as good when the view is a bit clouded. However I did see one ray and the biggest fish so far. It was a white Wrasse sitting squarely on the bottom and about  one metre long. It was also fat and probably good eating. I saw another one the other day with a bite out of it maybe this one took the bite. It let me swim very close and right over the top.  This was around 4:00 pm and the temp had climbed from 13 this morning to 24.

Rosy Wrasse

Kestrel's network

There is still one stubborn issue with the new machine when trying to use the Samsung Mobile hotspot for access to the internet whilst you are out and about.  Of course we are testing this at home where there is already wired and wireless networks to tap into.  Having isolated those other networks and gotten the Dell man to update every network driver he can find, it still does not allow connection via the phone.  If we use my Nokia Windows phone it works no problem, so the issue is on the Samsung itself. After an hour on the phone to Telstra, they were no help, so the last port of call is Samsung.  It turns out there is a setting that only allows devices in the list to connect, even though Kestrel is on the list, we had to turn that level of security off.  Now it works. The phone most likely needs an update of some sort.

PS We have heard that a very large Windows 10 update was released yesterday so we don't need that muddying the comms.  Updates are compulsory these days.

Birds and Possums

I could hear this ruckus from my desk. Monarchs and Magpies were getting very animated. I got the video out but I mixed it up as I filmed the floor when I thought it was off and then turned it off when I pointed at the target.  The birds were having a go at a possum all in broad daylight. Possums must be nest and egg raiders.  At least I got a photo.  I had another bird video so I've posted that one instead.

back to the wall - the birds were way bigger

                                                          love that formation flying

10000th

I have been closing in on this milestone for a while now and I had a bet with myself that it would be a map. But it turns out to be a Cuckoo bird. I would never have picked that. My concentration on Australian Dependencies of late has paid off with my 10000th stamp to be recorded in the database  featuring Norfolk Island. There are 7852 records in the database each with an image. The directory holding them is nearly 3Gb in size yet the database itself is only 6000Kb efficiency plus.  There is no actual counter in the database for the number of stamps. I am doing a clunky manual workaround using a spare text field rather than a formatted numerical field. I pointed this out to the guy I bought it off and he goes "If I do a upgrade I'II bear it in mind."  I used to design and write the code for databases years ago but wouldn't bother trying to unclog the rust for this.

Book value 50c

Auction Strategy

I have been targeting Australian dependencies like Norfolk Island and Christmas Island in the online auctions. Three times in a row I was beaten out of the lots I was after, mainly because I was away during the last few days before the auction. It seems that most of the action occurs just beforehand. I had to increase my bids several times beforehand to see these people off.  I put in for three lots thinking I might get one or two but got all three for a total of $270.  There is some serious money spent this way, such as the $44,000 that was spent on each of three lots, consisting of one stamp only. At least I got 3000 stamps for my $270. The first Australian stamp is a halfpenny green Kangaroo and Map. One of these sold for $2742. I have one of these and it looks in better condition.  It is valued in the book at $8.00. Go figure.

I returned to this Lot 11 stamp and found that the valuable thing is the Brisbane post mark in the upper left corner. This is a cancelled to order version of which there were only 18 issued. Hence way more valuable than my paltry $8.00 one.  This valuation stuff requires a black magic knowledge base.

My one must be worth more than $8.00

Wildcat

This book is a politico, cloak and dagger Australian version of a thriller.  It was written around 30 years ago. I found it on the shelf and have know idea where it came from but it makes a change from the CIA or MI5 type of scenario. Even before I started reading, my prediction about this yarn was pretty close. I figured it had to have an outback component along with a corrupt system that was somehow affecting us all. I got the ending wrong though. I also thought Ayers Rock would get a mention but all the action was way up North near Kakadu.

Don't judge the book by it's goofy cover

Weathered

I seem to be talking about the weather a lot in these posts but from our position on the edge you can see what's coming before it gets here. I can't help myself. Today was a shocker. 45kph driving winds depositing dirt and dust into the water and combined with the uprooted sea grass its colour turned brown.  Yet yesterday was crystal clear, so much so that I found a new coral cluster that I had not seen before. I will try to find it again with a camera. Even still I went down to the beach today but it was a wasted effort.

yesterday low tide clear

today high tide black

Kestrel is born

One of the things I spend time on when a new computer arrives is its name.  Over the years I have had an Australian animal & birdlife type of theme.  I think Kestrel is just right, as so far this machine soars.  There were some issues, in that we had to wait another ten days for new monitor cables even though I pointed out exactly what was needed. There are less USB ports these days, no doubt due to the wireless connectivity boom however we have only bought the wireless mouse and we have specialist microphones and cameras for webinar broadcasting that need USB ports. I will have to see if there are still any powered USB extensions at office works. The cables were not the only delivery. The Sock Fairy put another pair of socks in the letter box and then the door rang again with a hamper from Flight Centre. I think this one is more your gratitude and bribery as we have been customers for a long time and they want to keep it that way.

It's not even Christmas

Kestrel

Biennial Poo

As in every two years I need to concentrate on a special poo. Time seems to fly between these poos but I have been preparing for quite some time with an informative poo book I was given for my birthday. There are seven types of poo and now that I think back I must have delivered just about all seven of these to the poo office. This year was definitely a type 3 with a pass difficulty of 2.  The testing kit has improved in design. No more trying to aim into a tube, nowadays they provide a dipping wand where you simply jab your production in numerous locations for completeness. This is then sealed into a shaker tube and placed into the envelope.  Two of these are required to be sent to the poo office on a cool day.

Sealed not yet delivered

Swimtime Birdtime

I managed to do my one lap swim today although the breeze sprung up just as I was starting. There is still a lot of suspended sea grass floating around. It is eerie swimming, as each individual strand hangs vertically as if attached to a roof.  Debbie has defeated the digging birds in the veggie patch. A complex web of netting covers everything except for pertinent holes. The birds we want to see arrived at the front bird bath when we were sitting right next to it. Two male fairy wrens  decided to have a bath at the same time. We had never seen this before and one of them was missing his tail.

Birds In

Birds Out

Sunset thru a torn cloud

Asher meets Indiana Jones

Birthday luncheons are an all day affair these days and I mean just to get there and back particularly where the venue is Darraweit Guim and the house at the end of  the Lane.  A good venue for Great Grandma's 85th birthday.  Of course it is the one and two year olds that grab the attention. There are many projects on the go here, whether it is building massive sheds, restoring cars or just running a herd of 50 cattle, there is plenty to do.

the shed with everything

A table for 20

Sharing with Indiana Jones

Complete with Molly (the dog)

check out those wooden spokes

the engine is now in place

Envy the Night

This is a stock standard crime thriller, although not all the bad guys were killed off in this one so the ending was a bit different.  It is set in a cold wet place and I am hanging out for a bit of sunshine around here, even the books I am reading are short of it.  It says in the notes that this story was written as part of a writing class and that the writer Koryta is a licensed private detective who wanted to turn some of his work into written stories. I don't reckon any of this story has much truth to it.

Train Tunnel

Went for a ride to check out how the new bypass road is getting on. It took me 30 min to get out of the garage as there was a flat back tire and it is the first time I have changed a tube on this bike with the disc brake plate to negotiate.  The valve was cut so I assume it was rubbing on the rim.  I have confirmed the new road is a road not a freeway as there are intersections with crossing roads. There is also a new bike path running along side as I had to detour along part of it where the rail trail intersects it.  This is where the tunnel has been erected for the steam train.  At the moment it is more like a concrete dome.  There is no dirt packed around it yet.

Valve trouble

Future tunnel

Beach Inspection

It was cloudy but not so windy today so I checked out the scrub clearance work which is not a bad idea from a bush fire point of view.  They have left piles of it near the path but they were not back there today. The small beach on the other side of the groyne has been protected form westerly swells bringing sea grass so is quite clear at the moment.  I tried the new camera out on the city skyline, Melbourne that is, and the zoomality is good.

clear beach

Part zoom

Full zoom

Precipitous Bluff

I have digitised photos from a  classic walk which I believe was one of the best stretching over 10 days.  Apart from the main goal of PB which we not only climbed but also camped at the summit of, there was also cave camping, wading the length of New River lagoon, digging out boats in order to cross the outlet, finding the beer barrel on Cox Bight and hitching a plane ride to fly back out. I have also tried to plot the route using photos at salient points on a shared map.

Click on the link for the interactive version

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&mid=162sv0TXmH8O6S7EyEHDJrr0iJk4&ll=-43.43870865094542%2C146.41332437441406&z=11

New River Lagoon

Precipitous Bluff from Prion Beach - two days walk

Assegai

Another one of these Wilbur Smith Boys Own Adventures.  Always set in Africa although there was a short section devoted to Lake Constance.  Particularly Friedrichschafen where we visited the Zeppelin Museum this year. This was one of the focal points of the book, as the German bad guy was loading a dirigible with ammo and gold destined for African Boer revolutionaries who opposed the British.  Not only did the hero get the girl he got the gold as well.  One of these days Wilbur will change this formula.

Assegai - short native spear

Beach Ugly

The camera man sent a message that one camera was now cleaned and ready for pickup. I timed the run into Geelong for Monday which was the viewing day at Kerley's auction. However I got the wrong week so there was nothing to see. The auctions are every two weeks. I picked up the camera which took two hours to get all the grit, gravel and sand out of it. It cost me $80 and he hasn't even started the other one yet. The other tricky thing was that I parked right next to my old car that was a trade in about six months ago. I got $500 for it, I wonder what the new owner paid. When I got back I checked out the beach as there was a work crew clearing and cutting. The beach itself is a sorry sight. One continuous black morass and many bugs on the North wind today as well.

scrub brigade

Broken fuel cap and bike rack plate are dead ringers

sea grass molasses

Bike and Boat

Another day of weather woes but I did get the lawns mowed mainly because the bin has to go out today and I missed it last time. Other than that I found an article in the paper about European bike riding and how to do it without carrying your luggage. They must be catching up to my way of thinking! The company is Utracks but they have an interesting combination of bicycles and river boats. The hardest thing I found was co-ordinating hotels at the right distance apart and having them available.  These guys will do that so it may be worth the price.

E-bikes are also possible but river riding should be a breeze

Wet Week

We have endured a wet week here. Nothing slower than a wet week. So time to get some more digitising done.  This Epson A4 flatbed positive and negative scanner is one of the best peripheral devices I have invested in. I have been using it daily for a couple of years.  The series I did today features another wet week. Go figure. There was one sunny day. But I do remember a wet rogaine at the end of the week and many leeches.

                                               

Tintaretto

Tintacar actually. They were here today putting some window tinting on the upstairs glass. The previous owner/builders paid for the bottom floor windows to be done but not up top.  It was a six hour job and it seems that was quick due to the cleaner lines of aluminium windows and the truer nature of the rectangles.  It should now be a bit cooler on those stinkers and certainly a bit more private in the study where neighbours have been calling up to come downstairs during the middle of conference calls.  Photos from the outside show a reasonable match even though the top half and the bottom half are 20 yar apart.

Tintaretto at work

The real Tintoretto in the Doge's palace

お誕生日おめでとう

日本のつながり  I found a few photos from  the jet set.  Not sure how old these kids are now.

Cyteen

I have a problem with books that use a small point size typeface.  As well as the 680 pages of Cyteen being a weighty tome presenting an arthritic challenge.  It has taken me the best part of a month to read this book, the Hugo winner of 1989. The previous book 'Downbelow Station' was also a Hugo winner but on this occasion the story line has new characters and can be read separately as a saga in its own right.  Saga is not the word.  It may have a future setting but this is all politics and assassination.   Speaking of Sagas, I have thought more about yesterday's 6th installment of the Terminator.  It is actually the 3rd installment rewritten with a different story line. I think the court of public opinion should not let them get away with it. If you start something and we have been paying our money to see it unfold then they should be able to finish it in some way.  Imagine the furor if 'Game of Thrones' was left hanging.

This book does a lot of cloning around

Arnie

Met the Klyes in Geelong for a look at the latest Terminator.  Before that we had a coffee at Market Sq and I also brought two cameras that need a clean, to the CCD shop. (Camera Cleaning Dept) These cameras have been cleaned so many times he keeps a historical record.  Back to the Arnie movie which is the tried and true formula every time.  It seems to me that this story line can never finish. The time travel stuff means you can write any ending you want because the future has changed so just keep making movies.  We found the West End eatery which has only opened 1 month ago, in Lt Malop St.  I recommend the eye fillet. Too bad the meat ball place closed down next door.